The Greek Children's Doctor

‘I don’t know,’ she muttered, and his fingers tightened on her arms.

‘Yes, you do. Why, Libby?’

She hiccoughed slightly. ‘Because you’re very good-looking and I thought we’d make cute babies?’

He lifted an eyebrow and his firm mouth quirked slightly. ‘So you selected me as a prime example of male genetic perfection?’

‘Maybe.’

He looked at her. ‘Come on, Libby,’ he urged softly, ‘be honest with me. Be honest with yourself for once.’

Heart racing, she spread her hands and glared at him. ‘All right, I love you,’ she shouted. ‘I love you heaps and tons. And it’s terrifying because I know that it won’t last because it never does. And finding out that I’m not pregnant is horrible. I didn’t even know I wanted to be pregnant until five minutes ago when I found out that I wasn’t. How illogical is that?’

‘It’s the best news I’ve ever had,’ he groaned, dragging her against him. ‘I was beginning to think that I’d never get you to admit how you feel.’

Libby stared up at him, her lower lip wobbling. ‘I wanted to be pregnant.’

He gave a slow smile. ‘I’ll make you pregnant,’ he promised, lowering his head to kiss her. ‘As many times as you like. I adore children, you know that. I’d given up ever finding a woman who felt the same way.’

Libby blinked, still very unsure.

Andreas wanted children?

He wanted to have children with her?

‘But you wanted me to take the morning-after pill.’

Andreas curved a strong hand round her cheek, staring down into her eyes as he shook his head. ‘No. That was the last thing I wanted.’

She stared at him, wide-eyed. ‘So why did you suggest it?’

‘Because you were panicking enough at the thought of us being a couple, without me admitting how much I wanted to have children with you,’ Andreas said quietly. ‘If you had wanted to take the pill, I would have supported you, but I was immensely relieved that you decided not to.’

She was still reeling from the shock of finally admitting that she was in love with him. She’d been fighting it for so long she hadn’t even admitted it to herself.

She looked at him, her heart thudding. ‘So is this the bit where we live happily ever after?’

‘I think it probably is,’ he agreed, stroking the tears away from her cheek with gentle fingers, ‘although the final scene isn’t usually played out in a bathroom with the bride-to-be looking traumatised. Wash your face or I’ll have to tell our children that I proposed to their mother when she had a red nose.’

She sniffed. ‘You’re proposing?’

‘Not here,’ he said dryly. ‘I’m going to wait for more romantic surroundings. Wash your face and then join me on the terrace and I’ll do it properly.’

Her insides fluttering with excitement, Libby waited for him to go and then tried to concentrate on removing the evidence of hysterical crying.

Did Andreas truly want to marry her?

The thought of spending the rest of her life with him made her feel giddy with happiness.

How could she ever have thought that she didn’t love him?

How could she have fooled herself for so long?

She adored him.

And he was about to propose to her. And she knew exactly what her answer was going to be.

Smiling, she wandered back into the bedroom and opened one of the drawers, looking for a tissue.

And then she saw the letter.

She probably wouldn’t have looked twice at it if it hadn’t been for the fact that the bold handwriting seemed to leap from the page and the first four words penetrated her brain like a sharpened knife.

Andreas, I love you.

Feeling suddenly sick, Libby reached down and picked up the letter, opening it up so that she could read the rest of it.

I really enjoyed this week together and I can’t wait to be your wife.

Your loving Eleni.

Libby stared down at the letter for endless minutes, as if hoping that by studying the words hard enough they might alter their shape in front of her horrified eyes.

But they didn’t.

They stayed the same, while the sick feeling inside her grew and grew.

Still holding the letter, she walked towards the terrace, hesitating slightly as she saw Andreas standing with his back to her, his broad shoulders blocking the view of the ocean.

He heard her approach and turned, the smile on his face fading as he saw her.

‘You’re as white as a sheet. What’s the matter?’

She swallowed and dropped the letter on the table in front of her. ‘This is the matter.’

He frowned slightly and picked up the letter, sucking in a breath as he scanned the contents. ‘Libby—’