Love Islands: Summer Kisses

She shook her head fiercely, her eyes flashing. Rachel had always hated it when someone suggested she didn’t pull her weight. After all these years he still knew what buttons to press.

‘No, Nathan. I’ll look after all the patients—just like you will—if required.’

But Nathan wouldn’t be beaten. Not after all these years. He folded his own arms across his chest and matched Rachel’s stance. He couldn’t help but smile. It was like a stand-off. ‘Well, I don’t think I can do that if I don’t have all the facts about the patient.’

The colour of her face practically matched her T-shirt now and he could see tiny beads of sweat on her brow. It was unquestionably hot on the island. But he was quite sure that wasn’t why Rachel Johnson was sweating.

She shifted her feet. It was unusual to see her in khaki shorts, thick socks and heavy boots. She’d obviously been warned about the island paths. Rachel had spent her time as a student and junior doctor dressed smartly. Always in dresses and heels. This was a whole new look for her. Maybe her time in Australia had changed her outlook on life?

‘Of course you can, Nathan. Stop being difficult. Three weeks. I can tell you’ll be scoring off the days on the calendar just like I will.’

She turned to walk away. And it surprised him just how much he actually didn’t want her to. If you’d asked him if he wanted to come face to face with Rachel Johnson again he’d have said, Not in this lifetime. But reality was sometimes stranger than fiction.

She stopped at the door. ‘How’s Charlie?’

The question caught him off guard and his answer was an automatic response. ‘Charlie’s fine. Not that you would care.’

She sighed. ‘That’s not fair, Nathan, and you know it.’

He shrugged. ‘Why? You didn’t want to hang around when I had to look after my little brother for a couple of years. Why bother now?’

She shook her head. He could see her biting her lip. She probably couldn’t find the words for why she’d run out on them both. ‘I always loved Charlie. He was great. Did he finish university?’ A thought must have flickered across her mind. ‘How was he when you were away?’

‘Charlie was fine. He finished his engineering degree and got a job before I left for my last mission. He’s married now with two young children.’

She gave a little nod of her head. ‘Glad to hear it. Tell him I’m asking for him.’

She walked out of the door, letting it slam behind her. Nathan picked up the bottle of water on the table and downed it in one, wishing it was a beer. No matter how he tried to avoid it, his eyes had settled on her backside and legs as she’d walked out of the door. Eight years on and Rachel Johnson was as hot as ever.

And eight years later she still drove him crazy.

I always loved Charlie. The words echoed in his mind. ‘Just as well you loved one of us,’ he muttered.

She’d thought the cabin was hot but outside was even hotter and the high humidity was making the sweat trickle down her back already, probably turning her hair into a frizz bomb.

She stopped for a second to catch her breath, leaning against the metal bodywork and hoping to feel a little of the coolness on her body.

Trapped on an island with two exes. You couldn’t make this up.

A little wave of nausea rolled over her. Nathan Banks. Eight years had done nothing to diminish the impact of seeing him again. Her hands were trembling and every hair on her arms stood on end. She’d never expected to come face-to-face with him again.

His blond hair was a little shorter. His build a bit more muscular. But his eyes were still the neon green they’d always been. They could stop any girl in her tracks—just like they’d done to her.

They were supposed to be continents apart. What on earth was he doing in Australia? She knew he’d spent five years working for Doctors Without Borders. He was still friends with a lot of the people they’d trained with. And even though she’d pretended not to, she’d spent the last five years searching mutual social media sites with her heart in her mouth, hoping she wouldn’t ever hear bad news about him. That was the trouble with working in humanitarian missions—sometimes they took you into places with armed conflict.

Trouble was, five minutes in Nathan’s company could make her mad. No one else in her life had ever managed to spark that kind of reaction from her. But there was just something about Nathan and her alone in a room together. Sparks always flew. Sometimes good. Sometimes bad.

It was clear he still hadn’t forgiven her for leaving. She couldn’t blame him. But if she’d told him why she was really leaving he would have put his life—and Charlie’s—on hold for her. She hadn’t wanted that—she couldn’t do that to them. They’d just lost their parents; they’d needed to focus on each other.

And if she told him now why she’d left, she would be betraying Darius’s trust. Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

She stared out at the perfect blue Coral Sea. It was no wonder they’d picked one of the Whitsunday islands for this show. At any other time, with any other person, this would be perfect.

Too bad Nathan Banks was here to spoil it for her.

CHAPTER TWO

‘EXACTLY HOW LONG will this take?’ The director was scowling at them both.

Nathan shrugged. He couldn’t care less about the man’s bad attitude. ‘It’ll take as long as it takes. We need to see every participant and have a quick chat about their medical history—then we’ll be able to tell you if anyone is unsuitable for the challenge tomorrow.’

The director stomped out of the door, closing it with an exasperated bang.

Nathan smiled at Rachel. ‘Now, where were we?’

Rachel lifted the printed list. ‘Okay, we have nine celebrities and one backup that we’ll need to assess if he arrives.’ She frowned. ‘This doesn’t seem right. Aren’t they all supposed to be filmed jumping from a plane and rowing or snorkelling their way here? What are they doing already on the island?’

Nathan shrugged. ‘The magic of television. They arrived yesterday when I did. They plan to do the filming later on today, pretending they’ve just set foot on the island. But they haven’t seen the camp yet. They spent last night in one of the cabins and you want to have heard the list of complaints.’

She shook her head as she looked over the list. ‘More fool me. I had no idea they faked their arrival. Want to take a bet on how quickly one will bail?’

He held out his fist. Old habits died hard. He and Rachel used to do this all the time. She blinked as if she were having a little flash of memory, then held out her fist, bumping it against his. ‘Six days.’

He shook his head. ‘Oh, way too ambitious. Four days.’

She frowned. ‘Really? But they’re doing it for charity. Surely someone wouldn’t give up that easy?’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘You really think these people are doing it all just for charity?’

‘Of course.’ She looked confused and Nathan sighed and picked up the list.

‘Let’s see. Darius Cornell—actor—let’s leave him for now. Diamond Dazzle—model—she’s looking for a lingerie contract. Frank Cairns—sportsman—he’s looking for a presenter’s job somewhere. Molly Bates—comedienne—she needs the publicity for her upcoming tour. Tallie Turner—actress—she just needs a job. Pauline Wilding—politician—always likes to be in the papers. Fox—boy band pop star—he’s hoping some teenagers remember his crazy name. Billy X—rapper—with his past history he’s probably about to be arrested for something, and Rainbow Blossom—reality TV star. She probably doesn’t want to fade from the spotlight. Are any of these people actually celebrities? Do any of them have a real name?’

He saw Rachel’s lips press together and waited for her to immediately go on the offensive for her apparent ex. But she surprised him. She didn’t.

‘I didn’t realise you were such a cynic.’

‘I guess we really didn’t know each other at all, did we?’ he shot back.

The words hung in the air between them. He sounded bitter. And he was. But even he was surprised by how quickly the words had come out. They’d never had this conversation before. She’d just told him she was leaving and hotfooted it out of the hospital as if she were being chased by a bunch of killer zombies.

Five years of missions for Doctors Without Borders had loosened his tongue. He’d dealt with armed conflict, natural disasters and epidemics. He was less willing to placate and tolerate. Life was too short—he knew that now. He and his brother had lost their parents to an accident eight years ago, and he’d lost too many patients all over the world.

She flopped down into the chair next to him, letting her floral scent drift under his nose. That was new. Rachel didn’t smell like that before. She’d always worn something lighter. This was stronger, more sultry, more like something a woman eight years on would wear. Why would he expect anything to stay the same?

‘Actually, you’re right,’ she muttered, going back to the original conversation and completely ignoring his barb. ‘Darius is probably the most well-known of them all. Five of them I don’t recognise and three I’ve never even heard of.’

It was almost a relief that finally they could agree on something.

‘How do you want to do this?’ She pointed to the pile of notes. ‘Do you want to go over each patient individually or do you just want to split them up?’

Splitting the pile would be easier and quicker. But Nathan wasn’t about to let her off so easy. He needed to have another doctor he could rely on. Rachel had been a good doctor eight years ago—but he’d no idea how she was now. ‘Let’s do them together. That way, if either of us is on call we’re familiar with all the patients. There’s only nine—this won’t take too long.’

He picked up the nearest set of notes and started flicking. ‘Diamond Dazzle—real name Mandy Brooks. She’s had liposuction, two breast enlargements, one skin biopsy, one irregular smear test and lots of Botox. She apparently had her lips done a week ago—so we’ll need to keep an eye on her for any signs of infection.’

Rachel shook her head. ‘Why would an already beautiful twenty-two-year-old think she needs all this?’

Nathan put the file back on the desk. ‘Beats me.’ He folded his arms across his chest. ‘Do you think this makes her ineligible for the challenge? Having spiders or rats crawl over her body—and probably face too—will make her more vulnerable to infection.’

‘I think just being in the jungle alone makes her at higher risk. Who would do that? Know that they’re coming somewhere like this and go for a procedure less than a week before?’

Nathan smiled. He knew exactly where she was coming from but he also knew the answer. ‘Someone who wants to be on TV.’

Rachel shook her head. Some of her hair was coming loose and the curls were starting to stray around her face. It was odd. She hadn’t aged as much as he had. There were a few tiny lines around her eyes and her body had filled out a little. But nothing else. She was every bit as beautiful as he remembered.

His face and skin had been weathered by five years of on and off postings in countries around the world. The last had been the worst. The sand felt as if it would never wash off and the darkening of his skin—coupled with lots of lines—made him more weathered. It didn’t help that he felt about a hundred years older.

‘Shall we call her in?’ He had to focus on work. That was what they were here to do. Lewis hadn’t lied about everything. On the surface, this could be three weeks of paid vacation time. Supervising the challenges would only take a couple of hours each night. He could live with that.

Rachel stood up and walked to the door. ‘I’ll get her. They’re down on the beach with the director. Apparently they’re going to make it look like they had to row part way here.’

Nathan just rolled his eyes.

It didn’t take long to chat to each celebrity and review their medical files. A few were taking medications that they’d still require in the camp. A few others had intermittent usage of medications for angina, migraines or asthma that Rachel and Nathan agreed they could still take into camp. None of that stuff would be shown on camera.

Eventually it was time to speak to Darius. As soon as the guy walked into the room Nathan bristled. He just didn’t like him—would never like him. For some reason, the pictures of Darius and Rachel together were imprinted on his brain.

Rachel smiled nervously. ‘Darius, this is Nathan, the other doctor on duty. We are having a chat with everyone about their medical file and requirements in the camp.’

Darius had that soap actor look. Clean tanned skin and straight white teeth. He looked as if on occasion he might work out at the gym and he also looked as if he needed to gain a little weight.

Nathan held up his file as Rachel shifted from foot to foot. ‘There’s not much in here, Darius. If I’m going to be the doctor looking after you I need to know a little more about your medical history.’

Darius’s eyes shifted over to Rachel. He was a confident guy who was obviously used to things going his way. ‘There’s no need. Rachel knows my medical history. That’s why she’s here.’

Nathan leaned across the desk. ‘But Rachel might not always be available. She’s not on call twenty-four hours a day for the next three weeks, you know. And she’ll have other patients to treat too. The rest of your campmates and the crew need doctor services too.’

Darius gave a fake smile as he glanced at Rachel. ‘I’m sure she’ll cope.’

Nathan’s hand balled into a fist as he kept his voice deadly calm. ‘Any allergies I should know about? Are you in good health right now? Do you require any medications or special diet requirements?’

Darius took a few seconds to reply, almost as if he was rehearsing his answer. ‘No allergies. I’m in perfect health and I’m not taking any medication right now.’

Measured. That was the word that Nathan would use. Rachel, in comparison, looked like a cat on a hot tin roof. What on earth had happened between these two?

There was something in the air. But it wasn’t like the spark Nathan had felt between him and her when Rachel had first walked in here. It was something different. Something easier—at least it seemed easier to Darius. He seemed cool and confident around Rachel. Assured.

Darius stood up and put a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. ‘Thanks for being here, Rach.’ He glanced at Nathan. ‘I hope it doesn’t cause you too many problems.’

He disappeared out of the door to where the director was assembling the production crew.

Nathan folded his arms. ‘Well, that was informative. What does he have on you, Rach?’

Her expression of relief changed quickly. It was amazing how quickly he could put her back up. ‘What do you mean? Nothing. He has nothing on me. Why would you even think that? I’ve already told you I’ll be looking after Darius. There’s nothing you need to know.’ She was getting angrier by the second and he knew he was right.

He moved around the desk, leaning back against it, only inches away from where she stood. Her perfume filled the air around him. ‘Really? So what did he mean by “I’m not taking any medication right now”? When was he taking meds and what for?’

He could see the conflict flitting across her eyes. The rational part of her brain knew exactly why he was asking. His suspicion hadn’t been misplaced. There was something to tell; that was the whole reason Rachel was here. But what was it? Three weeks of this would drive him crazy.

She stared him straight in the eye. ‘This is ridiculous. I don’t want to be here. You don’t want to be here. Why doesn’t one of us just leave?’

She was cutting straight to the chase but he hadn’t missed the fact she’d just circumvented his question.

This was the closest he’d been to Rachel in eight long years. Her pink lips were pressed in a hard line and her hands were staunchly on her hips. He tried not to look down. He tried not to notice the way her breasts were straining against the thin pink T-shirt. He tried not to notice the little lines around her brown eyes. Or the faint tan on her unblemished skin.

But everything was there. Everything was right in front of him. He breathed in and her scent was like an assault on his senses. He bristled, the tiny hairs on his skin upright and the beat of his heart increasing in his chest. This was crazy. He wasn’t interested in this woman. He wouldn’t let himself be interested in this woman. She’d walked away. More accurately, she’d flown away when he and Charlie had needed her most.

Australia hadn’t just been her dream. It had been their dream. They’d both planned on going there after they’d worked as senior house doctors for a year. It was easier for Rachel. Her mother was Australian and Rachel had dual nationality. But the application to work had been in both of their names and nothing had hurt more than when Rachel had just upped and left without him.

The words were on the tip of his tongue. You leave. But he couldn’t bring himself to say them. And it drove him crazy. It should be easy. She deserved it. So why couldn’t he say it?

He turned his back and sat back down. He had to get away from her smell, her stance, the look in her eyes. He could do without all these memories.

‘I can’t leave. I’m working with Lewis. Believe it or not, I’m doing this as a favour to him. Cara’s near the end of her pregnancy and he needs to be there. When I go back he’ll give me another six-month contract at the hospital.’

She frowned, wrinkling her nose. Rachel had always looked cute when she was frowning. ‘He’s blackmailing you into being here?’ It sounded worse when she said it out loud.

He couldn’t help the rueful smile on his face. ‘Not really. He gave me “the look”. You know—the one he always gives you when he needs his own way? Anyway, he really didn’t want to be away from Cara and apparently I needed a holiday. A break. Some time off.’

Now she looked worried. ‘He thought you needed some time off? Is something wrong? Did something happen?’

You. But he’d never say that word out loud. He hadn’t realised how big an effect all this was having on him. And he didn’t even want to acknowledge it. He’d spent the last eight years blanking Rachel out of his life. Forgetting about her. Locking her away in a box, along with all the unresolved feelings he had about her. It wasn’t quite so easy to do that when she was standing in front of him.

He took the easy route. ‘I spent five years working for Doctors Without Borders. I’ve been halfway around the world. I didn’t really have a holiday when I finished my last tour. Just came to Australia, looked up Lewis and started working for him on a temporary contract.’

She hesitated, something flitting across her eyes. ‘You never talked about going to Doctors Without Borders. What made you go?’

He couldn’t bite back his natural response. ‘We didn’t talk about lots of things.’

She flinched, almost as if she’d been stung.

He took a deep breath. ‘An old friend came back after working for them. When he told me about the work he’d been doing—the epidemics, the natural disasters and in areas of armed conflict—I was interested. Who wouldn’t be? Lots of these people have absolutely no access to healthcare. Doctors Without Borders is their only hope. I felt as if I had to go. Charlie had finished university and got a job. The timing worked out. I was only going to do one mission in Africa for nine months. But one year turned into two, then three and eventually five.’

He paused. She was watching him carefully, almost holding her breath. ‘It was good experience.’ It seemed the best way to sum things up. Rachel didn’t need to know what he’d seen or what he’d dealt with. She had a good enough imagination. He’d already told her more than he’d intended to.

But curiosity about her was getting the better of him. ‘What’s your speciality?’

For a second she seemed thrown. She bit her lip and fixed her eyes on a spot on the wall, her hand tugging nervously at her ear.

With Rach, it had always been a telltale sign. And his instant recognition came like a thunderbolt. He’d thought he’d known this woman so well. But he hadn’t really known her at all. That was probably what stung the most.

‘I took a little time off when I came to Australia.’ Her eyes looked up to the left. ‘Then I worked as a general medical physician for a while, dealing with a mix of diabetic, cardiac, respiratory and oncology patients.’ Her feet shifted on the floor.

Her gaze meshed with his and something shot through him. A wave of recognition. She tugged at her ear. She’s going to change the subject.

After all these years he still knew her little nuances. ‘I thought you might have gone into surgery. That’s what you were always interested in.’

She was right. He had talked about going into surgery. And he’d certainly had his fair share of surgical experience around the world. But even though he’d just acknowledged that he still knew her little nuances, he was annoyed that she thought she still knew things about him.

She’d walked away. She’d lost the right to know anything about him. She’d lost the right to have any insight into his life.

His voice was blunt. ‘A surgical internship would have taken up too many hours. At least with A & E I had regular shifts without also being on call.’

The implication was clear. Looking after his brother had changed his career pathway. He didn’t like to think about it. He didn’t like to acknowledge it—especially not to someone who had turned and walked away. Maybe if Rachel had stayed he could still have chosen surgery as his path? It would have been easier to share the load between two people.

But Rachel didn’t seem to be picking up his annoyance. ‘You must have got a wide range of experience with Doctors Without Borders. Did you do some surgery?’

‘Of course I did. It’s all hands on deck out there, even though you’re in the middle of the desert.’ His eyes drifted off to the grey wall. If he closed his eyes right now he could almost hear the whump-whump of the incoming medevac helicopters. He could feel the sensation of the tiny hairs on his arms and at the back of his neck standing on end in nervous anticipation of the unknown.

Sometimes civilians—men, women and children—sometimes army, navy or air force personnel. You never knew what you were going to see when you pulled back the door on the medevac.

The medical services were some of the best in the world, but at times Nathan’s surgical skills had been challenged.

The tick-tick of the clock on the wall brought him back into focus. A little shiver ran down his spine.

A warm hand touched his arm and he jolted. ‘Nathan? Are you okay?’

A frown creased her brow. The concerned expression on her face made him angry. How dare she feel sorry for him?

He snatched his arm away. ‘Of course I’m fine.’ He crossed his arms over his chest and walked around to the files again. ‘I’m going to write up some notes. Make a few recommendations to the director. Why don’t you go over to the beach or something?’

It was dismissive. Maybe even a little derogatory. But he just wanted her out of here. Away from him.

For a second Rachel looked hurt, then her jaw tightened and the indignant look came back in her eyes. The Rachel he’d known would have stood her ground and torn him down a few pegs.

But this Rachel was different. This Rachel had changed. She nodded, almost sarcastically. ‘Sure. That’s exactly what I’ll do.’ She picked up one of the pagers from the desk, clipping it to her waist without even acknowledging the act. She walked away without a glance. ‘They better make cocktails at that bar …’

The door closed behind her with a thud and he waited a few seconds before he collapsed back into the seat. One minute he was mad with her, the next he was being swamped with a whole host of memories.

One thing was for sure. This island wasn’t big enough for the both of them.