Love Islands: Summer Kisses. Joanna Neil

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      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 …

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