Love Islands: Summer Kisses

‘I’ll need to speak to Darius before he starts,’ she murmured.

Ron laughed. ‘Don’t think you’ll have a chance. They’ll announce live on TV it’s him and do the challenge immediately afterwards. You won’t have time to talk.’

‘But I need time. He’ll get a safety briefing, won’t he? I’ll make time then.’

Nathan’s gaze narrowed. ‘What’s wrong? Doesn’t he like the dark? If he can’t do a challenge shouldn’t I know about it?’

She pushed back her retort. Nathan was right. It was already a bugbear that Darius was her ex. The fact that his medical details hadn’t been released to Nathan was obviously annoying him. It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t her choice.

But she was being paid to do a job. And she wouldn’t be doing a good job if she didn’t warn Darius of the risks to his health—whether he listened or not.

‘He can do the challenge—and I’m sure he will. I just need to discuss some underlying issues with him.’

Nathan folded his arms across his chest and fixed his gaze back on the road ahead. The jungle foliage was beginning to thin as they reached the hollowed out tunnels at the other side of the island.

All of the celebrities were perched on a bench, talking to the hosts. Rachel jumped from the Jeep and made her way quickly to the entrance of the caves. ‘How deep are they and what’s in them?’ she asked one of the nearby crew.

He guided her over to the side, where some TV screens were set up, showing the cameras with infrared filters that were positioned in the man-made tunnels. She grimaced at the sight of scampering creatures. ‘Anything that bites and could break the skin?’

One of the rangers nodded. ‘Just about everything.’

Rachel squeezed her eyes closed and pushed her way past the hosts, grabbing hold of Darius’s arm. She was making an executive decision. This whole thing was fake anyway. She was pretty sure the only thing that was real was the viewers’ votes.

‘What’s wrong, Rachel?’ Darius’s brow creased as he glanced to make sure no one could overhear them.

‘I don’t think you should do this challenge,’ she said quickly. ‘There’s a strong possibility of getting cuts, bites or scrapes. Any break to the skin is a risk of infection and your immunity will already be low right now. There’s no telling what the infection risks are from the unknown creatures or the dirty water.’

Darius shot her his famous soap star smile as he realised what her words meant. ‘Lighten up, Rach. I’ve won the public vote? Fantastic.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m not worried about the tunnels. Why should you be?’ He glanced over her shoulder. She could already tell that Nathan had closed in and was listening to their conversation. ‘You can check me over for broken skin when I come out.’ Darius gave her a wink and walked back to the bench with the other celebrities.

The producer hurried over to her, hissing in her ear. ‘What are you doing? You’ll spoil everything. This is supposed to be a surprise.’

She spun around. ‘My job. That’s what I’m doing. And what are you worried about—didn’t you know Darius is one of the most famous soap stars in Australia? I’m sure he can act surprised.’

She stomped away back to the television screens. Darius was more concerned about his screen time and popularity than his health. It was maddening.

Nathan appeared at her side. ‘Are you going to tell me what’s going on?’

She gritted her teeth. ‘I can’t.’

He turned without another word and walked away.

After shooting her a few glares, the TV hosts smiled right on cue for their live broadcast. Darius was suitably surprised when he found out he’d been voted for the challenge. He smiled all through the televised safety briefing, then dived head first into the tunnels. Some of them were a tight fit. There was no way the sportsman could have forced his way through these tunnels. If Darius had been at his normal weight he probably wouldn’t have fitted either. He must have lost a little weight during chemotherapy. In the end he completed the challenge in a few minutes and emerged wet and muddy with his rewards in his hands. There was a large gash on one leg and a few nips on the other from some baby alligators.

She waited impatiently for the filming to finish. ‘In the Jeep,’ she said as the cameras stopped.

Darius flinched and rubbed at the open wound. ‘I think we’re supposed to go back directly to camp.’

Nathan appeared at his back. ‘Do what the good lady says. You won’t like her when she’s angry.’

There it was. That little hint to Darius that he actually knew her a whole lot better than Darius did. She could see the instant recognition on Darius’s face as they eyed each other suspiciously. It was ridiculous—like pistols at dawn. She was irritated enough already and this wasn’t helping.

Ron appeared, sweating as always, and smiling. ‘Back to the medical centre then, folks?’

All three climbed wordlessly into the Jeep. The journey back seemed so much longer. Ron talked merrily as if he hadn’t noticed the atmosphere in the car, dropping them all at the path leading down to the medical centre.

Rachel strode ahead, flinging open the door and pulling things from cupboards. She gestured towards the examination trolley. ‘Climb up there.’

She was so angry with them both right now she couldn’t even look at them. Darius for being so stupid and Nathan for being so stubborn. Part of her knew that Nathan was right. Any other doctor would want to know the patient’s history too.

But any other doctor wouldn’t get under her skin and grate like Nathan could.

He was like a permanent itch. Part of her still felt guilty around him. Part of her felt angry. Irrational? Yes, of course. She was the one who had walked away. She had left him and Charlie and put herself first.

Even if she could turn back the clock she wouldn’t change that—no matter how much it had hurt them both. Her outcome could have been so different. She was one of the lucky ones; she knew that. She’d had her treatment and reached the five-year magic survival milestone. That was good; that was positive.

But this whole place had just thrown her into turmoil. She’d distanced herself from Darius these last few years. He needed to find others to rely on. Coming here had been a mistake.

As for the sizzle in the air whenever she and Nathan were in the same room? She really couldn’t have predicted it. If anyone had asked her, she would have sworn it would never exist again. But it did exist. Every time she looked at him her skin tingled. Every time he stood close enough, all the little hairs on her body stood on end, almost willing him to come into contact. She couldn’t control her body’s responses. And it was driving her nuts.

She washed her hands and opened the sterile dressing pack. Nathan had angled a lamp over Darius’s leg, even though he hadn’t touched it. He seemed to sense it was wise to stay out of her way.

She slipped on her gloves and leaned over to get a good look at the wound. It was around four inches long and ragged, with a few tiny pieces of debris. She took a deep breath and irrigated with saline, removing the debris with tweezers. ‘It’s not deep enough to stitch. I’ll close it with paper stitches. But it does give a route of entry for infection. Who knows what was in that mud or those tunnels? You’re going to need this dressed and observed every day.’

Darius sighed. ‘That seems like overkill. This place is miles away from the campsite. I don’t want to have to come here every day. The rest of the celebrities will think I’m getting special treatment—either that or they’ll think something is wrong.’

Nathan cleared his throat loudly. ‘Actually, Darius, Rachel’s right. And it isn’t overkill. Since Rachel has highlighted you’re susceptible to infection, I think it would be wise to put you on antibiotics. It’s pretty much a given you’re going to get some kind of infection in that wound.’

Rachel was surprised to hear Nathan back her so quickly. She finished cleaning the wound and applied some antiseptic cream and a dressing.

‘It might be easier all round if either I or Rachel come up to the campsite every day to dress the wound. We can bring supplies with us and it should only take a few minutes. That way, it’s pretty obvious why you’re being seen. It’s not special treatment. It’s wound care.’

Darius nodded. He seemed oblivious to the fact she was mad at him. But of course the world revolved around Darius. At least his world did. What made her more curious was the way Nathan was actually giving him some leeway. She hadn’t expected it. Hadn’t expected it at all.

‘That sounds great. Thanks for that.’ He slid his legs from the examination couch while she got rid of the waste and Nathan dispensed some antibiotics. He held them out for Darius. ‘You do realise I’ll tell the producer you can’t be eligible for tomorrow’s challenge?’

‘What?’ He had Darius’s instant attention. ‘But it sounds like one of the best ones!’

‘You can’t go swimming and diving with a potentially infected leg. No way.’

Nathan was still holding onto the antibiotics. All credit to him. He knew exactly how to deal with Darius.

‘But it’ll look as if I’m using it as an excuse not to take part.’

Nathan shrugged. ‘The producer and director have to abide by our recommendations. Feel free to say on camera that the docs have refused to let you take part. Feel free to let the world know you’ve got a potentially life-threatening infection in your leg.’

Rachel could almost see the headlines running through Darius’s head. He gave a little nod. ‘Thanks for this.’ He took the antibiotics and a bottle of water from Nathan. ‘I’ll see you both tomorrow.’

He exited the medical centre and disappeared down the path to where Ron was waiting to drive him back to camp.

Rachel folded her arms and leaned against the wall. She could tell Nathan knew she was watching him. He started opening the filing cabinet and flicking through notes.

‘That was very kind of you. What’s going on?’

He glanced upwards. ‘I have no idea what you mean.’

‘Yeah, right. We both know you don’t like Darius. Why are you being so obliging?’

Nathan sat down behind the desk. ‘How much weight has he lost recently?’

She blinked. It wasn’t the response she’d expected.

She shook her head. ‘I’m not sure. He lost weight a few months ago. I just presumed he hasn’t put it back on again yet. He is looking a little gaunt, but I’m sure once his time in camp has passed he’ll be fine. All the celebrities lose some weight in camp.’

Nathan looked thoughtful. ‘I don’t care that you’re not telling me his medical history. I just don’t like the look of him.’ His mouth curled upwards for a second. There was a definite glint in his eye. ‘In more ways than one.’ He looked serious again. ‘I think there could be something else going on with Darius Cornell.’

She took a deep breath. She was having a professional conversation with Nathan Banks. It was just so weird. She’d been so wrapped up in Darius’s history of non-Hodgkin’s and keeping it confidential she hadn’t really thought about anything else. Sometimes you needed someone else to help you look at the big picture.

She bit the inside of her lip and gave a little sigh of recognition. ‘This way we get to keep a direct eye on him every day?’

Nathan smiled. ‘You got it.’

So this was what working with Nathan Banks could be like. She’d waited over eight years to find out. She’d never really expected it to happen. Even though they’d attended the same university, they’d never actually worked on a ward together. Once they’d qualified, choosing different specialities meant that it was unlikely to ever happen. This had been totally unexpected.

She watched as he flicked through a few files. His hair was so short she had an urge to run her palm over his head and feel the little bristle beneath her skin. He must have got used to wearing it in the buzz-cut style while he was working away.

The first thing she’d noticed was the little lines around his eyes. He’d aged. But, like most men, he’d done it in a good way. He’d lost the fresh face of youth and replaced it with something much more lived in and a whole lot more worldly-wise.

Nathan had always managed to take her breath away. Before, it had been with his good nature, laughter and sex appeal. Now, it was something entirely different. The man in front of her made her suck her breath between her teeth and just hold it there. He had so much presence. His bulkier frame filled the room. But it was whatever was hidden behind his eyes that made her unable to release the breath screaming in her lungs.

It could be a whole variety of things. The loss of his parents. His time over the world for Doctors Without Borders. Did Nathan have a medical history she didn’t know about? Why had he changed his career pathway? It could even be the fact that his brother had now settled down with a family before him. But she doubted that very much.

She wanted to peel back the layers. She wanted a diary of the missing years. But she wanted it all about Nathan, without revealing anything of herself.

Pathetic, really.

But she just wasn’t ready to go there.

His head lifted and their gazes meshed. ‘Is there anyone else you’re worried about?’ he asked.

Her brain scrambled. You. Me. She bit back the obvious replies.

‘Ron,’ she said quickly. ‘I don’t know if he just has a sweating disorder but I’d like to check him over.’

Nathan nodded. ‘Me too. We’ll get him in soon.’

He stood up and walked over to the door. ‘I’m going to go for a run along the beach before we need to supervise the diving challenge.’

Rachel bit her lip. An empty beach and the open ocean sounded like a great idea. Somewhere to clear her head. Somewhere to get her thoughts together. But if Nathan was going to be there it was too crowded already.

She stood up. ‘I’m going to go and talk to the production crew about the diving challenge. I’ll talk to you later.’

As she stepped outside the medical centre she took a few gulps of air. This island seemed to be getting smaller by the second …

CHAPTER SIX

RACHEL STRETCHED OUT on the sun lounger and wiggled her toes, the only part of her currently in the sun. The last few days had been odd. After the hiccup on the first day and Darius’s minor injuries on the challenge, things had pretty much been how Lewis had promised. A few hours’ work every day followed by hours and hours to kill. That would be fine if they were staying at a luxury resort, or in the middle of a city. Instead, they were on an island with a distinct lack of facilities and where the only entertainment was the Z-list celebrities. The days seemed longer than ever.

The challenges had been going well. Frank, the sportsman, had aced the diving challenge around the coral reef without managing to do himself any damage. The next challenge had been to scale a thirty-foot tree to reach a fake bird’s-nest. Billy X, the rapper, had proved surprisingly agile but Darius had obviously been annoyed that he’d not been voted for by the public.

His wound was gradually healing and the antibiotics seemed to have warded off any sign of infection. He still wasn’t looking any better though and Rachel had started to wonder if they should be monitoring his weight. The celebrities had to prepare and cook their own food over a campfire and, even though there weren’t excessive amounts of food, there was still enough to keep them sustained. Maybe Nathan was right—maybe there was something else to worry about?

She shifted uncomfortably on the sun lounger. If Darius’s non-Hodgkin’s relapsed he would be in big trouble. He had already relapsed twice. Each treatment plan had been more intense than the one before. She knew firsthand exactly what these treatment plans involved. He wouldn’t be able to keep his illness a secret much longer.

She heard muffled voices up in the trees around her. The crew were gossiping again. She smiled. They were a great bunch but sometimes it was like being trapped on an island with a bunch of teenage girls.

Thankfully, no one seemed to have picked up on the tension between her and Nathan. Or, if they had, she hadn’t heard anyone mention it.

Ron caught her eye as he walked slowly towards the medical centre. Rachel had asked him to come in twice in as many days and she was glad he’d finally showed up. Nathan was on duty and would check him over.

As he reached out his hand towards the door he winced. His face was bright red. He almost looked as though he could burst.

She hesitated for a few seconds. Nathan was an experienced A & E doctor. He could handle this—she knew he could. If she went in now, he might be resentful of her interference.

But the expression on Ron’s face couldn’t let her sit there much longer. She sat up and dug her toes into the sand for a second as she reached underneath the lounger for her sandals. She wasn’t getting much of a tan anyway. She was too worried that if she took her sundress off and just wore her bikini people might ask questions about her scar.

She wasn’t normally self-conscious and if Nathan hadn’t been on the island she would have worn her bikini without a second thought. But suddenly she was wishing she had a schoolgirl-style swimsuit in her backpack—one that covered all parts of her back and front. It might not be stylish but would stop any awkward questions.

She shook the sand from her feet and pushed them into her sandals. Ron. That was who she needed to concentrate on now. It was time to stop fretting about the future and put her professional head back into place.

Nathan was feeling restless. The last few nights he hadn’t been able to sleep. Lying in a cabin with only two thin walls separating him and Rachel was driving him crazy. Every time he heard the shower running he imagined her soaping her smooth skin under the spluttering water. He imagined the water running in rivulets down her straight spine, in long lines down to her painted pink toes.

The pink toes had been haunting him. It was practically the only part of her skin that could freely be seen. Unlike the rest of the crew on the island, Rachel had kept herself well covered up. T-shirts and long shorts coupled with socks and hiking boots were the flavour of the day. Even in the evening she wore long pants and long-sleeved T-shirts. The only part visible were her toes.

All his memories of nights with Rachel had revolved around short satin nightdresses and shoestring straps. There certainly hadn’t been a lack of skin.

And it certainly wasn’t helping his male libido. His imagination was currently working overtime. He needed to find himself a distraction, a hobby. But finding something else to do on this island was proving harder than he’d thought.

He’d put a call through to Len to see what his plans were for later. Maybe a hike around the island would help him think about other things.

Nathan was just replacing his phone when the door opened. Ron walked in, panting heavily, with a strange expression on his face and his signature sweat marks on his grey T-shirt.

He really didn’t look great. His face was highly coloured with beads of sweat on his brow. Nathan stood up quickly and helped him over to the examination trolley, lifting his legs up onto it and helping him to rest back.

He could hear Ron rasping for breath so he switched on the monitoring equipment, connected it and pulled an oxygen mask over Ron’s face.

‘How long have you been feeling unwell?’

‘Just … today,’ Ron wheezed.

The blood pressure cuff started to inflate. ‘Ron, are you having any chest pain?’

Ron frowned. ‘Not really. Well … maybe a little.’

Great. He’d suspected Ron wasn’t feeling great but he hadn’t responded to any of Nathan’s invitations to be checked over. Right now, he had heart attack written all over him.

Nathan looked at the reading on the monitor and opened the drug cabinet, taking out an aspirin. First line treatment for an MI. Actually—the only treatment they had on this island. Not ideal. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. ‘Here, take this.’ He handed Ron the tablet and a glass of water.

‘Not really pain.’ Ron continued. ‘Just indigestion.’

‘Indigestion? How often?’

Ron thumped the glass of water back down; even taking a sip had been an effort. ‘Every day,’ he gasped.

Nathan raised his eyebrows. ‘Ever had problems with your blood pressure?’

Ron gave a nod.

‘Does your indigestion come on when you’re working?’

Another nod.

‘Does it ever go down your arm?’

Ron’s high colour started to pale. The oxygen was finally getting into his system and his heart rate was starting to steady.

‘How bad is your indigestion today?’

‘B … bad.’

‘Feels like something is pressing on your chest?’

Nathan stood at the side of the examination trolley. He watched the monitor closely. It gave a clear tracing of Ron’s heart rate. The PQRS waves were all visible. No ST elevation. ‘The good news is you’re not having a heart attack. The bad news is you’ve probably got angina—and had it for quite a while. I’m going to give you a spray under your tongue to see if that eases the tightness across your chest.’

It only took a second to administer the spray and another few minutes for it to take effect. Nathan frowned. In a way it was a relief that angina was Ron’s problem but on an island this would be difficult. Uncontrolled angina could easily lead to a heart attack. Ron really needed to be reviewed by a cardiologist. Chances were, an angiogram would reveal blocked arteries that would need to be stented and cleared. He could just imagine how Ron would take the news. But keeping him here would be dangerous. They didn’t have the equipment that would be needed if Ron did have a heart attack. Apart from aspirin, they didn’t have any clot-busting drugs.

‘Ron, I think you probably know this isn’t indigestion you’ve been having. It looks like angina. You need a twelve-lead ECG, a cardiac echo and an angiogram—none of which we can do here.’

Ron waved his hand. ‘I can get all that when we get back to the mainland. I’ll be fine until then.’

Nathan sat down next to the examination trolley. ‘It’s too big a risk. Tell the truth, Ron; you’re having angina every time you exert yourself.’ He nodded at the monitor. ‘Your blood pressure is too high and you’re constantly out of breath. Your heart is working too hard because the blood vessels aren’t clear. You need to see a cardiologist.’

Ron shook his head. ‘Forget it. I’ll be fine.’

‘No, you won’t.’ Nathan turned at the voice. Rachel was standing at the doorway, wearing her trademark pink. This time it wasn’t a T-shirt and long shorts. This time it was a pink summer dress. She must have been down on the beach. His eyes went immediately to her painted toenails, visible in her flat jewelled sandals.

She walked over next to the trolley and put her hand in Ron’s. He met her gaze immediately. Rachel had the people-person touch. In A & E you rarely got a chance to form any kind of a relationship with your patients. Medical physicians were different. They frequently saw their patients year on year.

‘Ron, it’s time to look after yourself. This really can’t wait. Tell me honestly—how long have you been having these symptoms?’

Ron hesitated. His breathing had gradually improved. ‘A few months.’

‘Have you seen anyone about this?’

He shook his head. ‘I’ve just kept taking my blood pressure tablets.’ He gave a rueful smile. ‘I did think it was indigestion.’ He pulled a pack of a well-known brand of antacids from his pocket. ‘I’ve been going through half a packet of these a day.’

Nathan could tell that Rachel was hiding a wince behind her smile. ‘If your symptoms have been getting worse then it’s definitely time for some investigations. We don’t need to call a medevac to get you off the island, but we can arrange for you to go back by seaplane. We can arrange that for tomorrow. In the meantime I’ll give you a spray and some instructions on how to use it. I don’t want you going back to work. I want you to rest.’