The Greek Doctor's New-Year Baby. Kate HardyЧитать онлайн книгу.
having a manicure?â
âWellâno,â Madison admitted. She enjoyed doing girly things, but her cousin most definitely didnât. Katrina was practical. Too practical for her own good.
âThen you have them. With my love.â
Madison shook her head. âI canât do that. You spent a fortune on tickets, Kat.â And she hadnât won a single thingâso Madison had told a teensy fib and given her cousin her own prizes. âLook, at least have the massage. Youâd enjoy it. Really, you would. Itâs really relaxing.â
Katrina wrinkled her nose. âThanks, but itâs not my style.â And she clearly suspected Madison of having had a hand in the prizesâwhich she had, but not quite in the way Katrina thought. âLook, if you really donât want them, Iâll raffle them off in the department and you can add the proceeds to the scanner fund.â Katrina paused. âDid you meet Prince Charming tonight, then?â
âHey, are you calling me Cinderella?â Madison teased.
âYouâve gone red. Aha. So you did meet someone.â Katrina gave her a wicked smile. âCome on. Details. All of them. Right now.â
Madison shrugged. âThereâs not a lot to tell. We danced. Once.â She left out the fact that the man in the gold mask had kissed her inner wrist and she could still feel the touch of his mouth against her skin.
âAnd?â When Madison didnât reply, Katrina asked, âWhatâs his name? Which ward is he on?â
âNo idea, to both.â Madison forced herself to sound offhand. âKat, it was just a dance.â And a kiss. âAnd he was wearing a mask, so I didnât even get to see his face.â
But she had seen his eyes and his mouth. Sheâd class both as the sexiest sheâd ever seen.
âYou didnât even ask? Sounds like you missed a great opportunity,â Katrina said. âHe might have been really nice.â She shook her head. âYouâre so picky. How are you ever going to meet someone if you never give them a chance?â
Madison grinned. âSays the woman whoâs waiting for her prince to come and find her.â
âI looked. I kissed some of them, even. And they turned into frogs.â Katrina shrugged. âAnyway. Iâm happy with my career.â
âSo am I,â Madison said.
Katrina raised an eyebrow. âHoney, youâve been broody for the last five years.â
âWhich is why I made such a huge mistake with Harry. I know.â Madison shrugged. âNext time, Iâll get it right. Find myself the perfect manâgorgeous body, gorgeous mind, gorgeous heart.â
âIn that order?â
âColour me shallow.â Madison laughed and spread her hands. âActually, the order doesnât matter, as long as theyâre all present.â Though she knew which ones were the most important. The two Harry had turned out not to possess.
âI think youâre going to have to compromise somewhere,â Katrina said.
Madison shook her head. âNo compromising.â Not any more. Sheâd compromised with Harry, and look where that had got her. Divorced and disillusioned at the age of twenty-six. Except now, at thirty, she had her bounce back again. âLook, our mums managed it, didnât they?â
âIâm not so sure our dads are perfect,â Katrina said thoughtfully. âI love Dad and Uncle Bryan to bits, but theyâre not perfect, Maddie. Nobody is. Theyâre only human.â
Madison was saved from having to agree by a soft knock on the door. âKat, sorry to interruptâI need you to come and have a look at Joseph. Iâm not happy with his obs,â the paediatric nurse said, looking worried.
âOn my way,â Katrina said. âSorry, Maddie.â
âHey. I only dropped in to give you your prizes. Iâll catch you later.â Madison hugged her cousin, and left the ward.
But she still couldnât get that kiss out of her head. It had been chaste and decorousâyet, at the same time, the hottest thing sheâd ever experienced. Full of promise. If Ed hadnât interrupted, who knew what could have happened?
âGet a grip, Maddie. Real world,â she informed herself. The ball was over. And sheâd probably never see the stranger again, so what was the point in wondering what might have been?
CHAPTER TWO
ON MONDAY morningâthe day before he was supposed to startâTheo Petrakis walked on to the maternity unit.
He liked what he saw. Everything was organisedâwell, as organised as you could get in a ward where babies decided to arrive earlier than expected, or made their parents wait around and worry before they finally made their appearanceâand there were plenty of hand sanitation gel dispensers around, so clearly they were hot on hygiene here. And the warm, relaxed atmosphere heâd noticed at his interview was still present, to his relief. Before now heâd worked in a unit where the midwives and doctors had been practically ranged against each other instead of recognising that they were a team.
âCan I help you?â the midwife sitting at the reception desk asked.
He smiled at her and held out his hand. âIâm Theo Petrakis. Strictly speaking, Iâm not supposed to be here until tomorrow, but I thought Iâd drop in and say hello.â
âTheo Petrakisâour new consultant, yes?â She returned the smile. âIâm Iris Rutherford.â The senior midwife, according to her name badge. She took his hand and shook it warmly. âPleased to meet you. Especially as youâve picked a nice quiet moment.â
âAs opposed to three in the morning, when all the babies decide itâs the perfect time to make their arrival?â he asked wryly.
She laughed. âToo right! If youâve got a few minutes spare, I can show you around and introduce you to everyone.â
âThanks. Iâd like that.â
And by everyone, Theo discovered, she meant everyone, including the health-care assistants.
It had definitely been a good decision to take this temporary post, he thought. A six-month stint as a locum for the senior consultant, who was off on long-term sick leave. It would broaden his experience so he was ready to make the step up to a senior consultancy role. As it looked as if heâd be part of a team here that believed in working together, this job was going to be a real pleasure.
Then he noticed the slight frown on Irisâs face as they got back to her desk. âWhatâs up?â
âI was hoping youâd get to meet our registrar, but sheâs in one of the delivery rooms right now. Sheâs brilliant at her job, good with the mums and the babies. Sheâs going to make an excellent consultant in a couple of years.â
âAmbitious?â Theo asked, trying to read between the lines.
Iris smiled. âShe certainly hasnât met the man whoâll come between her and her career. But she wonât give you a hard time for taking over from Doug, if thatâs what youâre asking.â
By the time Theo left the ward, the registrar still hadnât emerged from the delivery roomâand no way would he interrupt what was clearly already a difficult situation for a woman in labourâbut he wasnât