A Twist of Fate Read Online Free Page A

cared to admit, raised my temper. ‘Oh, don’t give me the old “long holidays” crap. Anyway, this one wasn’t from my teacher’s salary, which is very modest. It was a present, a reward for working hard in the year.’
    â€˜The Bank of Mummy and Daddy?’
    I bristled. ‘Don’t judge me! You know nothing about me. My parents worked hard for their wealth and I’ll work hard for mine. I know I’m lucky and I don’t expect these things, but it takes all kinds in this world, you know.’ I stood up, indignant.
    He put his hands up in resignation. ‘I’m sorry. Can never resist a bit of class banter. I don’t mean nothing by it. Just like finding out about people. Come on, sit down.’
    Paul held his hand out to me to draw me down again. After a sigh, I took it and sank down next to him. My side panged and I sucked in.
    â€˜Careful.’
    I turned to him. ‘Didn’t you get hurt at all?’
    â€˜Sore ankle. Cut leg. Nothing too bad. Someone was looking out for me.’
    I laughed, then winced. My arm had been hurting for an age, but I’d tried to ignore it.
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜My arm.’ I touched it and a fierce pain raced through it.
    â€˜Let’s have a look.’
    He took hold of the sleeve of my shirt, and only then I noticed it was stained pink with blood. He lifted it with the tenderness of a brood hen. I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. Our tiff was instantly forgotten. After a searing moment where our gazes met and my belly somersaulted, he turned back to examine my arm.
    â€˜Nice gash you got there.’
    I glanced down and winced. I had an angry cut about three inches long running along my arm. It was still seeping blood a little. ‘You may need it stitching when we’re back, but we can bind it for now. Hold on.’
    He stood and jogged nimbly over to some wreckage. After scrabbling about for a while he returned with a bandage. ‘Y’see,’ he grinned. ‘We’ve got all we need. First aid kit intact.’
    Paul cleaned the wound with some saline then worked concertedly and skilfully to bind my arm. ‘It’ll have to be tight, I’m afraid.’
    His fingers were warm and assured and, as they grazed my skin, I felt an unstoppable surge of desire flaming inside me. He was so close and so hard and firm. My head swam and I was unable to take my eyes off him.
    He finished by tying off the bandage and smiling at me. ‘There you go. Good as new.’ He didn’t move his hands away, and stayed still, holding my arm tenderly yet firmly.
    I held his gaze and smiled back. He was right there, strong and sure. Would it be so bad to just … But how mad this was. All of it. I averted my gaze.
    Paul drew in a breath suddenly and turned out to look at the sea. ‘Not a bad spot really, is it? I mean, if you’re gonna be the sole survivors of an air crash, there’re worse places to end up.’
    My stomach dropped with disappointment.
    The moment was lost. Probably for the best. This was crazy. I couldn’t enter into some mad relationship on a desert island with someone I barely knew. Someone with whom I had nothing in common. Someone who was entirely wrong for me. Just because we were stuck together didn’t mean we should do anything. And there was Rupert. I was going back to Rupert, after all. I’d already made my decision.
    I focused instead on my food and took a bite of roll. It filled a gap, at least. We ate on quietly for a while.
    â€˜You should sleep. It’ll help you.’
    I was suddenly aware of being bone-achingly tired. ‘Yes, I’m utterly shattered. I’ll … umm …’ I looked vaguely at the shelter.
    â€˜You sleep in there. I’ll be alright out on the beach. I want to keep a lookout for a while longer, see if I spot anything. And I’d like to keep the fire going.’
    â€˜OK. I’ll just