Dr Constantine's Bride

‘Shall we go up to my office? It will be quieter there and there will be less chance of us being interrupted.’

He opened the door but she ignored his invitation. Walking over to the chairs, she picked up her bag. ‘I don’t think so. The only place I’m going is into the town to find myself a room for the night.’

‘Why? What point is there in staying here?’ He shrugged, trying to stave off a sudden feeling of disappointment. Maybe he did want to learn more about her but he couldn’t afford to satisfy his curiosity at the expense of Eleni’s happiness. The longer Katie remained on the island, the greater the risk of Eleni finding out about her and that was the last thing he wanted. ‘The best thing you can do now is to return to England and put this whole unfortunate episode behind you.’

‘Whether I return to England or not is my decision. I don’t need you to tell me what to do.’ She marched to the door, one slender brow arching when he barred her way. ‘Excuse me.’

‘You aren’t going anywhere until I know what you intend to do.’

‘Really?’ She stared up at him, her pretty face set. ‘Holding me here against my will is a crime, Dr Constantine. Are you prepared for the publicity that will follow if I report you to the police?’

‘The police would never believe you,’ he scoffed, hoping he was right.

‘Maybe not, but they would have to investigate my allegations.’ She smiled tightly. ‘These things have a nasty habit of leaking out. I wonder how Petros’s fiancée will feel if she sees the story plastered across the front of the local paper.’

Christos knew that she was calling his bluff but there was little he could do about it. She was right, too, because the papers would have a field day if the story got out. Both Petros’s and Eleni’s families were well known on the island and anything that involved them was big news. He couldn’t bear to imagine how devastated Eleni would be if the papers printed the whole sorry tale.

He stepped aside, knowing that he couldn’t take that risk. He would have to find another way to ensure Katie’s cooperation, although it wasn’t going to be easy. She was a very determined young woman, it seemed.

He followed her from the room, wondering how he should handle the situation from here on. Maria was still working behind the desk; she looked up when he and Katie passed.

‘You haven’t introduced me to your friend yet, Christos,’ she chided him.

‘I’m sorry.’ Christos stopped, knowing it would create more speculation if he ignored her. ‘This is Katie Carlyon, Maria. She was at the airport when Mr Briggs collapsed and she helped to resuscitate him.’

‘Kalimera, Katie.’ Maria smiled warmly. ‘You were very brave to lend a hand. It can be quite scary when you have to resuscitate someone like that.’

‘It certainly can.’ Katie returned her smile. ‘Fortunately, I’m an emergency department nurse so I’ve done my share of CPR over the years.’

‘It was lucky you were there!’ Maria exclaimed. ‘So what brings you to our beautiful island? Are you here on holiday?’

‘Not really. I was supposed to be moving here to live, but my plans might have to change. I’m not sure what I’m going to do now, to be honest.’

Christos could tell that Maria was dying to know what had happened to change Katie’s plans and hurriedly intervened. There was no way that he wanted Katie to discuss the situation with a member of his staff. Gossip was rife in the hospital and it wouldn’t take long for the story to circulate throughout the building and beyond.

‘I don’t want to rush you, Katie, but if you’re hoping to find somewhere to stay tonight, you’d better not leave it too late. The hotels soon get booked up as more flights arrive.’ He grasped her arm and steered her towards the corridor, waiting until they were out of Maria’s sight before he released her.

‘Do you mind?’ She glared at him as she rubbed her arm. ‘I would prefer it if you didn’t manhandle me.’

‘And I would prefer it if you saw sense and got on a plane back to England.’ He returned her stare, knowing that he had to convince her it was a waste of time remaining on the island. ‘I don’t know what you hope to achieve by staying here. I’ve already explained the situation to you, but in case you’re in any doubt, Petros isn’t interested in you. Is that clear?’

‘Yes, thank you—perfectly clear.’ Tears sparkled in her eyes but she blinked them away. ‘However, until Petros tells me that himself then I am not leaving. For all I know you could be making it up.’

He swore softly in Greek, glad that she couldn’t understand the ugly words. It was rare that he lost his temper but she had pushed him to the limit that day. ‘Why would I make it up? What possible reason could I have for doing so? I’m telling you the truth, Katie, so do yourself a favour and accept it.’

‘I can’t.’ Her voice was so low that he had to strain to hear what she was saying. ‘I wish I could walk away but I can’t until I hear Petros say that he doesn’t love me.’

Her voice broke as tears began to stream down her face. Christos wasn’t sure if it was the sight of those tears that affected him, but there wasn’t a doubt in his mind at that moment that she was suffering and he responded instinctively. Gathering her into his arms, he rocked her gently to and fro. He understood how devastated she must feel because it was how he had felt when he’d lost Eleni. The worst kind of pain was that which came from knowing that you could never have the person you loved most of all.

In that moment his feelings towards Katie suddenly shifted. He could no longer think of her simply as a problem to be solved as speedily as possible. She was suffering, too, and knowing that forged a bond between them he had never anticipated. He realised with a sinking heart that it was going to be harder than he’d imagined to fulfil his promise to his cousin and send her away.

Katie could feel the warm strength of the arms that were holding her and for the first time in ages she felt safe. She hadn’t realised until then how stressful the past few weeks had been. Leaving England and everything she knew had been a huge step. Even though she’d been sure it was what she’d wanted to do, it had been a major decision for her. If she’d had any idea this would happen then she would never have got on the plane that morning, but it was too late for regrets now. She had to deal with the situation as best she could, and learn from it.

‘Here.’

A large tanned hand suddenly appeared in front of her, holding a crisp white handkerchief. Katie took it with a murmur of thanks and dried her eyes. When Christos let her go, she forced herself to smile at him even though there was very little to smile about. ‘Thank you.’

‘Feeling better now?’ he asked quietly.

‘Yes. I’m sorry. I don’t usually go to pieces like that.’

‘There’s no need to apologise. You’re upset and I understand why.’ He sighed. ‘That’s why I think it would be best if you went home.’

‘I’m not sure what I want to do,’ she admitted. ‘This has been a huge shock and I need time to think before I make any decisions.’

‘Surely it would be easier to do that in England with your family and friends around you.’

‘The only family I have is my sister Kelly and she’s in Sardinia. She flew out there this morning to take up a new job and I certainly don’t want to upset her plans by telling her that things haven’t worked out for me.’

‘I see. But what about your friends? There must be people who you are close to?’

‘Yes.’

She shrugged. ‘I have some really good friends back in Manchester but they have their own problems. It isn’t fair to expect them to help me.’

‘So what you’re saying is that you don’t want to return to England?’

‘I don’t know! My head’s in such a spin that I don’t know what I want to do. That’s why I need time to think things through. I certainly don’t want to go rushing into another decision I’ll regret.’

She brushed past him because there was no point debating the issue any more. Anyway, he didn’t really care where she went so long as it was away from the island, and far away from Petros.

A sob rose to her throat but she forced it down. They had reached the foyer and she paused. ‘I’ll find a taxi to take me into town. If you could fetch my case out of your car, I’ll be out of your way in no time.’

‘And what about Petros? Do you still intend to contact him?’

‘Of course. However, I shall decide when and how I intend to do so. It has nothing to do with you or anyone else.’

‘That isn’t good enough, I’m afraid. You have to understand the damage you could cause.’

‘What about the damage that has been done to me?’ she countered, angrily. ‘Doesn’t that count for anything?’

‘Of course it does, which is why I want you to be sensible and forget about my cousin. He isn’t right for you, Katie. Can’t you see that?’

‘At the moment I’m too confused to know what I think any more,’ she said wearily.

‘I understand, but promise me that you won’t do anything rash.’

He captured her hands and held them fast, and once again she was struck by a feeling of security. It was very strange because nothing he had said to her that day should have made her feel like this, yet it didn’t alter the fact that she felt safer with him then she’d felt with anyone, even Petros.

The thought shocked her so much that she snatched her hands away. ‘I won’t make promises I might not be able to keep.’

He shook his head in despair. ‘I don’t know what else I can say to convince you.’

‘There’s nothing you can say. I need to make up my own mind.’

‘And what will you do in the meantime? Are you going to treat this as a holiday?’

‘I’m not sure.’ Katie sighed because that was something else she needed to think about. The money she had left after paying for her flight wouldn’t last long if she had to stay in a hotel. She might be able to find somewhere cheaper—a guest house or maybe a room—but even then it wouldn’t be long before her money ran out. She hadn’t given any thought to her financial position before she’d left England. She had assumed that Petros would ask her to live with him but that wasn’t going to happen now.

Pain lanced through her again. She had trusted Petros and he had let her down. Although it wouldn’t change what had happened, she needed to know why he had treated her this way. And to do that she would have to find a way to support herself so she could remain on the island.

‘I could manage a week’s holiday, but I’ll need to find a job after that. I can’t afford to stay on here if I’m not earning any money.’

‘It might not be that easy to find work.’ He shrugged when she looked at him in surprise. ‘It’s still quite early in the season and a lot of the restaurants and bars aren’t taking on extra staff yet.’

‘I’m sure I’ll find something,’ she said, wondering if this was another ploy to put her off the idea of staying on the island.

He sighed. ‘I am not making it up, Katie. I’m merely explaining the problems you could encounter.’

‘Thank you for your concern, but I’m sure I’ll find myself some sort of a job,’ she said shortly.

‘You said that you were a nurse in the emergency department—is that right?’

‘Yes. I was a senior staff nurse in Accident and Emergency. Why? Do you have a vacancy on your team?’

The question was asked very much with her tongue in her cheek. She didn’t seriously think that he would consider hiring her, even if there was a vacancy, so it was impossible to hide her surprise when he said quietly, ‘We do have a vacancy, as it happens. If your references check out then I can see no reason why I shouldn’t offer you the job.’ He smiled thinly when she gasped. ‘Please, don’t misunderstand why I’m doing this, though. I haven’t changed my mind about you staying on here. I still believe that you should go home. But we are in desperate need of staff, and if you are intent on staying here, you may as well help us out.’

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