Greek Doctor Claims His Bride

His voice trailed away. He was looking down at her, his eyes betraying how much he wanted to see her again that evening.

“Yes, I’d like that. There are so many questions I want to ask.”

“Me too. So, I’ll call in about eight. We could go to Giorgio’s.”

“How is he?”

“His health isn’t too good but he sits in the corner and watches the rest of his family do all the work.” He turned away, one hand still holding onto the child on his shoulders. “Bend your head, my darling, as we go through the door.”

“Goodbye Chrysanthe. Come again to see me.” She meant it wholeheartedly.

“Ooh yes, I will. Daddy, I’m still taller than you. When I’m grown up I might really be taller than you. When you’re an old man I’ll put you on my shoulder and…”

The voices became indistinguishable as father and daughter made their way down the street. Chrysanthe was a beautiful little girl, but Tanya had never imagined that Manolis could have moved on so quickly after they had split up.

He’d moved on. She mustn’t dwell on it. She would remember only the happy times. She found herself wishing that little Chrysanthe was her child but stopped herself as soon as the thought occurred. No regrets. She had to move on with her life and not spend time wishing for the impossible.

Upstairs again, she ran hot water into the half-size hip bath in her tiny bathroom. As a child she’d loved to be bathed by her Grandmother Katerina when she’d been staying with her. She’d never dreamed that her grandmother would leave this house to her. Katerina must have realised how much Tanya loved it.

Tanya stripped off and stepped into the warm water. Mmm, it was bliss to lie back with the bath foam she’d bought in the airport shop in Sydney only yesterday. It hadn’t occurred to her that today she would be preparing to go out for supper with Manolis. Once more she had to remind herself that nothing had changed between them. And now that Manolis was a married man, the gap between them must remain wide.

She closed her eyes and smoothed some more foam over her skin as she leaned her head against the back of her bath…

* * *

Tanya woke with a start and her arms flapped around in the cold water as she heard someone calling her from downstairs. Above the bath she could see moonlight shining through the tiny little window.

Manolis stood downstairs with his hand resting on the wooden banister. “Tanya, are you OK up there?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” She hauled herself out of the bath, spilling water onto the tiles. “I must have fallen asleep.”

Manolis heard the splashing water and had a sudden mental image of Tanya’s slim, lithe figure emerging from the tiny bath where Grandmother Katerina had often bathed him when he had been a small child and his mother had been too busy to cope as she’d fed the latest baby. He was sorely tempted to ask if he could join her upstairs but he knew what the answer would be. Still, a man could dream, couldn’t he?

He put on his sternest voice so that Tanya would have no idea how much she’d already affected him. “That’s a dangerous thing to do—fall asleep in the bath. You should never do that!”

Tanya was already climbing the narrow wooden steps up to her bedroom, clutching the towel around her. If it slipped and Manolis looked up through the rungs of the wooden stairs that connected the kitchen with the top floor…She glanced down as she stepped off the stairs into her bedroom but couldn’t see him below her.

“I know it’s dangerous but the bath’s so small my knees were up to my chin so it’s unlikely I could have slipped under the water,” she called breathlessly, as she searched for something to put on. Not the smelly travel clothes…how about these trousers? She pulled them out of her case along with new, lacy black knickers. They were to make her feel good, nothing to do with the fact that she was going out with the sexiest man on the island—in the world.

It took her barely five minutes to emerge from her room fully clothed in three-quarter cut-off denims, white T-shirt and flip-flops. She’d spent a lot of time swimming and running at the beach near the hospital just outside Sydney and rarely used make-up for a casual night out. She would blend in with the tourists in Giorgio’s taverna. And she knew for a fact that Manolis preferred a natural-looking face—not that it was any concern of hers!

He turned as she came down the stairs and in spite of his resolutions he whistled. “Mmm, you scrub up well, Tanya!” he said in English.

She laughed. “You haven’t lost the Australian accent you picked up, Doctor. Are you trying to make me feel at home?”

“Something like that.” He moved to the bottom of the stairs, placing his hands, which seemed to have a mind of their own, on her shoulders. For a brief moment he hesitated before pulling her gently against him and kissing her on both cheeks.

“Welcome home,” he said in the sexiest, most unplatonic tone. He hadn’t meant to inject all that warmth and innuendo into his words but spending five minutes waiting for Tanya, knowing that she was first naked, then semi-naked then…well, it had played havoc with his intentions.

She tried to move backwards to escape his arms but she was pinned against the end of the banister.

She took a deep breath as she prepared to ask the big question. “Manolis, is your wife with you here on the island?”

“We’re divorced. My ex-wife is in London,” he said evenly.

She pushed her hands against his chest, making it quite clear that she wanted to escape this potentially dangerous embrace. There were too many questions that needed answers before she could begin to relax with him. But the fact that he was a free man made the situation a little easier…no, it didn’t! Her emotions were already in turmoil.

“Let’s go,” she said quietly. “I’m looking forward to being back in Giorgio’s.”

She stepped out into the narrow cobbled street, terribly aware of Manolis’s huge frame close behind her. She wasn’t small by any means—her legs were long but she was quite short—so she’d always felt that Manolis towered above her. Glancing up at him as they walked together over the uneven cobbles, she missed her footing. He put out a hand to prevent her falling as she stumbled.

“Careful!” He took hold of her hand. The touch of his fingers unnerved her completely. “This part of the street is so dark,” Manolis said as he waved his other hand upwards towards the light at the bend in the street. “There! That’s better.”

White light flooded down over them. “I know every stone along this street. You’ll soon get used to it. How long do you intend to stay, Tanya?”

She gave a nervous attempt at a laugh. “Good question. The shortest answer is I don’t know. It all depends…”

“On what?”

“On how I feel after I’ve had some time here.”

There was a comfortable silence before Manolis spoke again. “The only thing is, if you didn’t have any plans to return to Australia in a hurry, I was going to put a proposition to you.”

She took her hand out of his. No! He wouldn’t propose to her again, would he? The clock could never be turned back.

As if reading her mind, Manolis said, “That was perhaps an unfortunate phrase to use. This is a professional proposition. You see, I’m medical director of the hospital here and we need another doctor because it’s the beginning of the tourist season.”

He paused and took a deep breath before continuing. “There is a hospital board of governors who have the final say when a doctor is appointed but I’m the one who assesses the medical credentials of a candidate.”

She was still listening, even appearing slightly interested. Well, he could but ask. “Would you like me to put your name forward?”

Tanya remained silent as she reviewed all the implications. Manolis walked on beside her, making absolutely sure that he didn’t touch her. He wanted to tell her that he would never propose marriage to her again. Two proposals, two rejections from the love of his life was more than any man could suffer. But they did need a good doctor at the island hospital and he did want to have her near him as much as possible while she was here. He had no plans beyond that.

CHAPTER TWO

THE emotional warmth given out by the revellers, tourists and islanders in Giorgio’s Taverna welcomed and wrapped around Tanya as if she’d never been away. As a small girl she’d been carried in here many times by her parents, elder brother, uncles, cousins and had often fallen asleep on somebody’s lap, the music lulling her to sleep as the evening progressed. She would wake up in her own bed either at home with her parents or at Grandmother Katerina’s, wondering how she’d been transported there.

Her brother Costas, who like his friend Manolis was eight years older than she, would sometimes tell her the fairies had carried her home in a special coach that ran over the cobbles without a sound. She’d liked to think that was true and whenever she found herself falling asleep at the table she’d made an effort to stay awake so that she could enjoy the journey home. But, however she’d tried, sleep had always got the better of her.

Manolis was trying to guide her to a table, one hand gently in the small of her back, but many people wanted to talk to them as they passed by.

“Dr Manolis, come over here! There’s room on my table.”

“Thank you…I’ll see you later on…” Manolis was smiling as he repeated his friendly phrase and moved on between the tables.

“I’m heading for that table in the corner,” he whispered as he stooped down towards her.

Tanya was aware of the many glances in their direction. One middle-aged lady put out a hand to detain her.