Читать книгу The Greek Doctor's Secret Son - Jennifer Taylor, Jennifer Taylor - Страница 10

CHAPTER THREE

‘EFHARISTO. THANK YOU. That was delicious.’

Amy smiled her thanks as she and Jacob got up from the table. Breakfast had been simple but delicious: thick creamy yoghurt with honey and fresh figs followed by a selection of tiny sweet pastries. It proved that she had been right to choose this small, family-run hotel. Jacob would gain a much better idea of the Greek way of life by staying here than he would have done if they had stayed in a hotel that was part of an international chain. Hopefully, it would help him develop a better understanding of his paternal heritage.

She sighed as she followed Jacob out of the dining room. Maybe he would gain an insight into the Greek side of his heritage but unless she was prepared to tell him that Nico was his father what would it achieve? Jacob needed something solid to give him a true sense of his identity—photographs, meetings, conversations. At the moment his father was some shadowy figure he had never met and it wasn’t enough to arm him against the taunts that had made his life such a misery lately. He needed proof that he had a father and the only way to give him that was by introducing him to Nico.

Amy was still worrying about it as they made their way to the beach. Although it was still early, the sun was strong so she went through the routine of applying sunscreen to Jacob as well as to herself. There was another English family staying at the hotel but the parents didn’t seem concerned when their two children ran off to play before they could apply sunscreen to them. The mother shrugged when she noticed Amy watching.

‘They hate having to use sun cream. I have the devil of a job putting it on them.’ The woman laughed as she dropped the bottle into her beach bag. ‘Mind you, I’m a bit like that myself. There doesn’t seem much point coming all this way to get a tan and then coating yourself with that stuff, does there?’

Amy smiled, although she disagreed wholeheartedly with what the other woman had said. She had seen too many cases of people being badly burnt after they had failed to take adequate precautions even in England. She checked that Jacob was playing safely in the shallows with the other children then took her book out of her bag. It was the latest mystery by a favourite author but it failed to hold her attention. She kept thinking about Nico and what she should do, whether she should tell him who Jacob was or not. It all depended on how he would react and that was something she couldn’t foretell. She sighed. If it was anything like the way he had reacted when she had miscarried Jacob’s twin, it would be better to keep Jacob’s identity to herself.

The morning flew past. Amy spent some time helping Jacob build a sandcastle then decided it was time they got out of the sun. It was almost noon and the sun was at its peak so she opted to take him for an early lunch. Once they had put on dry T-shirts, they strolled around the headland and discovered a small taverna in the next bay. There was a shady terrace overlooking the beach where a couple of local fishing boats were unloading their morning’s catch and she elected to sit out there, ordering a Greek salad for herself and a toasted sandwich for Jacob. They had just started to eat when Nico appeared.

Amy felt her heart leap into her throat when she saw him standing at the foot of the steps leading up to the terrace. It was obvious that he had come straight from the clinic because he was wearing a lightweight suit with an open-necked white shirt that made his olive-toned skin look more bronzed than ever. With those deep chestnut-brown eyes, that crisp black hair and those clean-cut features, he was an arresting sight and she noticed several of the women in the restaurant looking at him with interest.

Amy took a quick breath as her gaze ran over him, comparing how he looked now to how he had looked nine years ago. He was definitely thinner, she decided, thinner and even more commanding. Nico had always projected an air of confidence, of authority, of being completely in charge of himself, and it was more apparent than ever these days. He looked exactly what he was, a handsome, successful man in his prime, and the thought scared her. Once Nico found out about Jacob then she wouldn’t be in control of the situation any longer. Nico would try to take charge and that was the last thing she wanted. How could she be sure that Nico would put Jacob’s needs first? How could she guarantee that Jacob wouldn’t get hurt?

It was that last thought which frightened her most of all, although she did have other concerns, ones which she refused to dwell on. How it would affect her to have Nico back in her life wasn’t the issue.

Nico felt his breath catch when he saw Amy sitting on the terrace. Just for a moment he was tempted to turn around and leave only that would have been far too revealing. Did he really want her to think that he had a problem about seeing her? he thought as he made himself walk up the steps. Of course not! He stopped by her table, dredging up a smile that he hoped appeared more natural than it felt.

‘Hello again. I see you’ve discovered my favourite lunchtime haunt.’

‘I had no idea that you came here,’ she snapped.

‘Of course not.’ Nico had to stop himself taking a step back when he heard the defensive note in her voice. It was obvious that he had touched a nerve, although he wasn’t sure which nerve it was. That remained to be seen. ‘It’s just a happy coincidence.’

He thrust that tantalising thought aside. Digging into the reason for her touchiness would be a mistake. He needed to remain detached, aloof, distant if he wasn’t to find himself being drawn into a situation he would regret. He and Amy Prentice had had an affair—that was the long and the short of it. He hadn’t made her any promises, hadn’t wanted anything more than they’d had. If Amy hadn’t got pregnant then he probably wouldn’t even have remembered her name...

Would he?

The question buzzed around inside his head like a pesky wasp around a jam pot but he swatted it away. He didn’t intend to go down that route—it was a waste of time. Maybe he hadn’t thought about her for a long time but he was very aware that somewhere in the depths of his mind, she had occupied a small space all of her own. Amy and the miscarriage had been a milestone in his life, even though he hated the idea. It implied that she had a hold over him and that was something he didn’t appreciate. He preferred to live his life on his own terms and not have to account to anyone else for his actions.

‘So how are you enjoying your holiday so far?’ he asked, pulling out a chair. There were several empty tables he could have chosen but he was determined not to make an issue out of this encounter. The more significance he bestowed on it, the more important it would become.

‘We’ve only been here for a day,’ she shot back then flushed when she realised how rude that must have sounded. Her tone softened as she glanced at her son. ‘It’s been great so far, though, hasn’t it, Jacob?’

‘Uh-huh,’ the boy mumbled, his mouth crammed full of sandwich.

Nico laughed with genuine amusement. ‘I’ll take that as a yes. Obviously, Jacob has worked up an appetite, so what did you get up to this morning?’

‘We went to the beach for a swim and then made a sandcastle,’ Amy told him, spearing a juicy black olive with her fork.

Nico looked away as she popped it into her mouth, not proof against the feelings it aroused as he watched her lips close around the ripe fruit. He took a deep breath as he picked up the menu and studied it. There was no point thinking about Amy’s beautiful mouth and the kisses they had shared. It was never going to happen again purely because he didn’t intend to put himself in the position of kissing her. Not if he had any sense! As he had already discovered, Amy had the power to disrupt his life and the last thing he needed was her turning it upside down. He mustn’t forget that the main reason he had moved to Constantis was for his health and he didn’t need the stress.

‘Dr Leonides, how lovely to see you!’

Maria Michaelis, who ran the café with her husband, Stavros, greeted him warmly as she came to take his order. Maria had been one of his first patients when he had opened the clinic. She was diabetic and had had many problems over the years, including the biggest one, her inability to get pregnant. However, after a change of medication, everything had been sorted out, although it was a little embarrassing that she now believed he was some kind of a miracle worker.

‘Kalimera, Maria.’ Nico stood up and kissed her. ‘How are you today?’

‘Very well, Doctor, thank you.’ She patted her swollen tummy. ‘This little one is certainly keeping me on my toes.’

‘You mustn’t do too much,’ he admonished her, sitting down. He glanced at Amy, wanting to include her in the conversation as it would appear more normal that way. And keeping everything normal was vitally important, he suddenly decided. ‘Maria is seven months pregnant with her first child and I keep telling her that she should rest more.’

‘How wonderful! Congratulations.’

Amy smiled at the other woman and Nico felt his heart skip a beat when he realised how lovely she looked. With her light brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and her face free of make-up, she looked far too young to be the mother of the child sitting beside her. His gaze moved to Jacob and he frowned when once again he was struck by a sense of recognition. Had he met Jacob’s father? Was he someone Nico had worked with in London perhaps? All of sudden he realised that he wanted to know about the man who had supplanted him in Amy’s affections and fathered her child.

‘Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl yet? Or have you decided to wait and see when it’s born?’

Amy was still talking to Maria and Nico forced himself to concentrate on the conversation. Maybe he did want answers but this wasn’t the time to start asking questions. He preferred to do it when he and Amy were alone. A shiver danced down his spine at the thought of them spending time alone together but he ruthlessly suppressed it. He wasn’t going down that route either!

‘I wanted to wait but Stavros couldn’t bear to.’ Maria laughed as she patted her tummy. ‘We’ve waited such a long time for this baby, you see, and Stavros had to know what it was. It’s a boy and we’re going to call him Nicolaus after the doctor because without his help we would never have had the chance to become parents. Dr Leonides did far more than we could have hoped.’

Amy smiled politely when Nico made some dismissive remark about only doing his job but she had to admit that she was surprised. Although the Nico she remembered had been an excellent doctor—thorough, committed, focused—he had never really related to his patients on a personal level. However, from what Maria had said, that was no longer the case.

The thought was intriguing. Amy had no idea what had brought about such a change in his attitude but she knew that she wanted to find out. She glanced at him, studying the strong lines of his profile as he gave Maria his order. Had something happened to make him reassess his outlook on life? He had been driven by the need to succeed when she had known him, by a desire to prove himself at the very highest levels, and yet she sensed that it was no longer the case. Nico might look much the same on the outside but inside he was a very different person, it seemed.

It was a disturbing thought when it made her see that she didn’t know him as well as she had thought she did. By the time his lunch arrived, Amy had had enough of thinking about it. She and Jacob had finished eating so she asked Maria for their bill. Nico looked up and frowned.

‘Please. You must allow me to pay for your lunch.’

‘Oh, no, I really can’t let you do that,’ Amy protested, taking her purse out of her bag. ‘If you can just let me know how much I owe you,’ she said, glancing at Maria. Maria looked uncertainly from her to Nico, obviously unsure what to do, and Nico sighed as he put down his knife and fork.

‘Let’s not make an issue of it. If you prefer to pay your own bill then it’s fine. I’m not going to argue with you, Amy.’

Amy flushed, realising how churlish it must have sounded to refuse his offer. She gave a little shrug as she put her purse back in her bag. ‘Then thank you. It’s very kind of you, isn’t it, Jacob?’

Jacob nodded, although she could tell that he was growing bored and wanted to leave. Maria said something to Nico and Amy saw him frown as he glanced at Jacob and shook his head. Although Amy had no idea what Maria had said, judging by Nico’s expression it was something that bothered him. All of a sudden she was struck by a need to get away. Maybe she was overreacting but there was something about the way Nico was looking at Jacob that had set all her internal alarm bells ringing. Grasping hold of Jacob’s hand, she led him to the steps, pausing reluctantly when Nico called her name.

‘Yes?’

‘I thought you’d like to know that the girl we treated on the ferry has regained consciousness.’ He shrugged but his gaze was oddly intent as it travelled from her to Jacob again.

‘Oh. Right. That’s good, isn’t it?’ Amy replied, her whole body trembling as fear overwhelmed her. Had Maria noticed the resemblance between Nico and Jacob? she wondered sickly. Noticed it and remarked on it too?

She shot a glance at her son and felt her breath catch. Even though she had been at such pains to protect him from the sun, his skin had started to tan, making the resemblance between him and Nico all the more apparent. It didn’t take a genius to see it or to realise that Jacob’s chestnut-brown eyes were the mirror image of Nico’s and that his nose was an exact, albeit smaller, replica of the man’s. Anyone looking at them could tell they were related and all of a sudden she didn’t know what to do.

Amy’s heart was racing as she muttered a hasty goodbye and hurried Jacob down the steps. She could try to brazen it out, of course, deny it if Nico asked her if he was Jacob’s father, but deep down she knew it would be a waste of time. Nico was already suspicious and now all she could do was try to minimise the damage it could cause. No matter what happened, she had to protect Jacob and if that meant them leaving the island then that’s what they must do.

* * *

Nico returned to the clinic after lunch although he had intended to take the rest of the day off. There were no surgeries scheduled that afternoon and he had been planning to enjoy some much-needed down time. However, meeting Amy had aroused so many questions that he knew he wouldn’t rest until he found out the answers to them. He went straight to his office and closed the door, letting the silence wash over him in the hope that it would help to clear his head, but it didn’t work. One question kept hammering away in his mind: was it possible that Amy’s son was his child?

He sat down at his desk, struggling to make sense of the idea. It wasn’t easy when he had thought that Amy had miscarried the baby they had conceived. Admittedly, it had been very early on in her pregnancy—barely six weeks, in fact—and she had refused to go to hospital afterwards, claiming that early miscarriages were extremely common and that there was nothing anyone could do. And yet as soon as Maria had asked him if Jacob was related to him, he had seen the resemblance for himself.

Closing his eyes, he pictured the boy’s face, examining in his mind’s eye each and every feature from the child’s deep brown eyes, which were the exact same colour as his, to the shape of his nose, which was undeniably a Leonides nose. His sister, Electra, had three boys and each of his nephews had inherited the family nose. Why, they had even joked about it—he and Electra often remarking that the children could never deny their heritage with noses like that!

Nico opened his eyes and stared blankly across the room. Everything pointed towards the fact that Jacob was his son but how could he be? How could Amy have given birth to a child she had lost...unless she had lied about the miscarriage? Was that the answer? Had she deliberately misled him? Claimed that she had lost their child so she could bring it up on her own? Used it as an excuse to get him out of the picture? Maybe that had been her intention from the outset—she had wanted a baby but had not wanted him. He knew there were women like that, women who wanted to raise a child without any input from the father, yet he couldn’t see Amy doing that. She had been too open, too honest, too transparent to have devised such a scheme—or so he had thought.

Anger roared through him as he realised that he really didn’t know what she was capable of. He had accepted her at face value, accepted her kindness, her sweetness, her apparent lack of guile. But what if it had all been a front, a means to an end, and the end result was the child she had wanted? What if he had been nothing more than a sperm donor in her eyes, an unwitting one, granted, but no more than that when it came down to it? He couldn’t bear to think that he had been used that way, used and then discarded, but what other conclusion could he reach when all the evidence pointed towards it being true?

Nico shot to his feet, his anger soaring as he strode to the door. Amy had a lot of explaining to do!

* * *

Amy had just finished her shower when there was a knock on the bedroom door. Jacob was lying on his bed, playing on his games console, so once she had wrapped a towel around herself, she went to answer it. It was Helena, who ran the hotel with her husband, Philo. She smiled apologetically when she saw Amy.

‘Kalispera. I am sorry to disturb you but there is someone asking to see you.’

Amy felt a rush of fear swamp her. There was only one person who would seek her out and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to face Nico yet. Not until she had worked out what she was going to say to him.

‘Oh, right. Thank you.’ She glanced down and shrugged, playing for time. ‘I’m not really fit to see anyone right now, I’m afraid.’

‘Do not worry.’ Helena smiled reassuringly. ‘I have shown the doctor into the sitting room and given him something to drink. There is nobody in there so you will be able to talk in private once you are dressed.’

Amy closed the door as Helena went on her way. She couldn’t think of anything she wanted to do less than have a private conversation with Nico but what choice did she have? Knowing him, he wouldn’t give up and go away if she failed to appear. No, he would be far more likely to come to her room and that was something she wanted to avoid. The last thing she needed was Jacob overhearing their conversation.

Gathering up her clothes, she hurriedly dressed, opting for a cotton dress in a delicate shade of green which she knew suited her. A slick of coral lipstick and a flick of mascara helped to relieve the pallor that had invaded her skin. Her hair was still wet from the shower but she didn’t have time to dry it so she brushed it back from her face and secured it at the nape of her neck with a silver clip. Maybe it was silly to make such an effort with her appearance, but she needed to feel that she was in control of herself, especially as she had a feeling that she was going to need every scrap of control she could muster when she faced Nico.

‘I just need to have a word with someone,’ she told Jacob, slipping her feet into a pair of tan leather sandals. The heels weren’t all that high but they did add an extra inch or two to her height and that would help. Nico was over six feet tall and she hated the thought of him towering over her, although at one time she had loved the way he had made her feel so small and feminine—

‘I’ll be in the sitting room if you want me.’ Amy blanked out that thought, knowing how foolish it was. The last thing she needed at this moment was to start harking back to the past. ‘I shan’t be long so you’re to stay here until I get back. Understand?’

‘Uh-huh.’ Jacob barely glanced at her, too absorbed in his game to worry about her absence.

Amy wasn’t happy about leaving him on his own, however. As she made her way to the sitting room, she decided to make it clear to Nico that she had no intention of getting into a protracted discussion. Whatever he had come to say would need to be said as quickly as possible. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door. Nico was standing by the window and he turned when he heard her enter the room. He had his back to the light, making it impossible to discern his expression. She felt at an immediate disadvantage and decided to take the impetus from him in the hope that it might help to ease the situation.

‘Helena said that you wanted to speak to me.’ She gave a little shrug, as though the request didn’t worry her although it did. ‘I don’t mean to be rude but I’ve left Jacob on his own, so can we keep it brief?’

‘Of course.’ He inclined his head although his eyes never left her face, she noticed. ‘It’s quite simple. I just have one question I would like you to answer: Is Jacob my son?’