âThe music was.â She grinned. âOne of these days Iâm going to convert these philistines and make them admit that the old songs are the best.â
âSo you donât like modern music?â
âI just like something I can sing along to. The kind of stuff that puts a smile on your face when you hear it because itâs so full of verve. And I donât care if people think itâs old-fashioned: I like it.â She took a sip of her coffee. âI suppose itâs because itâs the stuff I grew up with. Dad always had it playing in the garage when he was tinkering with a car. Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, that sort of stuff.â
He couldnât help smiling. âSo would I be right in guessing that your favourite films are musicals?â
âAbsolutely. You canât beat a good Gene Kelly film,â she said, smiling back.
The more Theo talked to Madison, the more he liked her. Felt a connection with her. Wanted to spend time with her. Which made her dangerous. He should stop this right now. Apart from the fact that he was only here for six months, he knew that mixing work and relationships could make life much too complicated. And he wasnât looking for a relationship in any case.
Yet his mouth seemed to have other ideas.
âI won something pretty stunning on the tombolaâa balloon flight at sunrise. Why donât you come with me?â
She went very still. âAre you asking me on a date?â
This time his head managed to overrule his heart where his mouth was concerned. âIâm asking you as a colleague and potential friend,â he said.
She smiled. âThen thank you. Iâd like that. Iâve never been in a balloon.â
âThen letâs synchronise our off-duty. When are you free?â
She took her diary from her handbag. âThursday or Friday?â
âNot this week. How about next week?â he suggested.
âTuesday and Wednesday.â
âWednesday it is,â he said. âIâll book the flight and find out what we need to know.â
CHAPTER THREE
THE night before the balloon trip, Madison couldnât get to sleep.
She must have been crazy, agreeing to this in the first place. Quite apart from the fact she wasnât a morning person and sheâd arranged to meet Theo at the crack of dawn, Theo Petrakis wasnât relationship material.
Sure, he ticked all the boxes. He was an excellent doctor, kept the team working beautifully together, and his calm, confident manner on the ward managed to calm even the most nervous parent-to-be. And, as just about every female in the hospital would attest, Theo Petrakis was drop-dead gorgeous.
But he was only here on secondment, covering Dougâs sick leave for six months or so. Then heâd move on, and Madison was perfectly happy here in London.
Sheâd already made the mistake of rushing into a relationship without a future, and she had no intention of repeating it and letting her world fall apart all over again.
All the same, she couldnât get Theo out of her head. Those dark eyes with the unexpected green and gold glintsâeyes that always seemed to be full of sunshine. That incredibly sexy smile. The dark hair, brushed back neatly from his face, that made her want to slide her fingers through it and make him look all sexily rumpled. His incredibly gorgeous mouth⦠And even though it had been a week and a half since the ball, she could still remember exactly how his lips had felt against the pulse point in her wrist.
âStop being ridiculous and go to sleep,â she told herself loudly, plumping her pillow and keeping her eyes firmly closed, even though she felt wide awake.
A feeling that didnât last when her alarm shrilled at an unearthly hour. She had to hit the snooze button three times before she could drag herself out of bed, and she was only just ready when the doorbell rang.
âKalimera, Maddie. Good morning.â
Oh, lord. Theo always wore a suit, shirt and tie at work under his white coat. In jeans, a sweater and a black leather jacket, he was absolutely stunning. Touchable.
And she really, really wanted to touch.
She hadnât felt a pull this strong since Harry. And that in itself was a warning: look where that had got her. She pulled herself together and unglued her tongue from the roof of her mouth. âGood morning, Theo.â
âReady?â he asked with a smile.
She nodded. Theo had given her the pre-flight instructions from the balloon company: to wear long sleeves and trousers, preferably in natural fibres; a hat to protect her head from the radiant heat of the burner; and sensible shoes. And although she felt slightly frumpy, wearing a thick fleece over one of the strappy camisole tops she favoured outside work, she understood the logic, and she didnât want to scrape her arms on the wicker basket.
âLetâs go, then.â
She locked the front door behind her and walked with him to the tube station. It was still dark outside, and so early that the train was practically empty, apart from a couple of bleary-eyed commuters who looked as if they still wished they were in bed.
âSo are balloon flights always this early in the morning?â she asked.
âApparently the airâs at its most stable in the first two hours after dawn and the last two hours before dusk,â Theo told her. âSo most flights are around sunrise or sunset. The ones over London are at sunrise, though we could have gone for a different take-off point and had a later flight.â He smiled. âI take it that youâre an owl rather than a lark, then?â
âUsually,â she admitted. âThough Iâm never late for my shift.â
He laughed. âHey. Weâre not at work now.â
âNo.â
âBut since youâve got my head back in doctor mode, thereâs something I forgot to ask youâdo you have any medical condition that means you shouldnât fly?â
âIâm disgustingly healthy,â she said.
âGood.â He paused. âIâm sorry, this is a very personal questionâ¦but thereâs no chance you could be pregnant?â
She felt the colour wash into her face. âNo.â She hadnât actually slept with anyone for two yearsâand sheâd regretted that. Not that she was going to admit either fact to Theo.
âOK. And Iâm sorry I offended you.â
âNo
