The Greek Doctor's New-Year Baby. Kate HardyЧитать онлайн книгу.
donât mean coffee as in a date. I know youâre involved with the guy in the emergency department.â
âThe guy in theâ¦?â She looked mystified for a second, then smiled. âOh, you mean Ed.â
âThe one who called you down to Mrs Ellis,â he confirmed.
âIâm not involved with Ed.â
âThen youâre free.â Even though he knew he ought to be sensible about it, he couldnât help mentally punching the air. And then he caught the expression on her face. âTo take pity on the new boy, that is,â he said swiftly. âIâve spent the last five years working in the Midlands, so I donât know the area at all, and I could do with someone to show me where I can get some good coffee around here.â
She shrugged. âThe hospital canteenâs OK.â
âThey do espresso?â he checked.
âOh. You mean serious coffee.â For a moment, he thought she was going to give him the brush-off. Then she smiled. âI know the perfect place.â
She led him to a small café not far from the hospital. âGiovanniâsâitâs Italian?â he asked.
She nodded.
âA little family place. Sounds good to me.â
âActually, itâs a chain,â she corrected. âBut itâs a good one. And Iâm very glad thereâs a branch just round the corner from the hospital. They do the best coffee in Londonânot to mention these fantastic organic chocolate brownies.â
She ordered a frothy cappuccino and a brownie, and shook her head when he ordered a double espresso. âThat much caffeine is seriously bad for you, Theo. How on earth do you sleep?â
âIâm used to it.â He smiled. âEspresso is the nearest I can get to Greek coffee outside home. Unless you happen to know a decent Greek restaurant around here?â
She shook her head. âIâm afraid Greek coffee is a taste I havenât acquired. Itâs all the bits.â She grimaced. âThat thick gloopy stuff at the bottom.â
He laughed. âYouâre not supposed to drink it to the last drop. And the kaimakiâthe frothâis gorgeous, if itâs made properly. Like an espresso. But I admit itâs an acquired taste, and I canât drink it sweet, the way my father does.â He paused. âI enjoyed working with you today. Youâre as good a doctor as you are a dancer. Intuitive and empathetic.â
To his pleasure, her eyes widened slightly. So she wasnât entirely indifferent to him, then? She felt this same weird pull, the chemistry between them?
âThank you.â She inclined her head. âIâm sorry I didnât get the chance to thank you for the dance at the ball.â
He shrugged. âYour friend was ratherâhow should I say?âintent on seeing you.â
She rolled her eyes. âPut it down to too much champagne. On his part, not mine.â
âI hear you organised the ball. And that you made enough for half a scanner.â
âOnly the first half of it.â
âThatâs still a pretty big achievement.â
She shrugged it off. âI was part of a committee.â
âBut the ball was your idea?â
âThe music was.â She grinned. âOne of these days Iâm going to convert these philistines and make them admit that the old songs are the best.â
âSo you donât like modern music?â
âI just like something I can sing along to. The kind of stuff that puts a smile on your face when you hear it because itâs so full of verve. And I donât care if people think itâs old-fashioned: I like it.â She took a sip of her coffee. âI suppose itâs because itâs the stuff I grew up with. Dad always had it playing in the garage when he was tinkering with a car. Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, that sort of stuff.â
He couldnât help smiling. âSo would I be right in guessing that your favourite films are musicals?â
âAbsolutely. You canât beat a good Gene Kelly film,â she said, smiling back.
The more Theo talked to Madison, the more he liked her. Felt a connection with her. Wanted to spend time with her. Which made her dangerous. He should stop this right now. Apart from the fact that he was only here for six months, he knew that mixing work and relationships could make life much too complicated. And he wasnât looking for a relationship in any case.
Yet his mouth seemed to have other ideas.
âI won something pretty stunning on the tombolaâa balloon flight at sunrise. Why donât you come with me?â
She went very still. âAre you asking me on a date?â
This time his head managed to overrule his heart where his mouth was concerned. âIâm asking you as a colleague and potential friend,â he said.
She smiled. âThen thank you. Iâd like that. Iâve never been in a balloon.â
âThen letâs synchronise our off-duty. When are you free?â
She took her diary from her handbag. âThursday or Friday?â
âNot this week. How about next week?â he suggested.
âTuesday and Wednesday.â
âWednesday it is,â he said. âIâll book the flight and find out what we need to know.â
CHAPTER THREE
THE night before the balloon trip, Madison couldnât get to sleep.
She must have been crazy, agreeing to this in the first place. Quite apart from the fact she wasnât a morning person and sheâd arranged to meet Theo at the crack of dawn, Theo Petrakis wasnât relationship material.
Sure, he ticked all the boxes. He was an excellent doctor, kept the team working beautifully together, and his calm, confident manner on the ward managed to calm even the most nervous parent-to-be. And, as just about every female in the hospital would attest, Theo Petrakis was drop-dead gorgeous.
But he was only here on secondment, covering Dougâs sick leave for six months or so. Then heâd move on, and Madison was perfectly happy here in London.
Sheâd already made the mistake of rushing into a relationship without a future, and she had no intention of repeating it and letting her world fall apart all over again.
All the same, she couldnât get Theo out of her head. Those dark eyes with the unexpected green and gold glintsâeyes that always seemed to be full of sunshine. That incredibly sexy smile. The dark hair, brushed back neatly from his face, that made her want to slide her fingers through it and make him look all sexily rumpled. His incredibly gorgeous mouth⦠And even though it had been a week and a half since the ball, she could still remember exactly how his lips had felt against the pulse point in her wrist.
âStop being ridiculous and go to sleep,â she told herself loudly, plumping her pillow and keeping her eyes firmly closed, even though she felt wide awake.
A feeling that didnât last when her alarm shrilled at an unearthly hour. She had to hit the snooze button three times before she could drag herself out of bed, and she was only just ready when