Falling For Dr Dimitriou

‘No.’

For some reason, the way he was looking at her made her think that he was laughing at her. ‘Then one of the emergency surgeries it will have to be,’ she said firmly. ‘I’ll clean and bandage the cut in the meantime. Is there someone who can give you a lift?’

‘No need—it’s within walking distance. Anyway, this little scratch is not going to kill me.’

‘Possibly not but it could make you very sick indeed.’ She thought for a moment. ‘I strongly advise you to find out whether the doctor is willing to see you. I’ll phone him if you like. As one doctor to another, he might be persuaded to see you.’

He was no longer disguising his amusement. ‘Actually, that would be a bit embarrassing seeing as I’m the doctor and it’s my practice—one of them anyway.’

‘You’re a doctor?’ She couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. She felt more than slightly foolish, standing before him with her little plastic medical kit. If he was a GP he was probably more qualified than she to assess the damage to his hand. Now she knew the reason for his secret amusement. ‘You might have mentioned this before,’ she continued through gritted teeth.

Alexander shrugged. ‘I was going to, I promise. Eventually.’ That smile again. ‘I suppose I was enjoying the personal attention—it’s nice to be on the receiving end for a change.’

‘You really should have said straight away,’ she reiterated, struggling to control the annoyance that was rapidly replacing her embarrassment. ‘However, you can hardly suture your hand yourself.’ Although right this minute she was half-minded to let him try.

‘I could give it a go,’ he replied, ‘but you’re right, it would be easier and neater if you did it. The practice I have here is really little more than a consulting room I use when the older villagers need to see a doctor and aren’t unwell enough to warrant a trip to my practice. But it’s reasonably well equipped. You could stitch it there.’

‘In that case, lead the way.’

* * *

His consulting room had obviously once been a fisherman’s cottage, with the front door leading directly onto the village square. There were only two rooms leading off the small hall and he opened the door to the one on the left. It was furnished with an examination couch, a stainless-steel trolley, a sink and most of what she’d expect to find in a small rural surgery. The one surprise was a deep armchair covered with a throw. He followed her gaze and grimaced. ‘I know that doesn’t really belong, but my older patients like to feel more at home when they come to see me here.’

Not really the most sanitary of arrangements, but she kept her own counsel. It wasn’t up to her to tell him how to run his practice.

He opened a cupboard and placed some local anaesthetic and a syringe on the desk, along with a disposable suture tray. He perched on the couch and rested his hand, palm up, on his leg.

He definitely has the physique of a gladiator, she thought, her gaze lingering on his chest for a moment too long. She shifted her gaze and found him looking at her, one eyebrow raised and a small smile playing on his lips. As heat rushed to her cheeks she turned away, wishing she’d left him to deal with his hand himself.

She washed her hands and slipped on a pair of disposable gloves, acutely conscious of his teasing appraisal as she filled the syringe with the local anaesthetic. Studiously avoiding looking at his naked chest, she gently lifted up his hand and, after swabbing the skin, injected into the wound. He didn’t even flinch as she did so. ‘I’ll wait a few minutes for it to take effect.’

‘So what brings you here?’ he asked. ‘It isn’t one of the usual tourists spots.’

‘I was kindly offered the use of the Dukases’ villa through a colleague who is a friend of their daughter in exchange for taking care of Hercules and the garden. My mother was from Greece and I’ve always wanted to see the country where she was born.’

‘She was from here?’

‘From Ītylo. This was the closest I could get to there.’

‘It’s your first time in the Peloponnese?’

‘My first time in Greece,’ Katherine admitted.

‘And your mother didn’t come with you?’

‘No. She passed away recently.’ To her dismay, her voice hitched. She swallowed the lump in her throat before continuing. ‘She always wanted the two of us to visit Greece together, but her health prevented her from travelling. She had multiple sclerosis.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Two simple words, but the way he said it, she knew he really meant it.

She lightly prodded his palm with her fingertips. ‘How does that feel?’

‘Numb. Go ahead.’

Opening up the suture pack, she picked up the needle. Why did he have to be nice as well as gorgeous?

‘I hope you’re planning to see some of the Peloponnese while you’re here. Olympia? Delphi? Athens and the Acropolis for sure. The city of Mycenae, perhaps?’

Katherine laughed. ‘They’re all on my list. But I want to finish my thesis first.’

He raised his head and frowned slightly. ‘So no holiday for a while, then? That’s not good. Everyone needs to take time out to relax.’

‘I do relax. Often.’ Not that often—but as often as she wanted to. ‘Anyway I find work relaxing.’

‘Mmm,’ he said, as if he didn’t believe her. Or approve. ‘Work can be a way to avoid dealing with the unbearable. Not good for the psyche if it goes on too long. You need to take time to grieve,’ he suggested gently.

She stiffened. Who was he to tell her what was good for her and what she needed? How he chose to live his life was up to him, just as it was up to her how she lived.

‘I must apologise again for yesterday,’ he continued, when she didn’t reply, ‘You were obviously working so I hope we didn’t set you back too much. My daughter’s been dying to meet you since you arrived. I’m afraid her curiosity about you got the better of her.’

Katherine inserted a stitch and tied it off. ‘Your daughter is charming and very pretty.’

‘Yes, she is. She takes after her mother.’

‘I take it the beautiful woman on the beach yesterday is your wife?’ she said, inserting another l stitch.

When she heard his sharp intake of breath she stopped. ‘I’m sorry. Did that hurt? Didn’t I use enough local?’

His expression was taut, but he shook his head. ‘I can’t feel a thing. The woman you saw is Helen, my cousin. My wife died.’

Katherine was appalled. ‘I’m so sorry. How awful for you and your daughter. To lose her mother when so young.’ She winced inwardly at her choice of words.

‘Yes,’ he said abruptly. ‘It was.’

So he knew loss too. She bent her head again and didn’t raise it until she’d added the final stitch and the wound was closed. When had his wife died? Crystal had to be, what? Four? Five? Therefore it had to be within that time frame. Judging by the bleakness in his eyes, the loss was still raw. In which case he might as well be married. And why the hell were her thoughts continuing along this route?

She gave herself a mental shake and placed a small square dressing on top and finished with a bandage, pleased that her work was still as neat as it had been when she’d sutured on a regular basis.

‘What about tetanus?’ she asked. ‘I’m assuming you have some in stock here?’

‘Suppose I’d better let you give me that too. It’s been over five years since I last had one.’ He went to the small drugs fridge and looked inside. ‘Hell,’ he said after examining the contents. ‘I’m out. Never mind, I’ll get it when I go back to my other surgery tomorrow.’

‘It could be too late by then—as I’m sure you know. No, since it seems that you are my patient, at least for the moment, I’m going to have to insist you get one today.’

He eyed her. ‘That would mean a trip to Pýrgos—almost an hour from here. Unfortunately, Helen has taken my car to take Crystal to play with a friend and won’t be back until tonight. Tomorrow it will have to be.’

She hesitated, but only for a moment. ‘In that case, I’ll drive you.’

‘Something tells me you’re not going to back down on this.’