The Greek Children's Doctor (Westerling)

‘It’s beautiful. How can you bear to leave it?’

He smiled. ‘The lure of British and American healthcare.’

‘Well, I think you’re mad. If this was my home I’d never leave it.’ Libby gave an enormous yawn and settled back in her seat. ‘Are we staying in your house?’

Andreas grabbed the bags and shook his head. ‘Yes. Although none of the rest of the family will be there. My mother is visiting my cousin who’s just had a baby and my uncles spend most of their time in Athens now.’

Libby shot him a wary glance. Would it be just the two of the

m?

Her heart lurched slightly but before she had a chance to question him further the driver had turned off the road and was driving down what was little more than a dusty track that led towards the beach.

Libby craned her neck curiously, wondering where they were going. Surely there couldn’t be a house here? Nothing was visible from the road.

And then the car turned a corner and she gasped.

A beautiful whitewashed villa nestled at one end of a beautiful bay, the sand stretching away from it to form a perfect crescent.

It was the most idyllic spot she’d ever seen and she turned to Andreas in amazement.

‘This is your home?’

‘I was brought up here,’ he told her, nodding to the driver as he retrieved the bags from the boot of the car. ‘But we spent a great deal of time in Athens, too. My father had business interests there. He hated leaving his family behind so we had a home there as well.’

‘You’re lucky,’ Libby said wistfully, and he looked at her keenly.

‘Did your father travel a lot?’

Libby tensed. ‘Yes, but we were all very grateful for that. Things weren’t too great when he was around.’

Wanting to escape from the memories that he’d aroused, she slipped off her shoes and sprinted down to the sand, sighing with pleasure as she felt the warm softness ooze between her toes.

‘You’re a child, Elizabeth,’ Andreas said with a laugh from behind her, and she shrugged, staring out across the sparkling sea to the orange sun that was starting to dip behind the mountains.

‘I don’t know about that,’ she said softly, ‘but I do know that if you were brought up here then you were very lucky.’

She’d heard the affection in his voice when he’d spoken of his parents and suddenly she envied him his childhood. Her own had been full of rows and totally lacking in parental affection.

Would she have been different if she’d had his family background?

Would she have found it easier to trust people?

‘I was lucky,’ he agreed. ‘I had a secure, loving family around me when I was a child and I suppose that’s why I don’t find it hard to trust people. Unlike you. I know that you’ve been surrounded by faithless men all your life, but it’s time to realise that they aren’t the only sort.’

Her breathing quickened.

It would have been so easy to believe him. So easy…

And so foolish.

She gave a wry smile and kicked at the sand with her bare feet. ‘So…’ she lifted her head and gave him a bright smile ‘…are you going to show me your house?’

He lifted a hand and touched her face gently. ‘You are the mistress of avoidance, do you know that?’

She gave a careless shrug. ‘I don’t see the point in dwelling on the past.’

‘If it’s affecting the future, there’s a point,’ he said quietly, taking her hand and pulling her back towards the villa. ‘But we’ll talk about that another time. Come on. Let’s get settled in.’