by Amy Ruttan
He tossed down the rest of the amount owed and then pulled out her chair before they left the taverna and headed out onto the street, up the hill toward the Parthenon.
“Well, at least the line is short today,” Chris said as they took their spot in line to pay for admission. “And this is my treat. You’ve never been, and I’ve been way too many times.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“There’s not much left of it, but the views of the city are worth the price.”
He paid for their tickets and they were ushered through the gate and were soon wandering through stones and crumbling ruins.
As they moved away from the regular tourists, Chris put a hand on the small of her back, and her body came alive with just that simple touch from him.
“See—look at the views over the city. Can you imagine what this must have been like when it was all brand-new?” he said wistfully.
“You mean when Zeus ruled all?” she teased.
A smile quirked at the corner of his lips. “You mean Athena, don’t you?”
“That does make more sense. Why did they name the city after her?”
“Because she gave its citizens the gift of the olive. It was food, its branches would burn in their hearths and its oil would light their lamps.”
“And was there a rival for the citizens’ affections?” she asked.
“Poseidon. He struck the ground and gave them a saltwater well—but what could the people do with a saltwater well? They couldn’t drink it. Whereas Athena gave them the olive and so Athens was born.”
He smiled at her, and that dimple in his cheek made her blood heat, and in that moment, with the loud rush of the city below them and tourists all around them, she saw only him. Heard only him. Drowned everything else out.
Naomi could feel herself melting for him.
Get a grip on yourself.
“Poseidon must’ve been mad,” she said huskily.
“Yes, he caused a flood and drowned a bunch of people—but I won’t say a bad word about the god of the sea...not when I need calm seas tonight to get home to my son.”
And he moved away from her then, breaking the spell that had been woven around them.
They finished walking around the Parthenon and the Acropolis and then headed back down the hill, to take a cab to the docks at Piraeus.
“When will you be coming back to Mythelios?” he asked after he’d bought his ticket.
“Tomorrow morning.”
He nodded. “I’ll pray for calm seas then too.”
“I would appreciate it.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear nervously. “I’ll check on Maximos tonight. I have a round I need to complete there anyways.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. And I’ll feel better leaving him now that I know you’ll be there.”
The ferry horn sounded and Chris glanced back over his shoulder.
“You’d better go,” she said. “You can’t leave Evangelos for another night.”
“No. I can’t.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Thank you for helping me with the surgery. It was good having you there beside me again. I’d forgotten what it was like.”
“You’re welcome. Now, go.”
He nodded and walked through the gate toward the ferry.
She sighed and stayed there even though she couldn’t see him get on. She watched as the ferry pushed away from port, and continued to watch as it faded into a dot on the horizon, heading off toward Mythelios.
What are you doing?
She wasn’t sure what she was doing, to be honest. She was setting herself up for more heartache if she even thought about this—but she missed him. Being with him reminded her of how much she’d enjoyed being in his company and how much brighter her life had been in his presence.
But they could be friends and nothing more.
That was the least she could do for her heart.
CHAPTER SEVEN
NAOMI KNOCKED ON the door of one of the exam rooms in the clinic. She’d quickly fallen back into her routine of working at both the clinic and the hospital in Athens. It had been a few days since she’d said goodbye to Chris at the ferry and made that vow to herself that she wasn’t going to allow anything to happen between them except friendship.
Friendship she would gladly handle. It would mean a more pleasant work environment.
And so far it had been working well. Although actually she hadn’t seen him since they said goodbye in Piraeus, because Evangelos had gotten a bad cold and Chris had been devoting all his time to his son. A baby with a cold wasn’t a pleasant thing, and it had taken all her willpower not to run up to his house and check on the both of them.
But she knew she would just be getting in the way if she did that. Lisa was working at his house, and she didn’t want to interfere with her cousin’s job either.
“Come in.”
Naomi opened the door and saw one of her younger patients who’d had his spleen removed a couple of weeks ago was waiting for her.
“How are you feeling today, Giorgos?” she asked.
“Better,” Giorgos answered. “But I’ll feel fabulous when I can get the all clear. Will that be soon?”
“You ruptured your spleen. You lost an organ. That’s not great. You have to recover from major abdominal surgery and your body has to adjust.”
Giorgos’s mother put her hand on her son. “Dr. Hudson, do we need to pay anything toward the surgery? Giorgos wants to work. He’s of age, and his father...”
“I understand, Mrs. Veritas, but he can’t work. Not yet. He needs to rest. He’s only two weeks post-op from his splenectomy. But the loss of his spleen was as a result of an unstable structure in the aftermath of the earthquake, so whatever the Greek national health care system can’t pick up will be paid for by International Relief.”
Mrs. Veritas let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness. I was trying to work it all out in my head.”
“It’s okay. It’s taken care of. He would’ve died had he not been flown to Athens and had the spleen removed.”
Giorgos didn’t look too pleased, but she couldn’t blame the boy. He was seventeen, and he wanted to get back to the things that he liked, which included sports. And he’d lost his father in the earthquake. The boy was now head of the household.
Giorgos wanted to work. He wanted to fill his father’s shoes. Except losing a major organ was putting a crimp in his plans.
“After we take the stitches out, you will have to go on some medication, which will also be covered by International Relief. I’m sorry, Giorgos, but I think you’re on bed-rest for a while yet. Your white count is elevated, which suggests that your body is fighting an infection, and you’re not healing as fast as I would like.”
“Malakas!” Giorgos cursed.
His mother gasped. “Such language in front of the doctor!” Mrs. Veritas screeched.
“Sorry, Dr. Hudson,” Giorgos said contritely. “That earthquake caused more trouble than good.”
“Don’t they always?” Naomi asked. “But you’re alive. If you rest now, then you can help out your family when you’re as good as new.”
Giorgos frowned anxiously. “When will that be?”
“Six more weeks,” Naomi said. “I’ll call you in to clear you in six weeks—but that’s only if you rest so your body can heal. If you have any issues, like fever, which is a sign of a postoperative infection, come to the clinic right away. Don’t worry about the cost.”
“Thank you, Dr. Hudson,” Mrs. Veritas said, and she and her son left the clinic.
Naomi sighed and made a note in her chart. There was a knock on the door and she looked up to see Chris hovering in the doorway. There were dark circles under his eyes, worse than usual, and she felt bad for him.
“Hey
,” she said. “How is Evan?”
“Better, thank God. That was brutal. He was so congested—and I won’t explain to you the horrors of trying to relieve a baby of nasal congestion.”
Naomi laughed. “I already know, but thanks for that mental picture.”
Chris slipped into the room and shut the door. “I need your help.”
“Sure—with a case?”
“No. My father.”
“What about your father?” she asked.
“He’s coming to visit me tonight.”
“Oh?”
Chris nodded. “I need you to come over for dinner. I tried to get Ares, Theo and Deakin to come over with their significant others, but apparently they’re all too busy. I don’t believe it for one second. They just don’t want to see my father. Not that I blame them—I don’t want to see my father either.”
“So I get that honor instead?” she asked, arching a brow.
“You have to help me. If you’re there, maybe he’ll ease up on me, and we can steer the conversation away from how I wasted my money on the clinic, and how terrible a son I am for not following in his footsteps. Maybe he won’t point out so many of my faults if there’s a pretty woman dining with us tonight.”
“If you think it will help, then sure. Does he know about the upcoming bachelor auction?”
“I hope not—but probably.” Chris rolled his eyes. “You’re really doing me a solid favor here. I owe you one. He’s a bit of a bully. I hope you won’t get upset if he acts like a jerk toward you.”
“It’s no problem—and bullies I can handle. I didn’t get where I am in my career by bowing down to pompous, arrogant people.”
He smiled, relief washing over his face. “Thank you. So—come to my place around seven. He’ll be arriving about eight.”
“Sounds good—but I’m warning you already that I’m going to call in my favor later this week.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Oh...?”
She handed him Giorgos’s chart. “Splenic rupture. It’s a seventeen-year-old boy and I really would like someone else to be familiar with his case should he come in while I’m not here. He was injured when an unstable building that had actually been cleared by engineers came crashing down on him about two weeks ago. He’d been working in construction since his father died in the earthquake back in May.”
Chris pulled out a pair of glasses and read the chart she’d handed to him. She was surprised to see him wearing glasses. He’d never worn them before. But they didn’t detract from the overall sexy, godlike appeal of him. They enhanced it even more and her heart skipped a beat.
“That’s bad. Poor kid.” He took off the glasses and slipped them back into the breast pocket of his lab coat. Then he looked at her, realizing she was staring at him. “What?”
“Since when did you start wearing glasses?”
“A year ago. I only need them if I’ve been staring at a computer screen too long, or when I have to focus hard on small details on things like X-rays. I’m not getting any younger.”
“You’re aging well. Like a fine wine.”
Heat bloomed in her cheeks as she realized she’d let that thought slip from her lips instead of keeping it firmly inside her head, where it belonged.
A strange expression crossed his face and a smile quirked his lips as he crossed his arms. “Is that so...?”
She cleared her throat. “Would you get out of here? You have to prepare for your father’s arrival and I have things to do!”
He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up on end. “Right. Thanks again.”
Chris left the exam room and Naomi let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She was going to have to get better control over herself. He was just a friend. A work colleague. Nothing more.
He couldn’t be anything else.
* * *
Why did you ask her over to dinner?
Chris wasn’t sure what he was thinking. All he knew was that he’d missed Naomi these last few days. Leaving her behind at the docks in Piraeus had been harder than he’d imagined. Even though he’d known he would see her the next day, that ferry ride home had been lonely.
But then when he’d gotten home, he’d been overwhelmed with a sick child, a sick nanny and the news that his father was going to be paying him a visit shortly.
Maybe the seas had been calm, but Poseidon was punishing him in other ways for talking up Athena.
He smiled to himself at that thought, but just remembering that time in the Parthenon brought the images of that afternoon with her back into sharp focus.
Being so close to her had reminded him of a simpler time in his life. When he’d been happy. But then he’d remembered how much of a fool he’d been and what a mistake he’d made in walking away from her. Not that he’d had any choice in the matter.
Now she wanted to be his friend, and he wanted that too. He wanted her in the operating room beside him, working with him. He’d forgotten how much he relied on her.
“Dr. Moustakas—Stavros is here to see you,” a nurse said, coming up the hallway.
“He is? He doesn’t have an appointment, does he?”
“No, but he’s hoping you’ll see him. He had some time...”
“Of course. Send him into a free exam room and I’ll be with him momentarily.”
The nurse nodded and headed back to the waiting area of the clinic. Chris ducked into the room where the files were kept and grabbed Stavros’s notes. By that time Stavros was already in an exam room, waiting for him.
Chris entered the room to see Stavros pacing up and down. “You wanted to see me?” he asked.
“Yes.” Stavros held up his hand and it shook. “It’s getting worse and I’m forgetting things. I’m concerned.”
“Do you want to have the scan now?” Chris asked. “Have you eaten or drunk anything yet today?”
“No, I didn’t feel like it. I would like to do it now, if that’s possible, Dr. Moustakas. I have time today because I’ve closed the taverna... I’m not saying that I’ll agree to you cutting open my head, but I would like to know what I’m dealing with.”
“That’s wise. I’ll have a nurse prep you for a CT scan. Do you have someone in the waiting room?”
“Yes, my wife came with me.”
“Good, because you might not be feeling too well after the dyes and the stuff we make you drink.”
Stavros wrinkled his nose. “I suppose this is all worth it?”
Chris clapped him on the shoulder. “It is, Stavros. I promise you. Once I get a clear picture of everything that’s going on, we can decide what the next step should be.”
Stavros nodded. “Thank you, Dr. Moustakas.”
“I’ll send a nurse in.”
Chris left the room and sent a nurse to prep Stavros for the CT scan.
It took a couple of hours for the prep and the dyes to take effect, but soon Stavros was lying down on the bed of the CT scanner and Chris was in the other room, watching for the scans to come up.
He put on his glasses and watched as the images came up on the screen. As he went through each image, he could get a better look at the anaplastic oligodendroglioma that was growing in his temporal lobe, and he was relieved to see that it hadn’t spread anywhere else in Stavros’s body.
“Are those Stavros’ scans?” Naomi asked, leaning over him.
Being this close to her, he could smell her perfume—and it made him think of things he shouldn’t.
Focus.
“It is. The cancer hasn’t spread. Which is good news. It means he might actually go through with the surgery—but just look at this,” Chris said, clicking on one of the scans of the man’s head. “This is a monster. It’s a complicated and aggressive anaplastic oligodendroglioma.”
“It certainly is—and if he doesn’t get it out,
he’ll have a slow, painful death.”
Chris nodded. “I know. Hopefully that will further my cause and get him to go to Athens and have it taken care of. Is there any word about the funding?”
Naomi sighed. “They won’t cover it. It’s not related to the earthquake, and if he can’t wait for a place on the national health care list to come up, he’ll have to cover what his private medical insurance won’t.”
“His medical insurance won’t even cover the entirety of my fees,” Chris stated. “So I guess I’d better do it pro bono, just to make sure.”
Naomi smiled warmly at him. “I knew you had a good heart.”
“The problem is getting the hospital to agree to the rest... It will be an expensive surgery. Hopefully whoever is assisting me will also offer up her services pro bono?”
Naomi made a funny face. “Of course. What a silly man you are.”
Chris grinned. “I can be.”
“I’ll work on the board at the hospital in Athens. We’ll get it taken care of. Convince Stavros of that—and also try to convince him it’s not charity. I know he’s a proud man.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Chris said. “Don’t worry.”
“So, this dinner tonight... I don’t want to presume, but will I be able to crash at your place afterward, since I’ll be missing the last ferry back to Athens?”
His pulse kicked up a notch at the thought of her staying another night. He hadn’t even thought of that when he’d asked her to dinner.
“Of course. I’m sorry—I forgot.”
“When I agreed to it, I forgot too, to be honest. I’m sorry that I won’t be able to dress up for your father. All I have is my business stuff.”
“That’s fine—that’s actually the way he prefers things.”
“Good.” She got up. “I’ll leave you to break the news to Stavros and I’ll see you tonight.”
“I look forward to it.”
Naomi left and Chris let out a breath he hadn’t even been aware that he was holding. How could he have been so foolish?
It’s because you want her to stay overnight.
Of course, his father would have his boat, so maybe he could take Naomi back to Athens. If Chris put him on the spot, his father wouldn’t say no. Naomi might not appreciate it, but it would be better for both of them if she didn’t stay the night.
