He moved towards me this time, but the board tilted and rocked, and we both nearly slid into the sea. And so, balanced on our board, we just sat and gazed at each other, holding hands. We gazed for so long and with such absorption that neither of us noticed that the tide had turned. It was bird song that alerted us to the fact that we’d drifted free of the riptide and were now floating towards the shore. A breeze scented with cinnamon and nutmeg tickled my face. From the trees came the most exotic chorus – birds carolling, frogs baritoning and insects percussing in a hot hum of happy greeting.

We dragged the board up under the trees then walked along a dappled track. The jungly hills quickly gave way to a fringe of civilisation. The doctor moved at a saunter, carrying himself casually, even languidly, despite the leg blade. He hailed a battered rust bucket driving down the road and paid some locals to take us back to the jetty.

I retrieved my stashed beach bag from behind the granite boulder, peeled off my wet board shorts and rashie, and slipped a shift over my swimming costume. Brody, meanwhile, explained to the water sports staff where to find his broken windsurfer, palming them a tip.

‘What are you doing tomorrow?’ I asked him, fizzing coquettishly as we walked towards the tender. Coquettish fizzing? Really? At my age? Who was I? Pussy Galore?

‘Working, sadly.’

‘Oh, well, in that case, I think I’m going to be feeling quite sick in the morning.’

‘Ah, yes, and what ailment do you think you’ll be contracting between now and then?’ he asked with a cheeky grin.

‘I don’t know . . . a stubbed toe? Diphtheria? A vampire bite, maybe?’

As we walked along the jetty, Brody Quinn put his warm hand on my shoulder and an electric current zapped straight down my body and mowed a lightning bolt clear through my lady garden.

‘You know it’s totally unprofessional for a doctor to flirt with a patient,’ he flirted.

‘Well, I’ll just have to stop getting sick, then.’

He then ran his hand down my bare arm, so, so slowly and softly and for such a long, lingering time, that when he finally pulled away I had to check that I still had my bikini bottoms on. Even though we were now on land, I felt more at sea than ever.

Brody gave a slow, honeyed smirk. ‘Make sure you stay well, though, otherwise things will just get weird for you, me and my potential parole officer.’

After I caught my breath, I replied, ‘Sure. In fact, I seem to be feeling one hundred per cent better already.’

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