by Connie Cox
* * *
Reluctantly, Niko said a silent goodbye to the moment out of time he’d shared with Annalise.
He sat up and put on his shirt, socks and shoes. Normally, he would ask her to join him for a drink, trying to draw out the situation. But doing so tonight would only place expectations on a moment so rare it couldn’t be coerced into lasting.
The good doctor lay with her head back and her eyes closed. The pose should be peaceful. Instead, he saw the tension that made the corners of her eyelids twitch and her involuntary jerk when the pool boy let the lid of his towel hamper slam shut.
He glanced at his watch. While he was certain his sister-in-law was taking care of Sophie as carefully as she took care of her own three children, he would check in on her.
Then maybe he would... He wasn’t sure what he would do next. When was the last time he hadn’t had a list of things in his head that he needed to do, all marked urgent?
As he climbed down the stairs, ignoring the burning in his thigh, he looked out at the dark, flat vastness of the sea. Three weeks.
Three long weeks with nowhere to be and nothing to do.
Why did he think of Annalise when he thought of how he would fill his time?
CHAPTER FOUR
DREAMS, WONDERFULLY WILDLY erotic dreams had made Annalise twist and turn all night. She knew they were normal, even healthy. While these were not her first, they had never been this vivid before.
Her lover had been faceless, nameless and frustrating since she awoke before he could take her where she wanted to go. If pressed, she was fairly certain she could name the source of those disturbing dreams. As disconcerting as they were, she was thrilled to be having them.
Annalise had put in many hours of therapy and self-assessment making sure she didn’t stay a victim.
Those hours had not been in vain. She could fully appreciate sexual magnetism evoked by the sight of a good-looking male. A male like Niko Christopoulos, who was looking mighty fine this morning in his red baggy board shorts, tight sleeveless
T-shirt and tennis shoes as he sat on a bench outside the medical suite, waiting for office hours to begin.
Irrationally, she wished she’d spent a little more time picking out her own clothing, which was silly. Her monochrome gray blouse and trousers were perfectly professional and practical, if not the cutting edge of fashion. But now they felt a little mousy.
Niko stared out at the ocean, lost in thought.
She cleared her throat to alert him she was there.
He blinked as he focused on her. “I didn’t hear you come up.”
“Is Sophie all right?”
“She’s fine. Her blood sugar was low this morning when she woke up, but not too low. She barely protested when I checked it and gave her the breakfast insulin shot.”
Last night’s restless dreaming made her feel edgy when she asked, “Then why are you here?”
She winced when she heard herself. “Sorry. Restless night. Can I start again?”
Her problem was she knew how to rebuff male attention, but she didn’t know what to do to encourage it. But maybe that was for the better. There were those ship’s rules about fraternization to consider.
Still, a part of her, the wanton part left over from last night no doubt, wondered what would be so wrong with a bit of flirtation. Just to satisfy her curiosity. With an experienced man like Niko it would be all in fun, right?
“No apology necessary. I know all about restless nights.”
Much more civilly, she asked, “Do you have a medical problem?”
He rubbed his hand through his dark hair, spiking it out of order. “Actually, yes.” He looked sheepish. “I’ve got something I need you to look at.”
“Okay.” She glanced at her watch. Her staff wouldn’t be in for another half-hour. She usually preferred to have another staff member present when treating male patients. But it shouldn’t matter in this case since they were both professionals. “Come on in.”
As she unlocked the glass doors to the anteroom, Niko pointed to an envelope that had been slipped under the door. “A woman wearing a bartender’s uniform, the one I met when I boarded, dropped that off for you.”
“Thanks.” Annalise pocketed the note. Concerned curiosity burned a hole in her pocket.
Once inside, Niko hitched himself up on the examination table and rolled up the right leg of his board shorts. A half-healed angry red cut at least five inches long sliced the side of his thigh. The stitches strained against the inflammation.
“What happened?”
He swallowed, then said, “A knife.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I did my internship in the emergency departments of New Orleans’s charity hospital system. I know a wickedly deliberate cut when I see it. This isn’t from a steak knife or the slip of a pocket knife.”
“I was caught in the middle of a knife fight over a water well in Haiti. So the infection could be tropical or it could be bacteria-related or—”
She put a thermometer in his mouth, making herself look away so she wouldn’t stare at his firm, full lips or the rugged beard stubble on his cheeks. She didn’t need any more stimulus to make her feel things—risky things—just because those tiger eyes were so mesmerizing.
And she didn’t need to satisfy her curiosity by asking for details of his knife fight. The less she knew about him, the more easily she could convince herself they were just like two ships passing in the night.
When the thermometer beeped, he took it out himself, saving her from feeling his breath on her fingers.
“Ninety-nine and a half,” he read.
“What have you been doing for your wound?”
“Topical ointment.”
“That’s all?”
He shrugged. “Antibiotics are in short supply there. I’m healthy, unlike the people I treat. I figured I could fight it off.”
With that clue, Annalise couldn’t stop herself from trying to put the pieces together. “You were treating patients when this happened?”
“I do a lot of medical relief work in developing countries.” He looked down and away, as if he wasn’t quite okay with himself for his charity work.
Annalise thought of the free clinics she visited and the donated supplies she delivered when assigned to various routes. She had been thinking hard about her volunteer service recently. “Any particular organization?”
“Doctors Without Borders.”
“They really get into the trenches.” She took a cotton swab from a sealed package. “I’m going to take a culture, but I don’t want to wait for results so I’m going to give you a broad-spectrum oral antibiotic, too. Tomorrow, when I know what we’re looking at, I can refine your treatment. Are you allergic to any medication?”
“Sulpha drugs.”
“That limits us. How about penicillin-based drugs?”
“I’m good with those.”
“I’ll be right back.” As Annalise left the exam room for the pharmacy closet, she took a deep breath. Success, brains, looks and heart. Being around so much perfection made her feel... She wasn’t sure how she felt.
When she came back, he had rolled down the leg of his shorts and was standing in the open exam-room doorway. She handed him the bottle of antibiotic pills.
His fingers brushing against hers almost made her drop it.
“Two now, one each night and morning. Stay out of the water until we know what this is. Come back tomorrow afternoon for the test results.”
“Thanks.” He cast her a sideways look, half shy and half pleading. “By the way, my family doesn’t know about the Doctors Without Borders gig. Please don’t tell them.”
“I’m very good at patient confidentiality. In fact, I swore an oath. They won’t learn about it from me.” Annalis
e stuck her hands in her pockets, feeling Brandy’s note.
“I didn’t mean any insult. It’s just that...” He stopped and held the pills up between them. “Thanks again.”
Secrets. Why on earth would he want something that noble to remain a secret from his family? It wasn’t her business, though, was it?
Still, it bothered her. Secrets made her think of lies. Was he lying to her?
Annalise hated secrets more than anything else on earth. How many times had her mother whispered “Don’t tell...” as she was juggling men in her life? Then there had been the man who’d whispered “Don’t tell” as he’d crept into her bedroom when her mother hadn’t been home.
Annalise pulled out the note and read it.
“Doc, I need an appointment, but I’m working during your office hours and I don’t want my shift manager to know. Could I come in after hours? Drop by the bar and let me know, okay? Brandy.”
Annalise sighed. No doubt her tattoo had become infected.
The bell tinkled, signaling patients in the lobby. She quickly filled out a chart for Niko—Dr. Christopoulos—as she readied herself for the next patient.
As Caribbean music played softly from the overhead speakers, Annalise reminded herself that her life was totally what she’d made it and so far she hadn’t done half-bad. Just keep it simple, she reminded herself.
And simple didn’t include Niko Christopoulos.
* * *
Simple obsession. That’s the only reason that could explain why, on a ship carrying several thousand people, Niko caught her attention as she took her afternoon break on deck.
She’d thought about him all day. His playboy image. His love for his family. His compassion with Sophie. His work with Doctors Without Borders. There was nothing simple about Niko and no simple explanation for why her feet were now carrying her straight towards him.
* * *
On the first full afternoon afloat, the ship was alive with activity and the Christopoulos family was doing its fair share to add to the frivolity.
Niko stood contemplating the rock wall. His older nephews had their harnesses strapped on and were waiting. Niko was not one to turn down a challenge.
He felt her before he heard her. Even though they barely knew each other, he knew the warmth by his side was uniquely Annalise.
“It’s going to be difficult to keep that wound a secret if you break open the stitches halfway up,” she murmured, for his ears only.
“The voice of reason. Where have you been all my life?” He waved is nephews on. “I’ve found something better to do,” he called to them.
Marcus looked pointedly at Annalise then jostled his brother and grinned.
Annalise arched an eyebrow. “Are you being presumptuous by meaning me?”
“Let’s not call it presumptuous. Let’s call it hopeful.” He gave her his best puppy-dog eyes. “Want to watch for dolphins off the starboard bow with me?”
When she hesitated, he appealed to her medical side. “You’ll be keeping me from doing something stupidly injurious to my health.”
“Are you sure it’s not too late? I think you’ve already fallen on your head one time too many since you’ve chosen me to flirt with.”
“Flirt?” He grabbed at his chest. “You’ve wounded me. I would never toy with your affections.” Yet wasn’t that exactly what he was doing?
No. No, it wasn’t.
Annalise lived on a cruise ship. No permanence there. She would know the score. There was no serious romance involved, just a casual attraction that would end at their final destination.
“Of course you’re not flirting with me. Why would you when there are plenty of toys in this floating toy box?” Although she smiled when she said it, Niko thought he saw a bleakness cross her eyes or maybe it was only a cloud crossing the sun.
Before he could decide, she blinked and the fleeting look was gone.
“Ready? The dolphins won’t wait.” She led the way, weaving in and out of the passengers on deck.
“Thank you for rescuing me from myself. When the twins dared me, I didn’t have it in me not to race them up. If you hadn’t come along when you did, I would be halfway up the rock wall by now and my thigh wound wouldn’t have appreciated my bravado.”
“You have a hard time turning down a challenge?”
“Challenges are just another word for thrills for me. And you?”
She stopped at the railing and looked out on the sun-sparkled sea. “Challenges bring out the stubbornness in me.”
“I’ve always thought stubbornness was a very good trait to have.”
“Others would disagree.” Very subtly, Annalise shifted away from him. Niko doubted she even realized she’d done it.
“Those others don’t understand how much determination it takes to get through medical school.”
“Determination. Scholarships. Student loans. Lots and lots of caffeine.” She rubbed her arms. “And, occasionally, the kindness of the few others who do understand.”
“Or who support you even when they don’t understand.” Niko thought of all the sandwiches his brothers had brought him as he’d studied past midnight. Of all the twenty-dollar bills his grandmother had slipped into his pockets after she’d laundered his clothes.
“Like your family?”
“Like my family.” The family who wouldn’t be at all happy with his new career path. “So where’d you go to medical school?”
“Tulane. I went there for both medical school and undergraduate pre-med.”
Niko raise his eyebrows at the mention of the exclusive private college in uptown New Orleans’s Audubon Park district. “Wow! I’m impressed.
“Did you grow up in New Orleans? The Crescent City has a thousand accents, but I think I hear a hint of a traditional New Orleans drawl, don’t I?”
Her mouth tightened at the corners before she answered, “Yes, I did.”
“What part?”
“It doesn’t matter. Hurricane Katrina wiped it out.” She shuddered, as if she was shaking off memories, before she forced out a smile. “Your turn. Where did you go to medical school?”
“The local state university.”
“Ah, home of the Tigers. Did you play sports?”
“No.” He grinned. “Even though that’s their reputation, not everyone does—but I did drink a lot of beer. And you?”
“Beer or sports?” She smiled back, her face lighting up like sunbeams shone on it.
Niko soaked in her glow. “Either.”
“Neither. I was on academic scholarship. No money for beer and no time for sports. I held a couple of part-time jobs, so that kept me busy when I wasn’t studying. I was rather boring back then, I’m afraid.”
“You, boring? Not possible. More like admirable to make it through Tulane’s medical school while working, too.” Niko once again realized how much his family had given him. “I worked at the restaurant on occasion and did a few odd jobs here and there, especially during the summers. But generally I had it pretty good.”
“One of my jobs was as a dog washer for a local vet. I really liked working with the dogs. It wasn’t a bad job—just messy and smelly.”
“Did you ever think of switching to veterinary medicine?”
“Nope. I’m allergic to cats.”
“Not many cats on a cruise ship.”
“Not a single one on this ship.”
“There’s quite a bit of difference between working in an inner city E.R. and working on a cruise ship, I’d imagine.”
Giving him a thoughtful look somewhere between sunshine and shadow, Annalise answered, “I like a bit of challenge, too. New places, new people, a diversity of problems to be solved. The E.R. took care of two out of three, but a cruise ship takes care of all three.”
“Itchy feet. I understand all too well that the thrill of adventure gets your adrenaline rushing.”
“As far as adrenaline rushes go, I can’t say a cruise ship compares to being airlifted into a developing country, but we try.” She grinned, showing off a dimple as she shaded her eyes and scanned the water for dolphins. How could she be so unaware of her beauty?
“That’s what the brochure said.”
“So what thrilling adventures have you had this morning?”
He had spent considerable time watching a very enjoyable wet T-shirt contest with the twins but he decided to tell her about the starfish demonstration he’d attended with his younger nieces and nephews instead.
“I had no idea starfish could regenerate body parts.”
“Fascinating.” She gave him a wry look. “Anything else?”
“Lunch with the family. Dining with them is always a major event, for us and for everyone around us. My brothers had to have a taste of every kind of bread in the basket to analyze taste and texture. The little ones spilled one glass of milk and one glass of orange juice in quick succession. And Sophie decided she wasn’t hungry. Making her eat to balance out her morning insulin shot was a real challenge.”
“How did you do it?”
“Yiayia gave her the evil eye. It always works.” He’d had a long talk with Yiayia last night about Sophie’s juvenile diabetes. While she didn’t understand everything, she finally did understand the importance of working with Sophie’s caregivers instead of against them.
“Your grandmother is very special to you, isn’t she?”
“She raised me. I owe her and my brothers everything.” He rubbed his hand across his eyes. He didn’t like to talk about it. So why was he about to tell Annalise?
“My parents died when I was young. The three of us were in a car wreck.” He left out the details about being stranded in the car with them for hours while the rescue workers had tried to save them all.
“It’s why I hate goodbyes.” As if compelled, he found himself confessing, “Before they died, they both told me they loved me. I didn’t understand. I had the chance but didn’t take it. I thought, if I didn’t say goodbye to them, they would live.”