The Greek Children's Doctor

Andreas frowned. ‘It was that bad?’

‘Worse. For the first twenty-eight years of my life there was absolutely no evidence that my parents loved each other,’ Libby said bitterly. ‘They argued, Dad drank too much, and when he drank…’ She broke off and Andreas looked at her.

‘What happened when he drank? Was he violent?’

‘Sometimes.’ Libby rubbed her fingers across her forehead. ‘I suspect it was more than sometimes but we were at school so we didn’t really see it. It only happened once when we were at home and Alex went for him with a cricket bat. I called the police and I don’t think Dad ever really forgave me for that. But it wasn’t just the violence. It was the fact that they showed no affection towards each other and Dad had one affair after another.’

‘But they’re still together?’

‘Amazingly, yes.’ Libby gave a wry smile. ‘Years ago Dad ruined Katy’s relationship with Jago because he didn’t approve, and when they met up again years later Mum was so furious about what he’d done that she stood up to him for the first time in her life. I think the prospect of losing her brought him to his senses.’

‘Well, in the circumstances it’s hardly surprising that you don’t think relationships can work.’

‘It wasn’t just Mum and Dad,’ Libby confessed. ‘Apart from Jago, all the men I meet seem to be utterly faithless and without morals. Even Alex, who I adore, is a real bastard to women.’

‘And Philip?’

Libby laughed. ‘I was never serious about Philip, but all the same it was a real blow to my ego. I only ever seem to be everyone’s second choice. That’s why I couldn’t quite believe what was happening between us. It was too good to be true.’

Andreas nodded. ‘I understand now why you were so upset about the letter you found. Your confidence was so fragile that you couldn’t risk trusting me.’

‘That’s true.’ Libby flushed and bit her lip. ‘And it’s also true that you’re so gorgeous and eligible I just couldn’t understand what you were doing with me, apart from amusing yourself.’

‘Would you like me to spell it out?’ Andreas smiled and then gave a sigh. ‘I’m going to tell you about Eleni, Libby, if only to prove to you just how much I love you.’

‘There’s no need—’

‘I want to,’ he said firmly. ‘I met Eleni when I worked in Boston. She’s a lawyer and we knew each other vaguely from functions in Athens that we’d both attended. We started dating, I suppose because we were both Greek as much as anything else.’

‘And you were in love with her?’

‘No. And that was the problem.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘She was desperate to get married. At the time I thought she loved me but I think the truth was probably that she just wanted to achieve the degree of respectability that marriage gives you if you’re Greek. She was thirty-two and that’s old to still be single in our culture. She saw me as a useful way out of her predicament. That was when she wrote me the letter. I didn’t know it was still in the drawer. I hadn’t been to the villa for six months.’

‘So what happened?’

Andreas pulled a face. ‘Adrienne was what happened. My mother was becoming concerned that I might marry Eleni and she knew that she was totally unsuitable for me. So she suddenly decided that Adrienne should live with me.’

‘But how did that effect your relationship with Eleni?’

‘The minute Eleni knew that I had responsibility for Adrienne she lost interest in me,’ he said dryly. ‘Eleni is not remotely maternal and the thought of being saddled with a moody teenager quickly destroyed any plans she might have had about marrying me. And also my mother knew I’d never marry a career-woman.’

Libby rolled her eyes. ‘I’m in love with a raving chauvinist.’

He grinned. ‘I’m Greek, agape mou, and Greek men are very traditional. I want a woman who’s happy to raise children with me.’

Libby raised an eyebrow. ‘Barefoot and pregnant?’

He glanced under the table to her bare feet. ‘I actually quite like those ridiculous heels you favour, but I love your bare feet, too. In fact, I love everything about you. The moment I saw you buried under a pile of children I knew you were the woman I wanted to marry.’

‘I thought you wanted me because I presented a challenge,’ Libby admitted, and he smiled.

‘I wanted you because I fell madly in love for the first time in my life. So what do you say, Libby? Are you prepared to marry a very traditional Greek male?’