The Greek Children's Doctor (Westerling)

‘Yiayia—I mean, my grandmother, and she’s very, very conservative,’ Adrienne said gloomily. ‘Or Andreas, and he’s even worse. He’s so strict and traditional he won’t let me buy anything remotely daring. Given the chance, he’d dress me in a sack.’

‘Hmm, I can see that neither of those would be decent shopping partners,’ Libby agreed, examining her nails thoughtfully. ‘You know, if you wanted to, I could pick you up from school one day and take you shopping.’

The minute she’d uttered the words, part of her wanted to withdraw the offer. What on earth was she thinking? Offering to help Adrienne would inevitably bring her into contact with Andreas and she’d already decided to avoid him as far as possible.

Adrienne’s gasp of delight made it obvious that there was no going back. ‘You? Why would you want to do that?’

Because she was a total idiot and a sucker for any unhappy child.

Libby gave a weak smile. ‘I adore shopping. Ask my brother or sister. I’m a shopaholic. There’s nothing like a bit of retail therapy to cheer a girl up.’

Adrienne’s eyes were huge. ‘You’d take me shopping? Really?’

‘Sure.’ Touched by the girl’s gratitude, Libby decided that she’d done the right thing. ‘As long as you promise to smile and not argue with my taste. And then, when we’ve shopped, I’ll do your hair. I’m great with hair. I’ve been practising for twenty-nine years on my own.’

Before Adrienne could reply, Andreas strode up and Libby stiffened, wondering how he’d react to the fact that his niece had run away from school. She remembered with appalling clarity her father’s furious response when she’d done the same thing. She’d never, ever done it again.

But Andreas didn’t look furious at all. He looked concerned.

‘Adrienne?’ His tone was incredibly gentle as he stopped in front of the trembling girl. He said something to her in Greek and she took a shuddering breath and looked him in the eye, replying in English.

‘I’m so homesick. I want to live with you. Please, let me live with you—I won’t be any trouble, I promise. I know that it’s supposed to be temporary but I can’t bear it. Please, don’t send me back there.’

Swallowing back an unexpected lump in her throat, Libby glanced at Andreas, noting the tension in his wide, muscular shoulders.

‘You’re too young to be in the house on your own, koratsaki mou, and I haven’t found a suitable housekeeper yet,’ he said roughly.

Adrienne wrapped her arms around her waist. ‘I don’t care about being on my own. I’d rather be on my own than with those—those…’ Her English failed her and she looked pleadingly at Libby. ‘Tell him not to make me go back. Please.’

Libby glanced at Andreas helplessly. She really had no idea what to do or say. She knew nothing about the situation but she did know that Adrienne was obviously miserable.

Before she could speak, Bev hurried up, looking worried. ‘Dr Christakos, A and E are looking for you. They’ve got a child with a nasty asthma attack. They want you down there urgently.’

Andreas sucked in a breath and cast a look at Adrienne. ‘Of course.’ He raked long fingers through his black hair, his frustration evident. ‘Adrienne, we can’t sort this out now. You’ll have to wait in the staffroom until I finish.’

‘Why don’t I take her home with me?’ Libby said quickly, putting a protective hand on the child’s arm. ‘I’m off duty now anyway and it would be much nicer for her. You can collect her from my flat when you’re ready. Bev will give you my address.’

His mouth tightened. ‘I’ll have to take her straight back to school—’

Adrienne gave a moan of protest. ‘No!’

‘Adrienne, I have no choice!’ He sounded tired and frustrated. ‘If I could see another way, believe me, I’d take it. It’s just for the short term.’

Libby wondered exactly what was going on.

Why was his niece living with him?

Bev touched his arm. ‘Dr Christakos—’

‘I’m on my way. Adrienne, we’ll discuss this later.’ His dark eyes rested on Libby. ‘I don’t particularly want her waiting around here so if you’re sure it’s all right, I’ll take you up on your offer. Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome.’

She watched as he strode out of the ward and then turned to Bev who was watching open-mouthed. ‘What are you staring at?’

‘You.’ Bev’s eyes twinkled merrily. ‘So you’re definitely avoiding him, then.’

Libby gritted her teeth. ‘This is nothing to do with Andreas.’