come back. And for the most part he’d done exactly that. But his three best friends in the world had been determined to take their parents’ tarnished legacies and turn them into something good. And as long as he could give his input from a distance he was good with that. His traveling did the trick for the most part. He was able to give his nods of approval from afar, except when they absolutely needed his physical presence.
Like now.
If he’d expected to see a quick show of pity on this new doctor’s face, though, he was sorely disappointed. She met his gaze with steady green eyes that gave nothing away.
That was probably the psychiatrist in her. She was trained to listen without judging. Not to seem shocked or horrified, no matter how ugly the story. Or how hideous the outward appearance.
His dad—after a rare crack had appeared in his chilly demeanor—had once sent him to a shrink in Athens, six months after the accident. But Deakin, his scars still fresh and painful, had refused to say anything. After four sessions of sitting there in sullen silence they’d given up. All of them—including the psychiatrist.
He tried to recall what Lea had been talking about moments earlier, working to forget the way those white teeth had captured that full bottom lip in a way that was far too sexy for a psychiatrist.
He switched to English so those around would be less likely to understand them if she tried to ask about his scars. “So, what part of Greece were your parents from?”
“Athens—like you thought. My dad was a welder and went to Canada to help with the building of one of the Orthodox churches. He ended up staying.” She sent a lock of long dark hair spinning over her shoulder with a flick of her wrist. “He sent for me and my mom a few months later, and we went, sight unseen. But we love it there now.”
The switch in language hadn’t thrown her for a loop. In fact her English was as flawless as her Greek. He knew himself well enough to know that his Greek accent was still fairly strong, even after years of speaking English in other countries.
“You don’t ever get homesick for Greece?”
“Not really. I was a kid when things changed.”
That he understood. He didn’t get homesick either. And he’d also been a kid when things had changed. Only, unlike for her, the change hadn’t been a good one for him.
She went on. “Besides, you can find Greeks on almost every street corner.”
“You can, indeed.” Deakin had found pockets of Greek communities almost everywhere he’d gone. “Well, shall we get started? Are you only seeing patients who need counseling?”
“No, we’ve been kind of short-staffed, as you can imagine, so I’ve been helping wherever I can. The immediate injuries from the quake have been taken care of, but there are still issues—broken bones, lacerations that have become infected... Burns. But I have been seeing patients who are struggling to cope with the after effects of the earthquake. It’s what I specialize in. People dealing with PTSD.”
He tried to ignore the way she’d hesitated before saying the word “burns.”
“PTSD from time served in the military?”
“No, civilian for the most part. Trauma comes in many forms.”
Yes, it did. He wasn’t sure if she was subtly trying to dig into his past struggles, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. He didn’t need someone probing where they didn’t belong.
Time to get to work.
Just then Petra came back from wherever she’d been and glanced his way. She did a double-take, her eyes widening.
“Deakin!”
She rushed through the door to the waiting room and grabbed him in a strong, matronly embrace.
Her graying locks were scraped back into a bun and dark-rimmed glasses were pushed on top of her head. The combination gave her a no-nonsense appearance. One that was well-deserved. She could be formidable when she wanted to be.
“It’s about time you came home.”
He stiffened at that word. This wasn’t his home. Not anymore. But at least her presence took Dr. Risi’s attention off him.
“I’m sure you’re keeping the clinic running like a well-oiled machine.”
She dropped her glasses onto her nose and peered at him over the top of them. “It’s not easy, let me tell you.”
“I’m sure. Did Chris or Ares make it home yet?”
“No. Not yet. But I’m hopeful you will all be reunited soon. It’s been too long.”
“Yes, it has.”
While he didn’t miss the island, he did miss his friends.
“So, Theo has been handling the crisis alone?” He’d thought maybe the others would have made it back sooner than him.
“Well, he has Cailey now. She’s been a huge help. And Lea has been aprosdókito kaló. She’s very organized. And beautiful, don’t you think?”
Color bloomed in the psychiatrist’s face. Petra had called the doctor a godsend. And beautiful.
And Petra was right. She was very attractive. Dark-lashed eyes gleamed with purpose beneath arched brows. And with each upward curve of her lips high cheekbones appeared.
And yet there was something lurking just beneath the surface. He’d caught glimpses of it when she’d talked about PTSD. Did her patients’ pain affect her on a personal level? He knew from experience that as much as you tried to maintain an emotional distance there were some patients who touched something inside you.
His own throat tightened whenever he was called on to treat a child who’d suffered horrific burns or who had lost limbs from incendiary devices or from IEDs. It was why he did what he did.
“I think you’ve embarrassed Dr. Risi, Petra.”
“It’s okay. I’m fine. And please call me Lea. We all tend to be informal around here.”
The way she said that make him take a closer look at her. She didn’t sound fine. Did she think the older woman was trying to set them up somehow? Well, she needn’t worry. He wasn’t about to start a romance with anyone—especially not someone with ties to this island.
But she didn’t have ties—had said she didn’t get homesick for Greece. She was a temporary visitor, that was all. She wasn’t staying on the island for long.
The image of those teeth gripping that lip in a tight embrace sashayed across the backs of his eyelids, playing peekaboo with a neglected part of his anatomy. He could think of a way to make her do that all over again. For very different reasons.
He stopped that thought in its tracks. Not happening. She could be leaving tomorrow for all he knew.
His job didn’t lend itself to relationships. And that suited him just fine. Theo might have found true love, but that was something Deakin neither
