Margaret Barker – Greek Doctor Claims His Bride (страница 2)
“Papa, Papa? Where are you?”
Manolis hurried through the courtyard and stood by the open door that led to the street.
“Papa!” The little girl flung herself at him. He lifted her high into the air. She was laughing and screaming with delight as he lowered her into his arms.
Tanya remained absolutely still as she watched the joyous reunion of a little girl with her father. Her hands were clenching the side of the table to steady herself as she listened to the rapid non-stop Greek words that flowed from the child as she told her father she’d had the most exciting day. It emerged that she’d brought her papa a picture she’d painted at school but she’d put it down on a stone at the side of the path as she’d bent to take her shoes off because she hated wearing shoes when it was hot and the wind had blown it away and she wanted to paint another one now as soon as they got home because…
The story came out in one long breath. As she listened to the chatter, Tanya felt tears prickling behind her eyelids. This child, this beautiful little girl, couldn’t be much younger than the child she’d lost. Their child. She and Manolis should have had a child like this one but…
“Chrysanthe,
The little girl hurried across the small courtyard and through the open door of the kitchen, smiling, friendly, totally trusting.
Tanya tried to swallow the lump in her throat. This wasn’t what she’d thought would happen today. It was all too poignant. Her confused emotions were draining her strength away. She reached out a hand towards the child.
Chrysanthe smiled as she placed her hand in Tanya’s. A pretty little dimple had appeared in the adorable child’s cheek. Who did she get that from? Must have been from her mother. The unknown woman who’d obviously taken Tanya’s place so soon after they’d split up. How could he have met up with someone and conceived a child so quickly?
“Do you live here, Tanya?” Such a lovely lilt to the lisping childish tone.
Tanya cleared her throat. “Yes. I’ve just moved in today.”
“I like your hair.” The little girl took her hand out of Tanya’s and reached up to stroke her auburn hair. She looked up at her father. “Daddy, why couldn’t my hair have been this colour?”
Oh, no, please don’t say things like that!
Tanya heard Manolis’s swift intake of breath.
“It’s very…unusual,” he said quickly. “You can’t…er…choose which colour your hair will be when you’re born. Sometimes the colour comes from your daddy and sometimes from your mummy.”
“My mummy’s got blonde hair but she says it’s out of a bottle. Could I get some of this colour out of a bottle, Tanya?”
“You probably could, but I prefer your hair the colour it is.”
“Like Daddy’s?”
Tanya swallowed hard. “Yes, like Daddy’s.” Her eyes met Manolis’s and she turned away to avoid the poignancy of this discussion.
“Did you have a good journey, Tanya?” Manolis said quickly, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
“I’m always relieved when I get here because it seems to take for ever.”
“Where did you come from?” Chrysanthe asked.
“Australia.”
“Australia? My daddy used to live there, didn’t you, Daddy?” The little girl had started to speak English now. “He told me all about it. It’s a long way from here, isn’t it? It’s got lots of croccy…What are they called, Daddy?”
“Crocodiles.”
Tanya noticed his voice was husky. He was reaching down and hoisting his daughter onto his shoulder.
“Your English is very good, Chrysanthe.”
“My mummy’s English. Are you English or Greek, Tanya?” The little girl looked down at Tanya from Manolis’s shoulders.
“I’m both—like you. English mummy, Greek daddy. But I was born here on Ceres.”
“I was born in England but I like living here best. Daddy used to bring me out to stay with Grandma Anna and all my cousins. I love being in my grandma’s house. It’s such fun playing with my cousins. Look, I can touch the ceiling! Daddy, I can touch the ceiling!”
“Tanya, I’ll take Chrysanthe away and we’ll leave you in peace. I’m sure you’ve got lots to do still.”
Peace! How did he ever think she could be at peace when there were so many questions to be answered? She’d come back here to escape her stressful life in Australia but had never imagined she would have to face the turmoil of the past. Yes, she’d come to find peace but that wouldn’t happen now, not while she was living next door to Manolis.
Manolis cleared his throat. “I know you’ve had a long journey, Tanya, but would you consider coming out for supper with me this evening?”
She’d never heard him sound so nervous. As if he was expecting her to squash the idea as impossible. Well, she had turned him down just before they’d split, only to bitterly regret it when it had been too late to change things.
“That would be after I’ve settled Chrysanthe with Mother. She stays with her when I’m on call. My mother has a huge bedroom—with plenty of room for her grandchildren—and they all love to stay there. We’re a very close family, as you know, and…”
His voice trailed away. He was looking down at her, his eyes betraying how much he wanted to see her again that evening.
“Yes, I’d like that. There are so many questions I want to ask.”
“Me too. So, I’ll call in about eight. We could go to Giorgio’s.”
“How is he?”
“His health isn’t too good but he sits in the corner and watches the rest of his family do all the work.” He turned away, one hand still holding onto the child on his shoulders. “Bend your head, my darling, as we go through the door.”
“Goodbye Chrysanthe. Come again to see me.” She meant it wholeheartedly.
“Ooh yes, I will. Daddy, I’m still taller than you. When I’m grown up I might really be taller than you. When you’re an old man I’ll put you on my shoulder and…”
The voices became indistinguishable as father and daughter made their way down the street. Chrysanthe was a beautiful little girl, but Tanya had never imagined that Manolis could have moved on so quickly after they had split up.
He’d moved on. She mustn’t dwell on it. She would remember only the happy times. She found herself wishing that little Chrysanthe was her child but stopped herself as soon as the thought occurred. No regrets. She had to move on with her life and not spend time wishing for the impossible.
Upstairs again, she ran hot water into the half-size hip bath in her tiny bathroom. As a child she’d loved to be bathed by her Grandmother Katerina when she’d been staying with her. She’d never dreamed that her grandmother would leave this house to her. Katerina must have realised how much Tanya loved it.
Tanya stripped off and stepped into the warm water. Mmm, it was bliss to lie back with the bath foam she’d bought in the airport shop in Sydney only yesterday. It hadn’t occurred to her that today she would be preparing to go out for supper with Manolis. Once more she had to remind herself that nothing had changed between them. And now that Manolis was a married man, the gap between them must remain wide.
She closed her eyes and smoothed some more foam over her skin as she leaned her head against the back of her bath…
* * *
Tanya woke with a start and her arms flapped around in the cold water as she heard someone calling her from downstairs. Above the bath she could see moonlight shining through the tiny little window.
Manolis stood downstairs with his hand resting on the wooden banister. “Tanya, are you OK up there?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” She hauled herself out of the bath, spilling water onto the tiles. “I must have fallen asleep.”
Manolis heard the splashing water and had a sudden mental image of Tanya’s slim, lithe figure emerging from the tiny bath where Grandmother Katerina had often bathed him when he had been a small child and his mother had been too busy to cope as she’d fed the latest baby. He was sorely tempted to ask if he could join her upstairs but he knew what the answer would be. Still, a man could dream, couldn’t he?
He put on his sternest voice so that Tanya would have no idea how much she’d already affected him. “That’s a dangerous thing to do—fall asleep in the bath. You should never do that!”
Tanya was already climbing the narrow wooden steps up to her bedroom, clutching the towel around her. If it slipped and Manolis looked up through the rungs of the wooden stairs that connected the kitchen with the top floor…She glanced down as she stepped off the stairs into her bedroom but couldn’t see him below her.
“I know it’s dangerous but the bath’s so small my knees were up to my chin so it’s unlikely I could have slipped under the water,” she called breathlessly, as she searched for something to put on. Not the smelly travel clothes…how about these trousers? She pulled them out of her case along with new, lacy black knickers. They were to make her feel good, nothing to do with the fact that she was going out with the sexiest man on the island—in the world.
It took her barely five minutes to emerge from her room fully clothed in three-quarter cut-off denims, white T-shirt and flip-flops. She’d spent a lot of time swimming and running at the beach near the hospital just outside Sydney and rarely used make-up for a casual night out. She would blend in with the tourists in Giorgio’s taverna. And she knew for a fact that Manolis preferred a natural-looking face—not that it was any concern of hers!