Paradise Calling: PREVIEW

4. Getting closer

Stiff, and with sand all over her face and hair, Caroline woke the next morning. She ached. She felt disorientated and very thirsty.

I'm still here, was her first thought. It isn't some kind of surreal dream. A small part of her had expected to wake up at home, safe in a regular bed with clean sheets and blankets and a soft pillow.

But there she was on the sand, her headmaster and his wife still sleeping just a short distance away.

Caroline got up and went to the stream. She splashed her face and rinsed her mouth out, and then drank deeply. Then she turned to see a vision of rippled bronze muscles rising out of the water.

Mr Grant.

Her teacher. She averted her eyes, or tried to. She had seen his torso the previous day and really, it should be no different than seeing some guy on the beach or at the swimming pool.

He was just so damn attractive. A perfect body and sculpted, handsome features. Her crush on him was growing to scary levels. It didn't help that he was so heroic and capable with everything.

"Morning," he greeted her with a grin. "Sleep well?"

"Deeply. You?"

"Likewise. Though by morning I could have done with a sprung mattress."

Caroline decided to go for a swim to freshen up. She had slept in her bikini and sundress, which hadn't been the most comfortable nightwear. But it was all she had, and the alternative... clearly there wasn't an alternative.

The water felt cool as she entered. She tried rubbing sand gently over her skin in lieu of soap. Seawater always dried so sticky. It was a relief to have the stream nearby to rinse it off again.

"I thought we might explore deeper into the island," Mr Grant said as Caroline returned. He handed her half of a coconut, smashed roughly open on the rocks. "I made breakfast."

Caroline laughed. It surprised her because there had been times yesterday that she had imagined never being able to laugh again. As soon as she did laugh she felt guilty. Then she thought about her parents and her mood tanked.

"You okay?" Mr Grant asked, detecting the change.

"Just thinking about people back home. You know," Caroline said.

He nodded. "I know. They're probably going through far worse fears than we are. At least we know we're safe."

"What do you think they're all doing?" Caroline asked.

"Mounting a wide land and sea rescue. It may just take time. We drifted quite some way," Mr Grant said.

"I mean back home."

"Probably in close contact with the Foreign Office for any updates. I'm sure it will have been in the news as well."

"The news?" This was a new thought for Caroline.

Andrew Grant cracked open another coconut, managing to preserve much of the liquid inside it. He offered it to Caroline who held out her half as a cup, rather than taking it all. "Undoubtedly. A cruise boat full of schoolchildren getting shipwrecked is probably a headline story."

Caroline winced inwardly at "schoolchildren". She tried to tell herself that of course he thought of her that way. She was a student, he was a teacher. To him she was just some annoying kid that he had to look out for as well as himself. She wondered how old Mr Grant was. He didn't look much more than twenty-five. He was certainly closer to her age than to Mr Ferguson's age.