Dr Constantine's Bride

Katie scanned the faces of the people coming into the terminal, although she had no idea how she was going to recognise Dr Constantine when he arrived. Would he look like Petros? she wondered. He’d said that Petros was his cousin so there might be a family resemblance.

Her eyes skimmed over a tall, dark-haired man who had just entered the building and she felt a frisson run through her. Although he didn’t really look like Petros, there was something familiar about those chiselled features. She followed his progress as he made his way across the concourse. In contrast to the tourists in their colourful holiday clothes, he was soberly dressed in a lightweight grey suit with a white shirt and a discreet blue tie. He looked big and commanding as he stopped and stared around, and Katie suddenly felt afraid.

Did she really want to suffer the embarrassment of having him harangue her again? Maybe he’d felt those comments he’d made had been justified, but he hadn’t even asked to hear her side of the story. He had no idea what had really gone on, how Petros had pursued her with single-minded determination. He had judged her and obviously found her lacking so what was the point of giving him the chance to do it again? It would be far more sensible if she avoided another confrontation and went to the hospital and asked Petros what was going on.

Katie snatched up her case and headed for the door at the far end of the terminal. She knew from watching the other visitors that she should be able to get a taxi there to take her to the hospital. In her heart, she still didn’t believe that Petros had said all those horrible things about her. For all she knew, that man could have made them up for reasons of his own, and the thought added wings to her feet. She needed to see Petros and find out the truth!

She had almost reached the exit when a woman suddenly screamed. Glancing round, Katie could see an elderly man lying on the ground, clutching his chest. She hesitated, torn between a desire to see Petros and the need to help, but in the end her conscience wouldn’t allow her to walk away. Hurrying over to the couple, she put down her case and knelt beside the old man.

‘What happened?’ she asked, her hands moving automatically as she loosened the collar of his shirt.

‘I don’t know.’ Tears were streaming down the elderly woman’s face. ‘Frank said that he had a pain in his chest and the next thing I knew, he collapsed.’

Katie nodded as she pressed her fingers against the carotid artery in the old man’s neck. She sighed when she failed to detect a pulse. His heart had stopped and if he was to have any chance at all then she needed to start CPR immediately.

‘I’m a nurse,’ she explained, rolling him over onto his back. ‘Your husband’s heart has stopped so I’m going to give him CPR. Can you phone for an ambulance and tell the paramedics that it’s a cardiac arrest?’

The woman went to pieces when she heard that and started sobbing. Fortunately, someone in the crowd had heard Katie’s request and offered to make the call. Katie left them to get on with it; she was more concerned about maintaining the patient until help arrived. Permanent brain damage occurred when the brain was starved of oxygen for longer than four minutes.

She checked the man’s airway was clear then tipped back his head and gave four sharp inflations then checked his pulse once more, but there was still no sign of his heart beating.

‘I’ll do the compressions. You continue with the breathing.’

All of a sudden the man whom she’d seen entering the terminal a few moments earlier was kneeling beside her. He didn’t look at her as he deftly performed five chest compressions then paused. Katie breathed into the old man’s mouth again, forcing herself to concentrate on what she was doing. She couldn’t afford to be distracted when a man’s life depended on her actions.

They carried on for what seemed like ages—she breathed into the man’s mouth while the stranger performed the chest compressions. An eerie silence had fallen over the terminal as more people gathered around them to watch what was happening. Everyone was willing them to save his life and Katie knew that it wouldn’t be for lack of effort if they didn’t succeed.

‘Pulse check.’

The stranger rapped out the instruction and Katie immediately obeyed as her training kicked in. Placing her fingers on the carotid artery, she felt for a pulse and smiled when she detected the faintest movement beneath her fingertips.

‘We’ve got a pulse,’ she said, unable to hide her delight.

‘Good.’

Something crossed the stranger’s face, a flicker of some emotion that looked almost like surprise, before he returned his attention to their patient. Once they were sure the old man was stable, they rolled him onto his side and placed him in the recovery position. They had just finished when the ambulance crew arrived.

Katie quickly told the paramedics her name and explained what had happened then moved out of the way. They fitted the old man with an oxygen mask then set up a drip and lifted him onto a trolley. The crowd was starting to disperse now that the excitement was over so she picked up her case and edged away. With a bit of luck, she might be able to disappear…

‘I’ll take that.’

A large hand suddenly lifted the suitcase out of her grasp. Katie didn’t have time to object as the stranger put his other hand under her elbow and hurried her after the trolley. The ambulance was parked right outside the main doors and he paused only long enough to give the crew some instructions before he led her to his car.

‘I’m sorry but I’m not going anywhere with you,’ she said firmly, wrenching her arm out of his grasp. She took a step back and pointed to her case. ‘Please, give me my suitcase.’

‘Later, after we’ve had a chat.’ He stowed her case in the boot then opened the passenger door. ‘I am Petros’s cousin, Christos Constantine. We spoke earlier on the phone. I don’t have time to deal with you at the moment so please get into the car.’

‘No.’ Katie shook her head. ‘I just told you that I’m not going anywhere with you. You might claim to be Petros’s cousin but why should I believe you? You could be anyone for all I know.’

He slid his hand inside his jacket and pulled out his wallet. ‘Here is my hospital security pass. As you can see, my name is Christos Constantine and I am the head of trauma care at Poseidonos International Hospital. Unfortunately, I don’t have any more identification on me at the moment, but I shall be happy to provide you with further proof once we reach the hospital.’

‘You’re taking me to the hospital!’ she exclaimed.

‘Yes.’ He opened the door wider. ‘The choice is yours, Miss Carlyon. However, I don’t have time to stand here arguing with you. There is a man on his way to hospital who needs my help, so please make up your mind what you intend to do.’

CHAPTER TWO

CHRISTOS was glad that Katie Carlyon didn’t seem inclined to talk as they drove to the hospital. He wasn’t sure if he would have been able to carry on a conversation with her. He had gone to the airport, sure in his own mind about what he would find. After all, he’d seen any number of Petros’s girlfriends over the years and they’d been of the same ilk—pretty, empty-headed women whose only interest in life was their own comfort.

His gaze skimmed sideways and he frowned as he took stock of the delicate purity of Katie Carlyon’s profile. There was an innate sweetness about her expression which surprised him. He’d also been impressed by the way she had gone to that man’s aid so promptly. She definitely didn’t fit the usual mould of one of Petros’s girlfriends, although he couldn’t allow that fact to influence him. Although he had long since recognised that his cousin wasn’t a saint, he had believed Petros’s claim that Miss Carlyon had been making his life hell. It seemed that actions as well as looks could be deceiving and it was a salutary lesson when he remembered the way he had responded to her. There’d appeared to have been such delight in her eyes when they had managed to stabilise the old man, but he mustn’t make the mistake of thinking it had been genuine. Katie Carlyon may look like an angel, but the image was only skin deep.

‘Which department is Petros working in now?’

The question caught him unawares. Christos answered it without pausing to consider the wisdom of what he was doing. ‘He has returned to the surgical unit.’

‘Oh, good! That’s what he was hoping to do.’

Katie Carlyon’s voice was filled with warmth and he frowned when he felt a tremor run through him again. He had no idea why he should respond to her this way, but he didn’t appreciate being made to feel so vulnerable. His own tone was deliberately brusque when he replied.

‘Petros was extremely lucky to be given a second chance. Not many heads of department would have taken him back after what happened.’

‘What do you mean?’ Katie stared at him in surprise, and Christos laughed.

‘Ah, I see my cousin didn’t tell you that he’d been suspended. Perhaps you two weren’t as close as you thought you were?’

He saw her flush but she returned his gaze and he had to give her credit for that. ‘No, Petros didn’t tell me. He probably didn’t want to worry me. I wouldn’t read anything into it if I were you.’

‘No?’ He smiled thinly, his deep brown eyes reflecting his scepticism. ‘So the fact that Petros didn’t choose to tell you the truth doesn’t upset you, Miss Carlyon?’

‘Not at all,’ she said rather too quickly. ‘Anyway, whatever the reason was for his suspension, it can’t have been anything really serious or he would never have been chosen to go on the exchange programme.’

Christos didn’t say anything. He still wasn’t comfortable with the part he’d played in that decision. He had pulled a lot of strings to get his cousin the job overseas and had met with a lot of opposition too.

It wasn’t that Petros couldn’t do the job. If he’d set his mind to it, he could have been a first-rate surgeon. However, Petros preferred to spend his time enjoying himself rather than working, and it was that lack of commitment that had caused the problem.

Petros had left the hospital before a patient had regained consciousness following surgery. He had been unavailable when a problem had arisen and the lapse could have cost the man his life and had almost cost Petros his job. It was only because Christos had pleaded his case that he had been allowed to return to the surgical department, but it was time his cousin knuckled down and paid more attention to his career now he was about to get married.

‘You met my cousin while he was working in Manchester, I assume?’ Christos deliberately changed the subject. It certainly wouldn’t help to dwell on the thought that it was his own over-developed work ethos that had ruined his chances of winning Eleni’s heart all those years ago.

‘That’s right. I was working in A and E and members of the surgical team were always popping into the department. Petros was always so charming whenever we had to call him in, unlike a lot of the other registrars who made it appear as though they were doing us a favour.’

She laughed softly and Christos felt a jolt run through him when he heard the amusement in her voice. For some reason it lifted his own spirits and it took him a moment to recover his composure.

‘So it was my cousin’s charm you fell for?’

‘Amongst other things—yes.’ She turned to look at him. ‘As I told you on the phone, Dr Constantine, it was Petros who pursued me.’

‘Indeed you did. You prefer to play hard to get, do you, Miss Carlyon?’