The Greek Doctor's Proposal

by Molly Evans

  “I took my ACLS over again last month, so I’m good,” she said, knowing that this man’s life depended on her correct interpretation of a code situation. “Thankfully they have a defibrillator. Let’s do a round then check his rhythm.”

  They worked on the man as his wife stood by and wept. What seemed like hours later, paramedics arrived, but it was actually no more than ten minutes. With the extra help, they worked to stabilize the man. After two defibrillation attempts, the man hadn’t responded. Jeannine sat back on her heels, a frown between her eyes as she watched Miklo’s determined face. The intensity almost sparked off him. If he wasn’t giving up, neither was she.

  “Let’s try one more shock,” she said, and looked up for Miklo’s nod of agreement. “Come on, you can do it. Stay with us, stay with us,” she mumbled aloud. “Charging paddles.” In seconds the whine of the machine indicated full charge. “Everyone clear.” She pressed the paddles to the man’s chest and discharged 360 joules.

  Agonized seconds passed as they stared at the monitor. And then his heart beat again in a steady rhythm across the screen. Jeannine breathed a huge sigh of relief and sat back on her heels again. Her arm and leg muscles screamed from the exertion. She wasn’t used to this type of activity.

  The paramedic gave the patient more oxygen, mimicking a respiratory pattern. “He’s not breathing yet, but at least we have a rhythm,” he said. “Excellent job, guys. Excellent.”

  Miklo panted from his exertions and wiped the sweat from his face. “Let’s get him packed up and to the hospital. I’m not sure he’ll be stable for a while.”

  “Got it,” the paramedic said, and loaded the man onto the stretcher.

  Jeannine used the seat to pull herself up and stood on shaky legs. She hugged the man’s wife as the woman gained control over her emotions and stopped sobbing. “Will you be okay to drive to the hospital by yourself?”

  “Yes. I’ll call my daughter to meet me there,” she said, and pulled out a cellphone. “Thank you. Thank you both so much. If you hadn’t been here I know he would have died.” She gave Jeannine a desperate hug.

  Jeannine didn’t voice her concern that the man wasn’t out of trouble yet, but hugged the woman back, hoping to give her some confidence. “You be careful and drive slowly to the hospital. The guys will take good care of him until you get there.”

  The woman nodded and rushed out the door after the stretcher.

  Applause erupted in the theatre as Jeannine and Miklo looked up in surprise. Jeannine blushed, and Miklo grinned. He put up a hand and acknowledged the appreciation of the people surrounding them. Jeannine was astonished at how calm he appeared. She was still shaking all over and she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her up much longer.

  “Had enough of the museum for one day?” he asked with a sideways grin.

  The comment took her off guard, and she laughed. “I believe I’ve had enough for one day.” Jeannine gathered her purse from beneath her seat and they exited the theatre back into the main museum. “After all that excitement, I don’t think I could have sat through the rest of the movie.”

  “Me neither.” He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She drew comfort from his touch as her trembling settled quietly to a low hum. “How about we get out of here? I’m ready for lunch.”

  Jeannine opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by the museum manager. “Oh, wait, you two. I’d like to thank you for your efforts,” he said, and handed several museum passes to them. “I know it’s not much, considering the effort you two made just now, but please come back and see us again.” He smiled, anxiety showing in his features. “Maybe you can finish watching the film another time.”

  “I’d like that, thank you,” Jeannine said.

  “Me, too.” Miklo removed his hand from Jeannine’s shoulder and shook hands with the manager. “I’m sure we’ll be back.”

  “How about for the Chocolate Fantasy Ball? That’s in a week or so, and I would be delighted to give you complimentary tickets. Can’t buy them any more. We’ve sold out completely but I’ve got a couple left in my office. I’d be happy to send them to you.”

  “Aren’t these tickets very expensive?” Jeannine asked, hesitating as she bit her lower lip. “I’m not sure that would be appropriate for us to accept.” Though she wanted to go, she wouldn’t rope Miklo into a date like that. He would feel obligated to take her, and she didn’t need that in her life.

  “Nonsense. Your community service today has more than earned you the right to have dinner and chocolate at our expense. Besides, if you come, it would provide some invaluable publicity for the museum.” He looked from Miklo to Jeannine. “Please. We need all the good publicity we can get.”

  Jeannine looked at Miklo, his brown eyes warm and mysterious as he looked down at her. “Do you think it will be okay? I mean—”

  “I’m sure it will be fine. If it will make you feel better, I’ll check it out at the hospital. But I’m sure it will be fine. Might even give the hospital some free publicity, too.”

  “I’d feel better if you did.” It would at least give him a way out if he didn’t want to go, and she could fade into the woodwork as she usually did.

  Miklo gave the museum manager the address. They left the museum and stepped into the bright sunlight of a marvelous spring day in Albuquerque. “This has turned into quite an unusual day, hasn’t it? Full of…surprises.”

  Jeannine had to agree. As he looked at her, she was certain he meant more than the medical emergency. “Let’s get some food. I’m starving after all that.” Now she wasn’t sure whether the trembling in her limbs was from the exertion or Miklo’s close proximity and the casual way he touched her without seeming aware of it.

  “The restaurant I had in mind isn’t that far. Want to walk?” he asked as he put on sunglasses.

  “Yes. I worked up a good sweat in there.” She needed the fresh air to shake off the feelings she was starting to have for Miklo, as well as needing the stress relief after the incident. But as they walked, Miklo took her hand again and the tension between her shoulders evaporated as if it had never been. Why was Miklo having such an effect on her? Her ex-fiancé had never made her tremble with a touch. Was her reaction to Miklo just a case of being affection starved or did it run deeper than that? Despite having sworn off men entirely, had she found one that could actually be as caring and loyal as he appeared to be?

  Minutes later they found an outside table at a lovely Mexican restaurant. “If you’re too warm, why don’t you take your sweatshirt off?” Miklo suggested and removed his to reveal a skin-tight T-shirt that outlined every muscle in his arms and chest.

  Jeannine swallowed and choked down the gasp of appreciation the sight inspired and took a quick drink from her water glass.

  Oh, my.

  The waiter interrupted. “Hello. What can I get you to drink?”

  They ordered, and Jeannine hoped that Miklo would be distracted by a change in conversation topic.

  “May I see your wrist?” he asked, and held out his hand across the table.

  “What?” She blinked several times, hoping she had heard him incorrectly, and kept her hands clenched in her lap.

  “Last evening I couldn’t see the scar on your wrist very well, and I’d like to take a look at it again.” Wiggling his fingers, he motioned for her arm.

  Resisting didn’t seem like the right thing to do. But, then, neither did displaying her scar for him to see in the bright light of day.

  “I know you’re uncomfortable, but you have to show someone sometime, don’t you?”

  “Well, no, not really. I can just go around covered up the rest of my life.”

  “And hide that beautiful figure of yours? Beauty should be enjoyed and shared, not hidden away.”

  “Oh, I’m no beauty.” Terrence had made sure she’d known that. Time after time he’d compared her to other women who were truly beautiful. Now, with the scars on her body, she’d never be considered beau
tiful.

  “Jeannine,” he said, his gaze intent on hers as he leaned forward. “I have traveled to the most exotic lands in the world and have seen many beautiful women.” Reaching under the table, he gently grasped her hand in his and raised it. “Beauty is not just an issue of skin and good bone structure. It’s an unknown quality that a woman portrays that draws a man’s eye.” Drawing light circles in her palm with the tip of his finger, he continued. “Confidence, intelligence, spontaneity, caring, and humor are on the top of my list of attractive attributes and you’ve got all of them.” Miklo rubbed his thumb on the inside of her hand. “You’re more of a beauty than you know.”

  “I’m covered in scars, Miklo,” she whispered, tears pricking her eyes. “I’m hideous. And I don’t know if I’ll be able to have children of my own. So I’m certainly more flawed than you’d like to believe.”

  “Who says perfection is interesting?” Miklo shrugged and drank from his water glass. “In my book, perfection is overrated.” He sighed. “But I’m sorry about the fertility question. Are you certain?”

  “No. They saved one ovary and tube, the uterus is okay, too, but with the amount of infection I had, there’s no telling how things will work if I get to that point.”

  “Do you want to have children?” he asked, his eyes now guarded.

  “I don’t know. I grew up thinking I’d have a family some day. Don’t all little girls?” She huffed out a trembling breath as every fear she’d ever known churned away in her stomach. “I think the time for that dream has come and gone already.” Facing that fact was a hard reality, but she’d have to accept it sooner or later.

  “There are so many breakthroughs in fertility medicine these days, there’s no telling what could—”

  “No.” Jeannine pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to suppress the ache forming there. “Can we talk about something else for a while?”

  “Sure.”

  Their lunches arrived and they ate in silence for a moment. “I’m sorry if I’ve upset you,” he said. “I never meant to hurt or offend you.”

  “It’s okay, Miklo. It’s something I’ve got to get used to, haven’t I?” she asked and avoided his gaze.

  Miklo put down his fork and waited for her to look up. “Do you trust me?” he asked. Startled, she didn’t speak. After a moment she nodded. “Let me see your arm.” This time, she placed her hand in his without hesitation.

  Looking down at her wrist, he now saw in the bright light the scar that would never go away. “This is deep,” he admitted, and turned her wrist to see it from another angle. “There are things that can be done to decrease them, there are creams and, as a last resort, surgery, if you’d like to go that far.” Running one thumb over the mark, he held onto her. “You won’t be perfect, but pretty close. You have beautiful skin.”

  “Miklo, I just agreed that I trusted you. Don’t go lying to me now,” she said, and removed her hand from his and picked up her fork.

  “We all have scars, Jeannine. Some are just more visible than others.” With a sigh he took a few bites of his meal, then gave up any pretense of interest in it. “Since you shared some of your past with me, I’ll share some of mine with you.” That was only fair, right? And he had just asked her to trust him. The best way to earn her trust was to give her his. “A few years ago my wife died in a car accident. She was six months pregnant, and I lost the baby, too.”

  “Oh, my God, Miklo. I’m so sorry,” she said in a sharp whisper. The compassion in her voice was almost his undoing. “I had no idea. I’m sitting here whining about my problems when you’ve lost so much.”

  “I was supposed to take Darlene to a baby shower for my cousin, but I was working, and she went alone.” Memories of that night would haunt him always. “It was monsoon season, and the roads were wet everywhere. Another car lost control and hit her head on.”

  “A car accident isn’t your fault,” she said. “You can’t believe that.”

  “I believe that I wasn’t where I should have been. If I had just taken a few hours off, I could have saved them. I know it.”

  “Just how much power do you think you have, Dr. Kyriakides?” she asked, challenge in her eyes.

  “None at all.” That had been made abundantly clear to him.

  “Playing the ‘what-if’ game will only drive you mad, you know that, don’t you?” she asked. “I had six months to play it myself recently and it didn’t accomplish a damned thing.”

  “You’re right. In my head I know you’re right. But I just can’t let it go yet.” He gave an awkward smile. “I didn’t mean to put a damper on our day, but I wanted you to know this about me.”

  Reaching out, she squeezed his hand with hers. “Thank you for telling me. Seems like we’re two of a kind, aren’t we?”

  “We are.”

  Conversation drifted to more comfortable topics, and Miklo didn’t press Jeannine any further on the scar issue. He had enough of his own scars to deal with, so he could hardly cast any stones for covering hers.

  “Obviously, with such language skills, you’ll have traveled a great deal, right?”

  “Yes. Greece, of course, Spain, and Italy are my favorite places to visit.” Sipping his iced tea, he studied her. “Your eyes remind me of the Aegean Sea. Not quite blue, not quite green, but definitely crystal clear and fathomless.”

  “You’re going to make me blush.” And, in fact, she did flush, the heat rising in her neck and face.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you, but what I said is still true.” He left money on the table for the bill and stood.

  “It’s okay.” Jeannine stood, and he pulled her chair out. They walked several blocks through the adobe structures of Old Town, decorated with items of native American and Spanish influence. Ristras, dried red chili peppers strung together in vertical bundles, hung from almost every door or window, creating bright spots of color in an otherwise earth-tone shopping district.

  “Jeannine?”

  She jumped, realizing she had been in her own world for a few moments. “Sorry. What?”

  “I asked if you were ready to go home or if you wanted to do something else.”

  “Oh, yes. I didn’t mean to keep you. I’ll go home. It’s been quite a day.” And she didn’t want to take over his entire day off. With three brothers, he probably had family events to attend.

  “I just want to call and check on Roberto before we head back.” Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out his cellphone.

  Amusement swirled in her eyes, and Miklo paused. “What?”

  “We can never quite let it go, can we?” She indicated the phone in his hand. “The job, I mean. Even with all of the other things going on in our lives, we just can’t stop being a nurse or a doctor any time we want to. Leaving work at work just doesn’t happen for us. It’s in our blood, isn’t it?”

  Impressed by her understanding, Miklo nodded, wishing his wife had seen things that way. She hadn’t been in the medical field and her insight had lain in other areas. The past was the past and it needed to stay where it was. But it rode his back wherever he went and his efforts to move on had failed. “You’re right. Sometimes I wish I could just step away from it, maybe into something like dermatology. But unless I’m out of the country, I feel like I’m on duty all the time.”

  “Well, if we go to the Chocolate Fantasy Ball, you can take the night off and enjoy yourself, can’t you?”

  “I certainly will, but what do you mean, ‘if we go,’?” He stepped closer to her, and she tilted her head back to look up at him. “You’re going to go with me, dance with me, eat the most divine chocolate on the planet, and enjoy yourself, too.” There was no way he was going to let her out of this.

  “Isn’t there someone else you’d like to take? Don’t feel obliged to take me if you have other…commitments.”

  “There are no other commitments.” Without protest, she allowed him to take her hands in his. Her touch aroused him. The desire he felt for her excited an
d puzzled him, but he didn’t want it to go away. Activity bustled around them a few streets away. The sounds faded from his mind until they were the only two people standing there. The secrets in her eyes pulled at him, and he stepped close to her.

  The afternoon sun warmed his back. Jeannine’s warmth filled his arms and heated the front of him more than he had thought possible. “Jeannine,” he said as he leaned closer to her. Instinct or curiosity made her lift her face to his. “You are going with me.” The hesitant desire swirling in her eyes was all he needed to push him over the edge. Anticipation of tasting her again made his mouth water, and he closed the gap between them.

  At first neither of them moved when he pressed his lips to hers. The shock of electricity paralyzed them momentarily. Then as her arms lifted and urged him closer, hunger overcame him, and he pulled her tightly into his arms. One hand pressed her hips against him and the other captured the back of her head. The warmth of her mouth, the heat of her tongue scorched him, imprinting the taste and feel of her on him forever. A wave of pure, unadulterated lust washed over him, hardened his body as he pressed his hips against hers. His heart rattled in his chest and the ice that had held it captive for the last three years shattered.

  Jeannine slowly pulled back, but her arms remained locked around his neck and her breath came in soft gasps against his skin. Shocked surprise widened her eyes. “Oh, my,” she whispered, and licked her swollen lips.

  Miklo pushed her hair back from her face, then hugged her to him. “Oh, my, is right. You have no idea how good that felt.”

  “Actually, I have a pretty good idea myself.”

  Jeannine laughed, and the sound warmed him. He needed to hear the sound in his head and in his heart again, to live in it and allow it to dwell within him again.

  Miklo squeezed her once more and then tucked her against his side as they returned to his car. “I’ll take you home, and then go check on Roberto.” Though reluctant to leave her company, he knew he had to. This unexpected attraction was happening so quickly, he was a little off-kilter. He needed a little time to think, to figure out how to feel about it. To decide if he should pursue it or walk away.