Rose’s eyes were closing now. In another few seconds she would be asleep. Maybe she should relieve Yannis of the burden on his shoulder. But something told her he was quite comfortable with the arrangement, and she didn’t want to speak until Rose was asleep.

They sat together in a companionable silence that was broken only by the sound of the sea close beside them below the rocky promontory. Cathy moved her gaze to her daughter, who was now peacefully sleeping with her small head cradled against Yannis’s shoulder.

Yannis saw Cathy looking anxiously at her daughter. Gently he eased the child down to a more comfortable position, cradled in the crook of his left arm. He smiled across the table, wondering why he felt so comfortable here with this mother and baby. This was what life would have been like if… If only he… No! He mustn’t torment himself by going down that road again. Just enjoy this simple, pleasurable feeling that was stealing over him—if he would let it.

He forced himself to relax again. ‘Rose is sound asleep now, Cathy, so don’t worry about her.’

She stopped herself just in time, avoiding the question she’d wanted to ask. Looking across at Yannis now, with her daughter cradled in the crook of his arm, she thought he looked like the perfect father.

Margaret Barker has enjoyed a variety of interesting careers. A State Registered Nurse and qualified teacher, she holds a degree in French and Linguistics, and is a Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music. As a full-time writer, Margaret says, ‘Writing is my most interesting career, because it fits perfectly into family life. Sadly, my husband died of cancer in 2006, but I still live in our idyllic sixteenth-century house near the East Anglian coast. Our grown-up children have flown the nest, but they often fly back again, bringing their own young families with them for wonderful weekend and holiday reunions.’

A Father

for Baby Rose

Margaret Barker

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ONE

CATHY pushed the buggy past the vibrant tavernas edging the harbour, which hummed and buzzed with early evening revellers. Little Rose, squashed against her pillows in the buggy, was leaning forward now so she could point out something of interest that she wanted Mummy to see.

Cathy put her foot on the brake and went round to the front of the buggy, smiling down at her daughter.

“What is it, darling?”

Ah, yes, now she saw it. Rose loved cats. The black and white cat was now mingling with a group of people strolling along the harbour. The nearest woman to Rose’s buggy bent down to look at the small girl.

“Kali spera,” she said to Cathy as she smiled down at her daughter. “Posseleni?”

Rose chuckled but didn’t reply to the woman who was asking her name.

“My daughter is only ten months old,” Cathy explained in Greek. “She’s called Rose.”

“Horaya!”

As the woman hurried away to catch up with her friends Cathy repeated the compliment under her breath. “Horaya!” She didn’t know whether the woman considered the name or her daughter to be beautiful but whatever it was she was right on both counts.

She paused to look up at the beautiful evening sky, not a sign of a cloud, the golden shades of the advancing twilight mingling with the seemingly endless blue that merged with the lighter colour of the sea. What a difference eighteen months had made! The last time she’d been here on the island she hadn’t even known that she was actually going to be a mother. And then when she’d found out!

She drew in her breath as she remembered the shock, horror, her awful, mixed, muddled emotional reactions. How could she have had such dreadful ideas? She swallowed hard. How different her life would be now without Rose, the centre of her universe. There would be no meaning to it at all, apart from her medical career. But even that paled into insignificance now that she was a mother.

Eighteen months ago she’d come out to Ceres to attend her cousin Tanya’s wedding, so happy to get away for a while, still licking her wounds and feeling the awful despair of another failed relationship. When Tanya had suggested she apply for the temporary appointment of doctor that would be available when she and her husband Manolis went on honeymoon, she’d jumped at the chance.

But two weeks later, back at home in Leeds, discovering she was pregnant had changed everything. She still had to suffer the awful pangs of despair at the fact that Dave had gone back to a wife she hadn’t known existed. Coupled with the morning sickness that had set in with a vengeance, she’d withdrawn her application for the temporary post at Ceres hospital.

When Rose had been a few months old Tanya had phoned to say she and Manolis were taking a six-month sabbatical from Ceres hospital to work in Australia and there would be a vacant post for her if she wanted to apply. She’d got a second chance! Tanya had asked if she would like to stay in their house and she’d even arranged child care for Rose. She could make a fresh start at last and concentrate on her number one priority, Rose.

Looking down at her beautiful daughter, she could feel her heart lifting at the thought that they were going to be fine out here. Life was beginning to take shape again.

Involuntarily, she increased her stride, now desperate to get away from the evening crowds by the harbour, yearning for the peace and calm of the next bay where all would be quiet and she could sit down at a table outside the final taverna, which she remembered from the times her mother had taken her there as a child was always quiet.

She needed to watch the sun setting whilst chatting to Rose in Greek or English as her own mother had done with her. It didn’t matter which. Rose was learning both languages as she had when her mother had brought her here every holiday to “pick up Greek” from her cousins and the children she played with.

Later, while at medical school, she’d taken Greek lessons with a private tutor who’d helped her sort out the grammar and linguistic rules. He had also been a retired Greek doctor, which had been a help when she’d made sure she was conversant with Greek medical terminology. She’d always hoped she might have a chance to use it. Never had she thought things would turn out as they had!

The buggy was rattling alarmingly now and not just the gentle groaning of an ancient model that should have been scrapped long ago. She tried to ignore it as she pushed hard against the rough cobblestones. Seconds later it ground to a jolting halt. What now?

She hadn’t wanted to borrow it from Grandma Anna’s vast array of baby equipment because it had obviously seen years of service. But Anna had been very persuasive, telling her that it would be difficult to get a taxi down from Chorio, the upper town, to Yialos, the area around the harbour. The hourly bus would be overcrowded and with standing room only. Much better to push Rose in the buggy down the Kali Strata.

Cathy knelt down to take a look at the loose wheel that was now firmly stuck in a deep crevice in the cobblestones. Rose leaned over the side and stroked Cathy’s long blond hair as she struggled to extricate the wheel, gurgling all the while, obviously desperate to communicate her own thoughts on the situation!

“Can I help you?”

The deep masculine voice startled her. She adjusted her sunglasses as she squinted up at the tall figure outlined in the dying rays of the low-lying sun.

“Oh, it’s you! For a moment I hadn’t recognised you in…in your er…casual gear, Dr Karavolis.”

“Please call me Yannis.”

That wasn’t what he’d said that afteroon when she’d disturbed him whilst he’d been operating in Theatre! His eyes above the mask had carried a definite expression of irritation as she’d pushed open the swing door, taken a peek and then hurried away.

Holding onto the buggy handle, she stood up so as not to feel inferior to Dr Karavolis for the second time in one day. Tanya had told her when she’d been contemplating coming out to work at the Ceres hospital that she might find Yannis Karavolis difficult to understand on a personal level. She’d explained that his wife had died in a tragic accident over three years ago and he didn’t seem to have yet recovered. He was an excellent doctor, apparently, but made no effort to socialise.

“Let me take a look at that wheel.”

He bent down just as she was standing up and she felt his arm accidentally brush the side of her breast as she attempted to rise from her crouching position as elegantly as possible. For a second it startled her, the feel of a man’s arm against her body. The hint of masculine scent as he crouched down. She had thought she was now totally immune to instant attraction. But she couldn’t ignore the heightening of her senses, the excitement of being in close contact with a man, the probably imagined increase in her pulse rate.

Heavens above! She would have to get out more so that she could apply her new rules to every encounter with the opposite sex. She’d had her fingers burned so many times before that she wasn’t going to ever—repeat, ever—take another chance with a man. However handsome—and Dr Karavolis was decidedly handsome from where she was now standing. If she wasn’t now so world weary and experienced she might have considered a little dalliance with this man who’d literally just dropped by so suddenly.

Rose was now giggling, having stuck out a chubby, dimpled hand to grasp a clump of the helpful doctor’s thick black hair.

Cathy, glanced anxiously down at the crouching Yannis. Their eyes met. For a moment she felt a definite flutter of excitement. Yes, that’s what it was. Just a simple flutter but enough to make her think that this man must have been quite something in his younger days; before tragedy had turned him into a working zombie.

It was a good thing that she’d given up on the difficult male species or she might at that fleeting moment have found herself advancing her embryonic ideas into something exciting.

His eyes were dark brown, sultry, vulnerable. She’d had time to notice that before he bent down once more to his task.

“Gently, Rose,” Cathy said in Greek. “You must be careful not to hurt Dr Karavolis”

Rose giggled on, completely ignoring her mother’s instructions.

“You’re teaching your daughter Greek? That’s good.”

“Oh, she’ll pick it up like I had to when I came out here for holidays and my cousin Tanya and all the other children used to make fun of me. I soon learned out of self-preservation, I can tell you.”

Yannis gave one more tug at the wheel and removed it from the deeply sunken crevice between the cobblestones.

“Here’s the wheel, but unfortunately it’s come unstuck from the buggy,” he said, gravely. He pulled himself to his full height, holding the wheel in one hand and making sure the buggy remained upright with the other.

Cathy looked up at him. “Well, er…thank you, anyway. I suppose…”

“Look, I was just going to have a drink and watch the sunset so…”

“Great minds think alike. I mean, we were just…”

“Please, why don’t you join me?”

He couldn’t imagine why he’d just said that! Company was the last thing he needed after his long, tiring day at the hospital. Especially another doctor…and a child…

“Both of us?”

He took a deep breath. “Well, we can hardly ask Rose to sit it out in her broken pushchair.”

He was already unbuckling the seat belt and lifting the delighted baby up into his arms. Something about the way he held her daughter told Cathy he adored babies, children in general.

She wondered, fleetingly, if he had children being looked after by a doting grandmother back in Athens, which Tanya had told her had been where he’d been working before he’d come here. Better not ask. She didn’t want to upset the fragile ambience that was building up between them.

Carefully holding Rose, whose fingers, had now transferred from his hair to his ears, he pushed the wrecked pushchair to the side of the path and led the way to the taverna that occupied the rocky peninsula at the beginning of this quiet bay.

The owner came out to the table Yannis had selected, beaming all over his face. He was carrying two glasses half-full of colourless liquid.

“I saw you struggling with that buggy,” he said in Greek. “You need a drink, ghiatro.”

So, the owner knew Yannis was a doctor. Probably this was Yannis’s hideaway when he was off duty, searching for solitude.

“Efharisto, Michaeli.” Yannis proceeded to introduce Cathy as Dr Catherine Meredith.

So Yannis had found the time between operations to check that she’d signed in with the admin department today. Otherwise she doubted whether her arrival on the island had registered with him. Certainly, no one had been expecting her to turn up unannounced today. The staff in the small admin department had told her she was expected to start work tomorrow but she could have a look around if she wanted to. That had been when she’d made her solitary tour of the hospital and barged into Theatre.

She picked up her glass. Realising the clear liquid was ouzo, Cathy decided to ask Michaelis for some water to dilute it. “Nero, parakalor.”

“You’re sure you’re happy with ouzo?” Yannis asked as Michaelis disappeared inside the taverna to get the water.

She smiled. “When in Rome…or rather on Ceres…it’s best to go with the flow. I prefer wine but I don’t want to hurt Michaelis’s feelings. He obviously knows you very well.”

“Oh, yes, we go back a long way. I’ve got a house further along this bay, on the shoreline near Nimborio. This is my bolt hole at the end of the day.”

“I thought it might be.”

Michaelis brought a bottle of water. Yannis, expertly holding the tired child against his shoulder, leaned across and topped up Cathy’s glass.

“Thank you.”

He raised his glass towards her. “Yamas!”

“Yamas!”

Rose’s eyes were closing now. In another few seconds she would be asleep. Maybe she should relieve him of the burden on his shoulder. But something told her he was quite comfortable with the arrangement and she didn’t want to speak until Rose was asleep.

They sat together in companionable silence that was broken only by the sound of the sea close beside them below the rocky promontory. Cathy found her eyes, protected by her sunglasses, drawn towards the sun that was slipping slowly behind the mountain, casting a shadow over their table. She moved her gaze to her daughter, who was now peacefully sleeping with her small head cradled against Yannis’s shoulder.

Yannis saw Cathy looking anxiously at her daughter. Gently he eased the child down to a more comfortable position, cradled in the crook of his left arm. He smiled across the table, wondering why he felt so comfortable here with this mother and baby. It was a whole new experience and not something he’d expected to enjoy like this. He could feel it soothing his jangled nerves.

This was what life would have been like if…if only he… No! He mustn’t torment himself by going down that road again. Just enjoy this simple, pleasurable feeling that was stealing over him—if he would let it.

He forced himself to relax again. “Rose is sound asleep now, Cathy, so don’t worry about her. Would you prefer a glass of wine?”

“Well, only if…”

He tipped his ouzo glass and finished the fiery liquid in one swift gulp. “So would I.”

Usually he sat, watching the sunset, sipping his ouzo slowly before ordering supper and a glass of wine, always reminding himself that he needed a clear head for his work the following morning. He’d no idea where this reckless feeling had come from but he was suddenly feeling in party mood. It had been a long time since he’d felt like this.

Michaelis, who was obviously watching from his seat just inside the door, came hurrying across and after a discussion about whether the wine was to be red or white he disappeared again, bringing out a tray with a selection of mezes and a bottle of white wine.

“We Greeks usually like to eat something if we’re drinking wine,” Yannis explained, pointing out the different small dishes of taramasalata, squid, calamari and olives. “But, then, you’ve obviously spent a lot of time in the Greek community so I don’t need to tell you all this. I vaguely remember meeting you at Tanya and Manolis’s wedding. So you’re Tanya’s cousin?”

“Yes, our mothers were sisters. My mother was keen to bring me over to Ceres after her sister married Dr Sotiris and came to live out here. Every holiday she would bring me here so that I could learn the language and absorb the Greek culture. I’d always hoped that one day I would have the opportunity to come and work out here.”

Yannis leaned across the table and poured more wine into Cathy’s glass. She’d hardly touched the ouzo but seemed to be enjoying the wine.

“I didn’t know you were planning to start a family when I last saw you.”

Cathy raised an eyebrow. “Neither did I! I’d just ended a relationship and didn’t know I was pregnant. Tanya had just suggested I apply for the temporary four-week post they needed to fill at the hospital while she and Manolis were away on honeymoon. I’d decided I’d go for it, but when I found I was pregnant I withdrew my application.

“Difficult, I imagine. I’m sorry the relationship ended.”

“I’m not! It was far too complicated. But I can’t imagine life without my wonderful daughter. She’s the most special thing that’s ever happened to me. Did you…?”

She stopped herself just in time to avoid the question she’d wanted to ask. Looking across at Yannis now, with her daughter cradled in the crook of his arm, he looked like the perfect father.

He filled the awkward silence that ensued. “You were going to ask if my wife and I had children, weren’t you?”

She cringed inwardly. “Well…”

“The answer is no. It…it wasn’t to be.”

He’d managed to refer to that most poignant period of his life without faltering and that was a step in the right direction. He hadn’t told the whole truth but that would be a step too far. He couldn’t bring himself to even think about it.

Taking a sip of his wine, he tried to blot out everything that had happened on that fateful day when his life had changed for ever. He put the glass down on the table. Looking across at the sympathetic expression on Cathy’s face, he suddenly found his tongue loosening as if he was in an involuntary state of relaxation.

“My wife was killed in a car crash.” He didn’t need to say anything more but the guilt that always rose up inside him when he thought about the circumstances surrounding her death—which was often—was nagging him to confess more to this obviously sympathetic colleague.

“I often wonder…” He paused. He didn’t need to go on. He didn’t need to torment himself further. “I often wonder if I could have prevented it.”

There, he’d said it out loud; revealed the horrible nightmare that returned over and over again when he reviewed what had happened.

The child stirred against him. In some ways he found the small body tucked against the crook of his arm very comforting. His thoughts returned to the present situation. He waited for the agony of his confession to make him feel awful but he felt strangely comforted to have shared this with Cathy— and the sleeping baby, although, thank goodness, the little mite couldn’t hear him.

Cathy was simply looking across the table with a bewildered expression on her lovely face as she stretched out her hand towards him. With his free hand he took hold of Cathy’s and felt a sympathetic, most welcome squeeze of her fingers. Something like an electric shock—a pleasant one—travelled up his arm.

For a few seconds they remained like that, simply looking at each other. She thought she could discern the tears that threatened behind his eyes but doubted that he’d ever allowed them to fall since whatever dreadful tragedy had taken place. She could tell this man was made of stern stuff. Strong backbone, wouldn’t give in to self-pity but also found it hard to communicate the grief that was holding him back from getting on with a normal life.

Yannis took his hand away and leaned back in his chair, taking care not to disturb Rose. “I’m sorry to talk about the car crash like this. I’ve never discussed it with anybody before. I can’t think why…”

“Maybe you should.”

“Should what?” He looked alarmed.

“Discuss it with somebody. Me, for a start. It always helps if you talk a problem over with somebody.”

He was silent as he thought of all the aspects of the tragedy surrounding Maroula’s death. No, he couldn’t discuss it openly with this woman he hardly knew. He shouldn’t even have got so close to her that he felt he could trust her with his feelings. He couldn’t think what had come over him. In a way it was a betrayal of trust to Maroula’s memory. What had happened was part of his life with his wife and no one else. And yet…

“You don’t have to discuss it with me,” Cathy said. “It’s entirely up to you. I would, however, be the soul of discretion so if you ever think it would help you to…”

“Thanks, I’ll remember that.”

His tone was firm, final, signifying they should move on. He was already regretting the fact that he’d allowed himself to talk about his beloved Maroula with someone he hardly knew. Discussing his feelings of guilt—something he’d never spoken about out loud before—wasn’t going to bring her back.

Anyway, he was settled in his bachelor ways now. The future was mapped out and he didn’t want to become close enough to any other person to allow them to break through the emotional barrier he’d erected around himself. He needed to retreat behind his safe barrier again. Back to Maroula. He was being unfaithful to her memory, something he’d vowed would never happen.

Little Rose wriggled in Yannis’s arms, rubbing her chubby fists against her eyes before she opened them and stared up at him. A big smile spread across her face.

Cathy stood up and moved round the table, holding out her arms towards her daughter.

Rose lifted her arms towards Cathy.

Yannis couldn’t help smiling as he handed over the little girl. “There you go, Rose. What a good little girl you’ve been.”

Michaelis came out of the taverna to see if he could get something for the baby.

“I’ve got some fruit juice in her baby cup,” Cathy said, sitting down once more on her seat, baby on one arm as she searched through her shoulder-bag. “Here it is.”

Rose was already halfway across the table, reaching for a piece of calamari and dunking it into the taramasalata.

“Bravo!” Yannis said. “Rose is hungry.”

“She loves calamari, as you can see.” Cathy wiped a paper napkin round her daughter’s face to remove some of the taramasalata. Rose pushed her mother’s hand away as she savoured the delicious taste in her mouth.

“I’ve prepared some lamb souvlaki on the barbecue,” Michaelis said, looking enquiringly from Yannis to Cathy. “Shall I bring them now?”

The lamb kebabs were delicious. Rose sucked on a tiny piece of tender meat then gummed it for a little while before depositing it on Cathy’s plate.

“She likes to try everything.”

Yannis smiled. “That’s good. By the time you’ve been here—remind me, how long is it you’re working at the hospital?”

“Six months. Tanya and Manolis have been offered a six-month sabbatical, if you remember.”

“Yes, yes. I remember signing your contract now. You were interviewed in London, I remember. Manolis has put me in charge of the day-to-day running of the medical and surgical side of the hospital while he’s away but I leave the paperwork to our efficient administration team. I knew you were coming in to work tomorrow but when you arrived briefly in Theatre this morning I couldn’t think who you were. Sorry if I was less than welcoming. I was in the middle of a difficult operation and—’

“Oh, please. I hadn’t realised that the theatre was in use. My fault.”

“I’ll take time to show you around tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

Rose was now crushing a potato chip against her mouth before opening it and demolishing it with her four tiny white teeth. She wiped her hands over her blond curly hair and grinned happily.

“I think it’s time for me to take Rose home,” Cathy said, reaching for another paper napkin. “I’ve got the numbers of the taxi drivers in my mobile so I’ll see who’s free to come and get us.”

The brief twilight had faded already, she noticed as she punched in the first number on her list. That number was engaged. She tried the next on the list and was lucky this time.

“Theo will be with us in ten minutes,” she said as she closed her mobile.

“Good. I’m glad you’re not going to attempt to walk back. I’ll take your buggy home with me and ask Petros, the man who helps me in the garden, to see if he can mend it. He can mend most things.”

Except broken hearts, Cathy thought as she smiled her thanks. It was so obvious to her that Yannis’s heart would need a lot of tender loving care from a good woman. She certainly wasn’t the person to do it because she needed to keep her own life on track. Whoever took on the mending of Yannis’s heart would have a difficult job breaking down the barriers he’d built around himself.

She reminded herself firmly that whatever it was that that Yannis needed, she shouldn’t feel obliged to try and provide it. After all, she was always the one left wanting when she was barrelled into trying to smooth things along for people. Besides which, she wasn’t here to get too involved with another man, let alone a colleague she was going to have to work intimately with for the next six months.

Out loud she told Yannis that she didn’t think Grandma Anna would need the pushchair for a while.

“Rose is her youngest baby at the moment. Tanya told me she was getting withdrawal symptoms now that they were taking baby Jack over to Australia. Anna told me today she’s lost count of how many babies she’s cared for over the years.”

“She’s an amazing woman. But you must still find it hard, being a single parent and working full time as a doctor.”

“I’m very lucky. In England, my mother takes care of Rose when I’m working and here I’ve got Anna. I wanted to spend a short time away from Rose today to see how she would get on with Anna. She absolutely adores her already so I won’t have to worry about her when I’m working.”

“So why did you want to bring Rose out with you this evening?”

“I wanted to spend some quality time with her. Every mother’s guilt trip, I suppose. Working away from home and leaving her baby in the care of someone else.”

Yannis swallowed hard. “Guilt is a terrible affliction. We all suffer from it at times.”

She saw the worried look on his handsome face and wished she could conjure up that wonderful smile he’d had just a short time ago. She’d noticed the flash of his strong white teeth, the curve of his full, sensuous lips, the vulnerable expression in his dark, brooding, brown eyes.

She gave herself another mental talking-to. She wasn’t in the dating market any more. Neither, it seemed, was Yannis— wise man! Never again! Not after the disastrous relationships she’d suffered over the years. Life was going to be very good if she avoided meaningful relationships.

“I think this is your taxi coming along the coast road.”

She gathered Rose up into her arms. “Kali nichta, Yannis,”

“Kali nichta, Cathy. I…” He hesitated. “I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow.”

CHAPTER TWO

CATHY waited until she could hear Rose breathing that easy, steady rhythmic way that usually indicated her daughter was well and truly out for the count—for a few hours anyway. Barefoot, she walked backwards so she could keep an eye on her daughter, just in case she’d misjudged the situation.

She propped open the door then looked back to make sure she’d put the teddy-bear books that Rose loved so much at the end of her cot, where she would see them if she woke up early. With any luck, as had happened a few times recently back home in England, she just might become entranced by one of the pictures and give her sleeping mother a few more minutes of blissful oblivion.

Was she being over-cautious, over-anxious, over the top in her solitary state as a single parent? If she had a husband or lover waiting in bed for her now, would she be taking so much time? That would depend on the man in question. Sitting down at her dressing table, she confronted the image of an exhausted, sleep-deprived thirty-one-year-old mum with developing crow’s feet at the corners of her tired blue eyes.

What an evening! she told herself as she wiped off the bronzer that she’d applied earlier in the evening so as not to frighten the tourists with her unseasonal pallor. It may only be April but out here on Ceres the season was already in full swing following the Easter festivities, and there were lots of healthy-looking people tramping over the hills and lying on the beaches.

She’d never imagined that she would end the day in the company of Yannis Karavolis who, although technically in charge of the hospital, hadn’t seemed to know who she was when she’d arrived. She’d obviously been infinitely forgettable when she’d met him eighteen months ago at Tanya’s wedding, whereas he… She felt embarrassed now that she’d been attracted to him as soon as she’d seen him skulking— perhaps that wasn’t the word, more kind of hiding—in the kitchen so he wouldn’t have to mingle with the revellers.

She’d split up with Dave two weeks before, and had already been licking her wounds and vowing never to get interested in a man again. But there had been something appealing about Yannis tonight. His total vulnerability. His obvious unshakeable devotion to his deceased wife. Tanya had just told her about his wife’s tragic death, she remembered.

She realised now that if she were to fancy him—which she didn’t…well, no, she mustn’t! But if she were to even think of him as sexy, which he was, handsome, interesting to be with, yes, but only when he wasn’t thinking about his wife.

Now, that would be the obstacle. Yannis’s total obsession with the unattainable. His wife was dead, but yet, in his mind, she obviously lived on, set on a pedestal where nothing and nobody could ever replace her. So in a way, if anybody did try to take her down from the pedestal, somebody—not herself, oh, no! But just supposing she were to allow her feelings of attraction towards Yannis to develop into…

But she wasn’t going to! However, if she hadn’t decided never to have a meaningful relationship or even a fling with another man she just might, having imagined herself to be attracted to Yannis, forget her single-woman plan and have another go at romance.

She picked up the hairbrush and brushed her hair vigorously. It would be a stupid thing to do but she was renowned for making stupid decisions—or rather non-decisions, drifting into disastrous situations that started out as fun and ended in tears.

And this hypothetical idea that she’d just dreamed up would most certainly end in tears! The goddess-like wife would always be there with them. And Cathy had played second fiddle long enough. Dave had told her he was separated from his wife and waiting for the divorce to come through. And idiot that she was, she’d believed him. The long business trips abroad he’d had to make away from her! She hadn’t questioned them because she had been in love and, therefore, that meant she trusted him implicitly.

What an idiot she could be! For a whole year she’d believed everything he’d told her. She’d been taken in by every single lie he’d told her.

It was the truth she couldn’t believe!

That awful Saturday morning when he’d turned up and announced his divorce wasn’t going through as planned. Well…sheepish expression on his face…to be honest, they hadn’t got around to planning it. Actually, he was still theoretically living at home. He and his wife had decided they were going to make a go of it. Purely for the sake of the kids, you know. His wife didn’t know about Cathy so he’d be truly grateful if she would keep it that way.

Mind you, if it were up to him…blah, blah, blah… She’d stopped listening to him by this time as she remembered the lonely Christmas she’d spent because he’d told her he had to go and stay with his sick mother. The numerous weekends when he’d had to fly away on business.

She put down the hairbrush and stared into the mirror again, this time seeing the face of a very gullible woman who never learned by her mistakes. But at least this time she’d learned. It would be the same kind of scenario if she chose to have any kind of dalliance with Yannis Karavolis. She would play second fiddle again to the perfect wife who could do no wrong. Yannis’s wife may not be with them in the flesh but she would certainly be with them in spirit.

She forced herself to grin at the picture of desolation she posed in the mirror. “Don’t take yourself so seriously,” she told herself. “It’s not as if you’re remotely attracted to the man so the situation isn’t going to arise.”

And with that she crawled between the cool sheets and tried to fall asleep. The fact that she tossed and turned for half the night was put down to the fact that she was suffering from jet-lag. Towards dawn she decided to get up and finish unpacking and sorting out her bedroom. At the first squeak from Rose she was in there, smiling welcomingly at her daughter, reaching out her arms for a cuddle.

* * *

In his bedroom overlooking the wide inlet of moonlit sea in Nimborio bay, Yannis was also finding it hard to sleep. He hadn’t expected to enjoy the evening when he’d invited Cathy and her little daughter Rose to join him for a drink. He’d certainly never envisaged they would all have supper together. And now it was time to admit to himself that he hadn’t felt so alive since before Maroula had died.

He flung the sheet away from him. It was too hot to be covered tonight. He ran a hand down the side of his naked body as he experienced a feeling of strength flowing through him. It was a good feeling, but the feeling was also tinged with confusion. Was it guilt, this awful feeling now that he shouldn’t be able to enjoy life without Maroula? He supposed it was. He didn’t really think he deserved to enjoy himself like that in the company of an unattached young woman.

It wasn’t as if he’d flirted with her, because he hadn’t. But she might have misinterpreted his friendliness as an ulterior motive, mightn’t she? She might have thought he fancied her in a sexual way. Well, actually, if he was truly honest with himself, he did! And that was something he couldn’t hide from himself.

That was another thing he’d discovered tonight. Looking across at Cathy, who was undoubtedly very attractive, he’d felt himself almost if not actually, physically moved. And that hadn’t happened since Maroula had died. He’d made sure that if he was in the company of an attractive woman he held a tight rein on his sexual emotions.

He’d lived like a monk for over three years. But tonight he’d felt himself drawn towards Cathy in a way that he couldn’t dismiss. Was it because he sensed that she was also trying to survive, that she was vulnerable like he was? He was attracted by her beauty, her warmth, her forthrightness and the fact that because she was a stranger she had the distance needed to be able to ask direct questions.

Whatever it was, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from allowing these long-lost feelings deep down inside him to come back.

But should he let them? Hadn’t he vowed that Maroula was his lifelong soul-mate? She was no longer here but he was. And what about all the promises he’d made after she’d died? He was going to make it up to her. She’d been cut off unnecessarily in her prime and he’d pledged to spend the rest of his life devoted to her memory.

He found himself beginning to get drowsy at long last. His last thoughts as he drifted off were about how he would love to have Cathy beside him here in his bed. Because his wicked physical longings were becoming unbearable. He doubted he would be able to resist the temptation of her wonderful seductive body. The trouble was that if he gave in he would never be able to forgive himself.

* * *

Cathy hurried down the Kali Strata, aware that she wouldn’t be able to reach the hospital in time. Having hardly slept all night, she’d spent too much time giving Rose breakfast, washing and dressing her, playing with her and finally taking her to Anna’s house.

Breathlessly she hurried into the hospital. A flash of recognition registered on the receptionist’s face as she leaned forward.

“Dr Karavolis would like to see you in his office, Dr Meredith.”

Cathy smiled. At least she was expected today. “Thank you. Which way…?”

The receptionist pointed. “Straight along the corridor. It’s the last door you come to.”

As she hurried down the long corridor, Cathy wondered if Yannis had chosen to be right at the end so that he would have a quiet bolt hole when he needed it.

“Come in!”

She pushed open the door. Yannis was seated at a large, imposing desk, staring at a computer screen. He stood up and came round the desk, taking one of the two armchairs and indicating she should sit in the other.

She sat down, wondering why she was feeling so awkward now. Was it that she’d fantasised about him so much in the night and now, seeing this tired-looking man with the serious face, she was realising that she’d misjudged the situation completely? They’d simply had a drink together and eaten some food because they’d been hungry. End of story, thank goodness!

“Did you get home all right last night?” he asked gravely.

“Yes, the taxi took me to the end of the street. How about you?”

“I live very near Michaelis’s taverna. A short walk. I asked Petros, my gardener, to collect your buggy this morning and see if he could mend it.”

Silence, the ticking of a clock in the background, the hum of the computer. Cathy cleared her throat. “Where would you like me to start work today?”

He picked up a file from his desk. “I’ve mapped out your duties, which will vary from day to day. All the information you should need is in here. Today we have an open clinic in Outpatients. I’ve alerted the midwife who’s working in the obstetrics section that you’ll be joining her shortly. She’ll be delighted to see you. Women doctors are always popular with our obstetric patients and at the moment one of our ladies is on maternity leave. Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of medical staff at the moment so there’s plenty of back-up. It’s later in the tourist season that we begin to find ourselves short-staffed. April is a good month to start—apart from Easter.”

“What went wrong at Easter?”

For a moment she saw him relax his tight facial muscles and a hint of a smile appeared on his decidedly sexy lips. She felt a pang of interest once more. Something she shouldn’t be feeling as she listened to Dr Karavolis explaining the workings of the hospital.

“What didn’t go wrong?” He stretched out his long legs in front of him as he visibly relaxed.

She couldn’t help noticing the expensive cut of his lightweight suit. The silk-lined jacket was hung over the back of his desk chair and the trousers he was wearing were just tight enough to make him look sexy even though the suit was of a formal design.

She waited for him to elaborate. “Easter celebrations on Ceres last more than a week. Fireworks are set off at every opportunity, and as you know they can cause havoc. Our casualty department was dealing with injuries on a round-the-clock basis.”

He stood up, possibly to signify that it was time to start work. She clutched her file as she moved towards the door.

“I’ll come along to see you during the course of the morning,” he said as he reached ahead of her to open the door.

She smiled up at him as he held the door open. “Thank you…er…Thank you.”

Her hesitation was because she’d no idea what she should call him when they were on duty so she moved swiftly away, back towards Reception.

She could feel a quickening of her pulse rate. Was he going to have this effect on her when they were actually working together? If so, she’d have to get a grip on her emotions.

Yannis remained with the door open, watching Cathy walking away. He’d managed to maintain a professional attitude, which he intended to maintain while on duty. But he had no idea how he was going to handle off-duty situations. He could, of course, make sure that he didn’t meet up with her again in an off-duty situation. But having experienced the warmth of an evening spent with Cathy and Rose, he didn’t think that was an option. He would just have to be careful when he was with them and not allow the situation to get out of hand.

He closed the door and returned to his computer, staring at the list of surgical operations he had to schedule. It was a long time since he’d felt emotionally confused like this and it was playing havoc with his concentration.

Yannis’s decision to be careful came almost at the same time as Cathy got a similar idea firmly fixed in her mind. She was now following the sign above the corridor directing her to Outpatients. Having found the obstetrics section, she was immediately introduced to the midwife in charge.

Sister Maria welcomed her warmly as she went into the treatment room and explained the case history of the patient she was looking after. Cathy smiled down at the patient as she listened.

“Ariadne is a model patient,” Maria said in Greek.

The patient smiled. “Only if you say so, Sister.”

Cathy looked down at Ariadne. “I hope you don’t mind me coming in halfway through the examination. I’m Cathy Meredith, very new here, but I spent a lot of time in Obstetrics when I was working in an English hospital.”

“Your Greek is very good, Doctor.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time over here and I have Greek cousins who made fun of me so much when I was a child that I had no option but to pick up as much Greek as I could.”

Maria and Ariadne laughed and there was a good, friendly feel between all of them. Cathy always liked to break the ice when she was working. Tense patients were more difficult to take care of.

A young nurse came hurrying into the room, requesting the immediate attention of Sister Maria in the next cubicle. Maria excused herself.

“These are Ariadne’s notes, Cathy, and she understands everything that’s going on. She used to be a nurse before she started her family.”

“Would you like to tell me about your family, Ariadne?” Cathy asked, glancing briefly at the notes.

“These twins will be numbers four and five in the family,” Ariadne said, unable to hide the pride she was feeling as she patted her sizeable bump. “We intended to have four children but we were both delighted when I found out we were expecting twins. The more the merrier, my husband says. He wheeled me into hospital and then he went to do some shopping for me. He’ll be back soon. I’m not allowed to drive any more and I have to use a wheelchair outside home.”

Cathy glanced briefly at the case notes again. “Ariadne, tell me about the day you discovered you had symphysis pubis. It says in the notes that it was a sudden realisation. What actually happened?”

“I’d had a busy day, got the children to bed, cooked supper and then sat at the table with my husband, who’d just got back from a business meeting. He told me to sit still and let him wait on me during the meal. I suppose I was probably sitting for about half an hour. Then, as I stood up and tried to take a step I felt my pelvic bones split open. It was excrutiating. Thank goodness, Demetrius was with me! He got me straight into hospital and they gave me strong painkillers.”

“It’s a condition that’s not uncommon in women carrying more than one baby, Ariadne,” Cathy said in a sympathetic tone. “Especially among those who’ve had a number of births in a short period of time like you have with your first three children. So, I see you were referred to our orthopaedic specialist, who made the diagnosis.”

“It was such a relief to find out what was happening. I felt as if somebody had put a sword inside me. I will recover, won’t I, Cathy?”

“Yes, you will. Your ligaments, which stretch naturally during pregnancy and childbirth, have become too loose to hold the pelvis together. But you were given steroid injections, which tighten everything up, weren’t you? And I expect you were told to rest.”

“I didn’t move! I don’t go out any more except for my hospital appointment once a week. My mother lives nearby and my husband tries to work from home as much as possible.”

“Well, you seem to be doing all the right things. I see your twins are due in July.”

“It can’t come quick enough for any of us! I’ve been told I’ll be delivered by Caesarean section.”

“Yes. A natural birth would put too much strain on the pelvis. But the policy here at Ceres hospital is for operations of this nature to be transferred to the larger hospital on Rhodes. Minor operations are scheduled in for our hospital but most major ones are taken care of in Rhodes.”

“I’ve already discussed this with Dr Karavolis and requested that I have the Caesarean here, Cathy. I know it’s serious but he’s going to make an exception in my case. Because I’m a trained nurse and I know the risks, I also know the qualifications Dr Karavolis has in surgery and I’m sure I’ll be safe in his hands. This hospital is equipped with everything required, including an excellent surgical team. The specialist I’ve been seeing over on Rhodes has also agreed to this because he knows just how desperately I want my twins to be born on my beloved island.”

Cathy smiled as she secretly admired her patient’s positive attitude to her condition. “In that case, I’ll try to be with you at the birth.”

“Thank you. I’d like that very much.”

Sister Maria arrived back, saying she was going to take Ariadne for her scan.

Maria handed Cathy another set of case notes referring to the patient in the next cubicle. Cathy moved on, scanning the notes as she went. Tatiana, her next patient, was being treated by weekly injections of a new anti-miscarriage drug.

Before giving the injection Cathy asked her patient if she’d had any side effects.

Tatiana smiled. “Nothing at all to worry about. I was so pleased when the doctor suggested he would like to try this new drug. I’ve had three miscarriages and I’m so anxious not to lose this one.”

After giving the injection, Cathy turned round to put the kidney dish back on her trolley.

Yannis was standing in the doorway, watching her. “How are you getting on?”

No smile, no sign that they were anything but medical colleagues. Exactly how it should be, Cathy thought, ignoring the confused feelings inside her.

“Fine!”

“I’d like to take you up to Theatre before I start on my list. I may not have time to show you around before I need you to assist me some time in the near future so I’ve told Sister Maria I’d like to take you away from Outpatients for a short time.”

He moved into the cubicle and smiled down at the patient. “Looks like you’re going to be fourth time lucky with this baby, Tatiana. I had a word with your obstetrician over on Rhodes after your last appointment there and he’s very pleased with your progress.”

Tatiana beamed up at the handsome doctor. “I won’t have to go over to Rhodes for the birth, will I? I’d much prefer to be here.”

“Unless some complication develops, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be delivered here.”

“My husband’s already planning the celebration. You’re invited, of course, Dr Yannis. You were the one who suggested I should go over to Rhodes and see this doctor who specialises in women who’ve miscarried. I understand that he’s also a friend of yours.”

“Yes, he was at medical school with me…a long time ago.” Yannis swung round. “Must go. Take care of yourself and that precious baby, Tatiana.”

Cathy increased her speed to keep in step with Yannis as they went down the corridor together. His face was solemn again, but she was glad she’d noticed the easy, friendly manner he adopted with the patients.

Tatiana had been obviously delighted to see him. Patients and staff alike seemed to regard him as a heart-throb, from what Tanya had told her before she’d gone off to Australia. But Yannis seemed totally oblivious to the effect he had on the opposite sex.

“I thought it would be a good idea for you to familiarise yourself with our operating theatres before you’re called on to work there. I’ve checked up on your CV and found you’ve had considerable experience in surgery.”

“Yes, I was fortunate to have a lot of experience in my early career. I toyed with the idea of specialising at one point but decided to gain wider experience so that I could possibly train as a GP after I’d settled down and had a family.”

He turned to look down at Cathy, realising for the first time that he was walking too quickly—as often happened when he was nervous. And he was nervous now. Cathy had that effect on him. He’d no idea why—well, he had, but now wasn’t a good time to dwell on it.

“So you always intended to settle down and have a family?” He slowed his pace to a halt so that he could take a proper look at the attractive woman beside him.

She smiled up at him, relieved that he’d called a halt. “I never actually made any firm decisions about anything in my early career. Things just sort of happened and I went along with the flow. I always wanted to be a doctor but…what kind?” She spread out her hands in front of him. “That changed as I went along, always becoming enthusiastic about the project I was on at the moment and…”

“That’s good! To be enthusiastic about your job, I mean.”

He couldn’t help admiring the way her clear blue eyes shone when she found a subject that interested her.

“Not unless you end up as a kind of jack of all trades, master of none.”

“I think you underestimate your career progress so far,” he said quietly as he decided he really should make the effort to move on.

“You’ve got a wealth of experience, which will come in useful in a hospital like ours. Here on the island we have a certain amount of autonomy. In emergencies we have to take decisions whether to operate on a dangerously ill patient or to have him or her transferred over to the bigger hospital in Rhodes. If time is against us or if, due to adverse weather conditions, the helicopter ambulance is grounded, we have to go ahead with the necessary surgery here.”

A couple of nurses had just passed by, giving them inquisitive glances. He didn’t want to give any cause for tongues to start wagging. “As far as I can see, you’ve steered a steady course since you qualified, gaining a great deal of valuable experience. And this was to achieve your aim to become a GP, you say?”

“I figured it would make sense if I were to find my life partner and settle down to have a large family.”

“Your life partner?” His brown eyes were searing into hers. She held her breath, mesmerised by being the centre of his attention. “Do you believe there is a designated person who is meant to be your life partner, your soul-mate?”

Oh, heavens! She wished she hadn’t started opening up to him like this.

“Possibly,” she said softly, her eyes searching his face. “At least, I did when I was much younger, before I became… disillusioned.”

“Oh, you must never become disillusioned about love,” he said in a husky, deeply sensual voice.

Looking down at Cathy now, he was trying hard to remind himself that he’d already experienced what it was like to have a soul-mate. His hand moved as if by someone else and gently touched her face, her skin so soft, her expression so vulnerable.

“You’ve just been unlucky,” he finished off quietly. “But don’t give up hope.” He put his hand under her elbow. “We’d better get on. I’m expected to in Theatre shortly.”

As they walked along together again, he was telling himself that he would like to see Cathy settled with a life partner. It would suit her. She was obviously a devoted and competent mother, running a career and parenthood at the same time with no help from a partner. He swallowed hard. How ironic it was that he’d lost his partner and his unborn child and here was a young woman with a child and no man to love her.

He was bound to Maroula even though she wasn’t there. And Cathy, with her unfortunate, if mysterious, experiences in the past making her wary of forming another liaison certainly wouldn’t want to take on a grieving widower.

They were reaching the surgical suite. He gave Cathy a whistle-stop tour of Theatre number three which he knew to be empty. It would be easier to look around without having staff members there.

She was nodding. “It’s very well equipped!”

He smiled. “Oh, yes, we’re equipped for general surgery and most specialist procedures.”

A nurse pushed open one of the swing doors. “We’re ready for you now, Dr Yannis.”

“Is the anaesthetist here?”

“Yes, he’s waiting for your instructions.” She paused. “I’m afraid your assistant hasn’t arrived yet. The morning boat from Rhodes is late due to the high wind that blew up during the night. Sister is trying to arrange for someone to take his place but—’

“Tell Sister not to worry. I’m sure Dr Meredith would assist me, wouldn’t you?” He turned to Cathy. “They’re well staffed in Outpatients this morning. You’d be more use up here in Theatre. What do you say?”

“If that’s where you’d like me to work,” she said evenly.

“Just for the first operation. It’s an appendectomy so shouldn’t take long. The patient has been having tests to check why she experiences occasional pain in the area of the appendix. After studying the results of the tests and scans, my conclusion is that it would be best to remove it. I put her first on the list and set the wheels in motion after you called in to see me this morning.”

He turned to look at the young nurse. “You’re sure our patient has been fully prepped? She’s been starved long enough, hasn’t she?”

“Yes, sir. She’s had nothing to eat since midnight, hoping that you would decide to operate this morning.”

“Excellent!”

Cathy scrubbed up at the next sink to Yannis. She held her hands out. A nurse was waiting with a sterile gown to Velcro down her back. Gloves were peeled over her hands. Yannis glanced down approvingly. “Let’s go.”

She followed behind, noting that Theatre one was exactly like the one she’d just checked out. The surgical team looked alert and focused. Yannis raised an eyebrow above his mask as he looked across the inert figure towards Cathy.

“Scalpel, Cathy.”

As she handed him the required instrument she was feeling relieved that he’d chosen to call her Cathy. He’d already introduced her as Dr Cathy Meredith to the assembled team. But it made her feel special, that she was some kind of friend with the surgeon. A kind of friend; that was a good description that she should try to remember if she could.

For the next half-hour she was totally committed to the task in hand. Yannis quickly cut through the patient’s abdominal muscles to expose the angry-looking appendix. Yes, the patient would certainly feel much better when that infected organ was disposed of. Yannis was checking other organs in the vicinity.

“It’s just the appendix that’s infected,” he told the assembled team. “No other organ has been affected. Have the biopsies checked out, Sister. Let me know the results as soon as you get them back from the lab. I took a biopsy of this ovary as a precaution. It looks healthy enough but it’s in very close proximity to the infected area.”

The swing doors opened as a young, harassed-looking young man already swathed in surgical gown and mask arrived.

“Ah, Nikolas! Good of you to join us! Problem with the boat, I hear… Thank you, Cathy. You were a great help. You are free to go back to Outpatients now. I’ll see you later.”

Cathy smiled at the young man as she went out. From the greenish colour of his skin above the mask it looked as if he wasn’t such a good sailor. “Sure you don’t want me to take over for the morning, Nikolas?” she whispered as they passed each other.

“Better keep in with the boss,” he muttered. “I’m new here and—”

“So am I.” She pulled down her mask and smiled at the new recruit, who looked terrified of the ordeal ahead.

“When you’ve finished chatting, Nikolas, you can bring the next patient in,” Yannis said evenly.

Cathy turned to take a last look at the boss and was sure he winked at her over the top of his mask.

CHAPTER THREE

CATHY peeled off her surgical gloves and threw them into the bin before washing her hands. A couple of weeks had passed since she’d worked in surgery again with Yannis.

She’d been beginning to wonder if she’d done something he hadn’t approved of on her first morning at the hospital. And then she’d remembered the wink he’d given her over the top of his mask as she’d been leaving Theatre one. Totally out of character! What had that been all about? Or maybe she’d imagined it. Yes, that was more like it. Because he’d given her precious little attention since then!

Oh, he’d called her into his office a couple of times but merely to brief her about a new patient or a different treatment that was going to be introduced. Off duty she hadn’t seen him at all. Well, he did live near the sea and she was living in the upper town so there was really no reason why they should meet unless one of them arranged something socially. And it certainly wasn’t going to be her! She understood the macho Greek mind too well from her holidays here on Ceres.

She’d felt nervous coming to the hospital this morning because Yannis had told her he’d scheduled her to work for the whole morning with him on his surgical list. She had been relieved to be asked, but apprehensive that she might do something to annoy him.

His manner had been totally professional and decidedly cool for the last few days and she had begun to think she’d misjudged the warmth he’d shown her on that first evening. So she was very relieved now that her morning’s work in Theatre had gone well.

She glanced up at her reflection in the mirror above the sink in the ante-theatre.

Not a scrap of make-up. She didn’t wear it when she knew she was needed in Theatre. In the mirror she saw the door opening as Yannis came in, shedding his theatre gown in the bin by the door.

He stood behind her. She watched his reflection as a broad grin came over his face. “Don’t tell me. You were just about to put on your make-up and I’ve walked in so you don’t want me to watch you. It’s OK, I’ll go out again.”

She swung round. “No, you’re OK. I wasn’t going to put make-up on. Haven’t got any with me.”

“I’m glad.”

He was standing very close. She could feel his hot breath on her face. He seemed to be studying her skin. She wondered if he’d noticed the spot that had developed on her right cheek.

“Yes, I’m really glad you’ve come into Theatre without make-up. It makes you look younger and I’m sure it’s more hygienic.”

“I’ve never worn makeup in Theatre.” She was talking very quickly now, intensely aware of his close proximity. “Not since my professor of surgery at Middlefield General Hospital in Yorkshire ticked me off for wearing it. This particular professor claimed that make-up could harbour bacteria on the skin. He was probably right. And I’d found whenever I tried to wear make-up in Theatre it had gone all streaky anyway.”

“It’s an interesting theory. Turn round again. I’ll help you out of your gown.”

She put her hands in front of her defensively. “No, don’t do that! I’m going to shower first in the female changing room. I…I’m not fully dressed underneath!”

“I wish you hadn’t told me that,” he said, his voice hoarse and seductively sexy.

He stepped back as he tried to get his hormones under control. He’d tried so hard for the last two weeks to keep control of himself. It was as if he was coming to life again. A wonderful feeling but he’d no idea how to handle it. Whenever he caught a glimpse of Cathy in hospital, walking down the corridor or bending over a patient, he felt like a teenager again.

He turned abruptly, the guilt of the confession he’d just made to himself rising up inside him alongside the disturbing sensations of sexuality and tenderness that he felt when Cathy was around. He’d forced himself to schedule her to assist him for the entire morning to prove that it was possible for him to remain totally professional.

And he had! But here he was, falling at the last hurdle. “Thanks for your help,” he said evenly as he strode towards the swing door. He’d already pushed it open before the strong feelings she’d aroused in him became too much for him to ignore. He turned around again, letting the swing door close.

Cathy felt alarmed as she looked at his solemn face. He’d formally thanked her but was he now going to tick her off about the way she’d sutured that last patient? He’d been watching her so intently she was sure he was going to make some criticism.

“Cathy, I wonder if we could spend some time together this evening? I know we’re both off duty.”

He still wasn’t smiling as he struggled to get his emotions under control.

Cathy had a surge of conflicting emotions herself at his suggestion. On the one hand her heart was telling her she’d love an evening out with this handsome Greek doctor. But her head was questioning whether that would that be wise. She had to be more careful than she had in the past. Meeting up casually with him on that first evening had been fun. But this invitation needed more thought.

She’d vowed not to go out with any man she was attracted to in case she made the same mistake she had in the past by falling for his charms only to be let down when she found out what he was really like. And, anyway, she shouldn’t be mixing business with pleasure by going out with her boss. However would she manage to work with him if they started dating?

“Yannis, I hardly know you,” she blurted out. “Don’t you think it’s a bit soon to have a date together?”

For a brief moment he looked perplexed before he managed to reply in a composed tone of voice. “I think you’ve misunderstood the situation, Cathy. I was merely wanting to have a chance for us to discuss how things are going for you here at the hospital in a less formal setting, away from work.”

Oh, heavens! She’d put her foot in it again. How embarrassing to jump to conclusions like that! She felt crushed.

She hesitated before replying. His suggestion now seemed harmless enough. This was by no means an average type of man. Not the men she’d known in her life anyway!

“Well, yes, I agree it would be nice to have time to discuss things when we’re not busy in hospital. What did you have in mind?”

Yannis was watching her reactions, trying to look composed but feeling utterly foolish for asking her out in the first place. Whatever had he been thinking? He was so rusty he had no idea how to talk to women any more!

Yes, what did he have in mind? If only he knew! He swallowed hard. “Would you like to come and have supper at my place?”

She hesitated once more. Having misinterpreted the situation completely, she knew she should make up for her faux pas. There would be no harm in simply chatting over supper.

She took a deep breath. “Yes, I would enjoy that. Thank you, Yannis,” she said politely.

Relief flooded through him!

“Good! My housekeeper will be delighted if I do some entertaining for once. She’s a very good cook but I don’t give her enough practice. Most evenings I tell Eleni I don’t need her so she goes home to her husband in Nimborio.”

He was talking very quickly now, anxious to disguise his nervousness and get the preliminaries out of the way. “Oh, and do feel free to bring Rose along. All the taxi drivers know where I live now. About eight o’ clock OK?”

“Fine!”

He left the room abruptly without a backward glance. Outside the door he paused for a couple of seconds to gather his breath. There! He’d taken the first step towards…towards what? Was he going in entirely the wrong direction? Would it all be a disaster? The emotional turmoil inside him didn’t augur well. But he felt driven on by forces beyond his control. Was he betraying Maroula’s memory by contemplating an evening in the company of another woman, someone he found very attractive and wanted to spend time with?

He sighed as he moved off down the corridor in the direction of his office. Only time would tell and at this moment he wished he could see into the future. Best to simply not look too far ahead. Only as far as this evening.

* * *

Cathy was as nervous as if she was going on her first date. She had to keep on reminding herself that this evening wasn’t actually a date. She was simply going to her boss’s house for supper and his housekeeper would be doing the cooking. It would be a treat to be spoiled like that—and nothing more!

Her face in the mirror certainly looked an improvement on the face that had stared back at her at the end of a morning in Theatre. And so it should after the time she’d spent covering up that spot on her right cheek, blending in the foundation with the light suntan she’d managed to get by playing in the sunshine with Rose whenever she’d had some off-duty time during the day. And she’d changed the shade of her lipstick three times.

She put the third lipstick down. That was fine. By the time she’d drunk a couple of glasses of wine and swallowed a few olives, she’d have licked it all off anyway. She stood up, adjusting the waist tie on her white cotton top. Too much cleavage?

If you’ve got it flaunt it, as her mother used to say. But what did she know about relationships? She’d had almost as much bad luck as her daughter! And Cathy was determined not to flaunt herself tonight. She was intent on being totally platonic with Yannis who obviously simply wanted to be a friendly and concerned boss by inviting her to supper. She readjusted her top so that it was in no way provocative.

Her mobile rang. It was Anna. Her son, Manolis, had presented her with a mobile phone before he’d gone off to Australia. Cathy was glad she could stay in contact with Anna throughout the day when she was looking after Rose. This evening, on hearing that Cathy had been invited out, Anna had insisted it would be better for Rose to stay at her house and get a good night’s sleep.

“I meant what I said earlier,” Anna said now, shouting as she always did when she used her mobile. “Just enjoy yourself this evening, Cathy, and don’t worry about Rose. She’s already settled down in my children’s dormitory room. I’ve got two of my granddaughters in there too, so when she wakes up she’ll have company. I’ll call you in the morning. OK?”

“Thanks, Anna. I really…”

But the line had gone dead. What a wonderful woman Anna was! She’d devoted her life to her family and now, at an age when she could have had some time to herself, she’d chosen to look after the next generation and the next.

After much persuasion from Manolis, Anna had allowed him to pay a young woman from the village to help her. Cathy had insisted on being responsible for the wages now that Anna took charge of Rose whenever necessary. She’d also made an arrangement with the bank to have a percentage of her hospital salary put directly into Anna’s account.

Her phone rang again almost immediately. It was the taxi she’d ordered. Apparently the driver was waiting for her at the end of the street. She picked up the new clutch bag her mother had given her before she’d left for Ceres. It was just big enough to hold a few euros, a comb, a lipstick and a tissue.

As she started out down the rickety wooden staircase, being careful not to get her heels caught in the gaps between the wooden steps, she couldn’t help feeling a sense of apprehension at the evening ahead of her.

* * *

Yannis was waiting for her in the drive of his imposing house. She held her breath as she looked up at the impressive façade.

“This is some ancestral pile you’ve got here!”

Yannis gave her a nervous smile as he reached out to take hold of her hand. “Rose not with you?”

Cathy thought he looked decidedly disappointed that she hadn’t brought her.

“Anna was insistent that it would be better for Rose to be put to bed at her house tonight. I don’t like to argue with an older and wiser mother and grandmother.”

He was still holding her hand. He raised it to his lips briefly.

They stood in front of each other face to face on the firm gravel, both of them almost too apprehensive to continue with this nerve-racking encounter.

“There’s nothing ancestral about the house, I’m afraid,” Yannis said as he led her inside. “It was a complete ruin when I bought it and the owners were glad to get rid of it. It took a year to rebuild. I got a good builder who suggested ideas and between us we came up with this.”

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