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
