‘Thank you for your help,’ he said formally, determined to get back on track. All this soul searching was unsettling and he needed to call a halt. He glanced at the suitcase at her feet. ‘I take it that you are staying on the island?’
‘That’s right. We’re staying at the Hotel Marina, right on the beach. We’re really looking forward to it, aren’t we, Jake?’ She smiled at the child although Nico saw a flash of something that looked almost like fear cross her face.
‘I’m sure you will enjoy it,’ he said politely, wondering what had caused it. He brushed aside the thought, determined that he wasn’t going to be sidetracked. ‘My sister and I spent many happy holidays here with our grandparents when we were children.’
‘Is that why you’re here now?’ she said quickly. ‘For a holiday?’
‘No. I opened a clinic on the island twelve months ago and I live here now.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m very fortunate to live and work in such a beautiful place.’
‘You are, although I don’t imagine that was the main reason you set up a clinic here.’ She gave a soft little laugh and Nico felt his skin prickle when he heard the contempt it held. ‘No doubt it’s the ideal place to tap into the lucrative European market. There’s a huge demand for cosmetic surgery procedures from across the whole of Europe, I believe, and travelling to Greece must be a lot quicker than travelling to the USA.’
‘The Ariana Leonides Clinic doesn’t offer cosmetic surgery procedures. Its aim is to provide primary health care for locals and tourists.’ He shrugged when he saw from her expression that he had surprised her. For some reason he couldn’t explain, he knew that he wanted to set matters straight. ‘There’s also a ten-bed hospital unit for minor surgery cases.’
‘I had no idea...’ She broke off and shrugged. ‘It all sounds very different from what I would have expected, but there again it’s been a long time since I saw you, Nico. There’s bound to have been changes in your life.’
‘In yours too,’ he agreed, looking pointedly at the child standing beside her.
‘Indeed.’ She gave him a brief smile but once again he saw that flash of fear cross her face and it intrigued him. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her what was wrong when she picked up her suitcase. ‘Anyway, I won’t keep you. I’m sure you must be anxious to check how your patient is doing. It was nice to see you again, Nico. Take care.’
With that, she made her way to the taxi rank. There were only three taxis on the island and as luck would have it, there happened to be one free. Nico watched her hand her case to Aristotle, the driver, then usher the boy into the back of the cab. It roared away in a cloud of exhaust fumes, leaving him wishing that he had said something, done something, at least made arrangements for them to meet again. Even though he knew it was crazy, he couldn’t help feeling, well, bereft as he watched the taxi disappear around the headland...
Nico shook his head to rid himself of that foolish notion. Going over to his car, he got in and started the engine. He had everything he needed and wanted. He had made up his mind a long time ago that he would never commit himself to a relationship. He was too much like his father to take that risk. Maybe he had made a lot of changes to his life since his heart attack, but, basically, he was still the same person he had always been. One couldn’t escape one’s genes, after all. No, getting involved with Amy was out of the question even if she had been willing, which he very much doubted.
As for having a family, well, that was another non-starter. To put it bluntly, he refused to subject any child to the kind of upbringing he’d had. That was why he had been so dismayed when Amy had announced that she was pregnant. He had kept thinking about his own childhood, remembering how he had felt growing up as the son of Christos Leonides. Although his father might be revered by the business community even today, few people knew what he was really like.
Christos Leonides was a cold and ruthless man who had always put his business interests first and had cared nothing for his wife and his children. While neither Nico nor his sister, Electra, had been physically mistreated when they were growing up, they still bore the mental scars of their father’s indifference. Their mother had done her best while she’d been alive to compensate for it but it had had a lasting effect on both of them, especially on Nico. Although Electra seemed to have come to terms with the past since she had married and had her own family, Nico had been unable to rid himself of the fear that he would turn out exactly the same as his father.
That was why he had ruled out the idea of having children and why it had been a relief when Amy had miscarried their baby, even though part of him had grieved for their lost child. He had been so shaken when he had realised it too that he had buried his feelings beneath a veneer of disinterest and it didn’t make him feel good to know that he had hurt Amy. Badly. She had suffered one of the worst experiences any woman could go through and he had made it so much worse by pretending that he hadn’t cared.
Nico’s heart was heavy as he set off for the clinic. He didn’t regret many things in his life, but he regretted that.
* * *
Amy finished unpacking and stowed the suitcase in the corner out of the way. Glancing around the small, whitewashed bedroom, she felt some of the tension start to seep out of her. Meeting Nico had been a shock but the upside was that she had got through the experience relatively unscathed. She had often wondered how she would react if they met again, but surprisingly she didn’t feel much different from normal. Although her heart was beating a shade faster than usual, it certainly wasn’t racing, and her breathing was only the tiniest bit laboured. She was functioning perfectly well and if that wasn’t proof that she was over him then she had no idea what was.
‘Can we go to the beach now, Mum?’
Amy glanced round when Jacob came racing into the room. She had allowed him to explore the small hotel where they were staying while she unpacked, although he had been under strict instructions not to leave the building. Now she smiled at him. ‘I can’t see why not. Do you want to put your swimming trunks on? We may as well have a swim while we’re at it.’
‘Yes!’ Jacob punched the air in delight as he ran over to the wardrobe and took out his swimming trunks. Stripping off his clothes, he put them on and raced towards the door.
‘Hold it right there, young man.’ Amy picked up the bottle of sunscreen, ignoring his grimace as she started to apply it to his skin. ‘There’s no point pulling a face. I told you before we came here that you have to use sunscreen before you go outside. The sun is a lot hotter here than it is at home and you don’t want to get burned, do you?’
‘I bet he doesn’t wear sunscreen,’ Jacob muttered, screwing up his face as she applied a layer of cream to his nose.
‘Who doesn’t?’ Amy asked, busily rubbing it in.
‘The man on the ferry, that doctor—Nico, you called him.’ Jacob tilted his head to the side and looked questioningly at her. ‘How come you knew his name, Mum? He knew yours too ’cos he called you Amy, so have you met him before?’
‘I...erm... Yes. But it was a long time ago.’ Amy screwed the top back on the bottle, feeling her hands trembling. She had forgotten how observant Jacob was and she should have realised that he would pick up on something like that.
‘Where did you meet him? I thought you said that you hadn’t been to this island before,’ Jacob continued, making it clear that he didn’t intend to let the subject drop.
‘I haven’t.’ Amy picked up her beach bag, making a great production out of checking that she had everything they needed: towels, sunglasses, water...
‘So