“I didn’t know that. Or I guess I just didn’t want to believe it.”
“Well, then, that’s your problem.”
His stomach clenched as he recalled some of the last words he’d said to her. It cut him to the quick how badly he’d hurt her, but he’d told her from the start he didn’t want anything serious.
And it still killed him that she’d given up that job at Mayo for him. He’d held her back and that would haunt him forever, but there was no way he was ever going to settle down with one woman for the rest of his life.
He’d watched his parents.
Once marriage came into play, everything went south. His mother had left, and no matter what Chris had done, he’d never been able to please his father.
He shuddered. He was never going to get married.
Chris reluctantly walked away from the balcony and headed back inside. He pulled on a robe and checked on his son, who was sleeping peacefully in his crib. The only fan in the entire house was in the nursery, but even that just pushed around the hot air.
You never wanted to be a father either, a little voice reminded him.
And yet here was Evangelos.
He smiled at his son, so like him, sleeping peacefully. He was sucking the chubby fist in his mouth in his sleep. His dark curls were plastered to his face from the heat.
This island was his world now. He’d do right by Evangelos. His son would never want for anything and would never feel like a stranger to his father—a toy that would be played with only when it suited his parents. Chris was going to make sure his son had everything he could possibly need.
Except he won’t have a mother.
Chris shook that thought from his mind.
Evan didn’t need a mother. He’d made do without a mother’s love, and he’d give his son enough love for both parents.
He closed the door to the nursery and headed back to his room, where he had a quick shower and then pulled out the scrubs and lab coat that Theo had given him when he’d returned to Mythelios a few weeks ago.
“What are these for?” Chris had asked as he’d stared down at the scrubs that Theo had handed him.
“They’re scrubs.”
“I know that,” Chris had said, “but what are they for?”
“Look, I know that your yia-yia just died, but when you feel the need to come back and work, we could really use you at the clinic.”
“Thanks. I’ll think about it. If you need me for an emergency, I’ll be there, Theo, but I can’t commit right now.”
“I know,” Theo had said gently. “But these are yours for when you need them.”
It might not be the glitzy Manhattan hospital where he’d been working, but at least he’d still be working. He would still be doing what he loved and he would be giving something other than money back to his home. His time and his skills.
Ever since he’d headed to America, he’d had a financial hand in the clinic that Theo ran, using his trust fund from Mopaxeni Shipping to help fund it year after year the same way his friends did, but he’d never done more than that.
It was time to do more now, and he’d still be able to devote enough time to Evangelos, and to fixing up his grandmother’s home, and to raising his son in a place that was safe and quiet. A place where he’d always been happy when he was young.
Chris was mad at himself for staying away for so long, but he’d thought life would be better in America.
He’d slipped on his clothes and was tying his shoes when the front door opened.
Lisa blushed when she saw him. “Sorry, Dr. Moustakas. I meant to come back sooner, but my cousin from America arrived in Greece a month ago, and she was visiting my family last night in Athens.”
“It’s okay, Lisa. I gave you the day and the night off. You deserve a break.”
Lisa ducked her head and brushed back one of the errant strands of her dark brown hair behind her ear. If he’d been a younger man, and not a father, he would have flirted with her. Only, he wasn’t that playboy anymore, and Lisa was from a respectable Athens family. A family that would be expecting a proposal of marriage from any man she became involved with.
“I’m headed down to the clinic. I can be reached there,” Chris said as he opened the door, and then he turned back. “How long is your cousin in Athens for?”
“For a while. She’s working there,” Lisa said eagerly. “My father’s brother fell in love with an American girl and settled over there. No one has seen my uncle or my cousin since she was a small girl. It’s the first time I’ve gotten to meet her!”
“Well, perhaps you can spend the weekend with your family in Athens next week. Get to know your cousin a bit better.”
Lisa brightened. “I would like that, Dr. Moustakas.”
He nodded and shut the door. As he walked through the cobbled streets, he saw the little village at the edge of the sea where his yia-yia had lived was coming alive, and that the ferry boat from the mainland sat at the docks as people boarded it for the hour’s jaunt to the mainland and the docks at Piraeus.
It wasn’t too much farther to the clinic, and there was a bit of a spring in his step as he headed there. It felt good to be working again and helping out Ares, Theo and Deakin, his best friends, as well as their significant others—he was still having a hard time wrapping his mind around that.
All his friends were matched up. They’d finally found love. He was the only single one left among them. And that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. No way.
There had been only one woman he’d come even close to thinking about marrying, but he’d bungled that so badly that he’d broken her heart. He deserved to be alone. That was his punishment for the pain he’d caused her. One he’d bear gladly.
Chris sighed and opened the door to the clinic. No one was at the front desk, but the door had been unlocked.
“Ares?” he shouted. There was no answer. “Ares, where are you? Hello?”
“Good gravy, what is with all the shouting? I’m coming!” a soft Tennessee accent answered back. One that he knew so well.
His heart skipped a beat as the owner of the voice came charging out of the back of the clinic, dressed to the nines in business attire—the high heels that he’d always thought were ridiculous and a pristine white lab coat.
Her thick strawberry blond hair was swept up off her neck in a tight bun, which didn’t suit her, and her soft hazel eyes widened in shock as she froze to the spot.
“Naomi?” he said in a daze as he found his voice. “What’re you doing here?”
* * *
Oh, my good Lord, what is he doing here?
She knew that Dr. Christos Moustakas was Greek, but she’d had no idea that he was here in Mythelios. She’d thought he was still in Manhattan, playing all-knowing neurosurgical God and playboy.
She’d thought when she left him behind and started working for an international relief effort as a surgeon that she would never have to lay eyes on him again, and that had been good enough for her.
She’d given up so much to take a chance on love and she’d been rejected. He’d shattered her heart and soul three years ago, and she’d never wanted to see him again. Ever.
That’s not completely true.