Love Islands: Summer Kisses. Joanna Neil

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СКАЧАТЬ 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. СКАЧАТЬ