She was becoming delusional. Seduced by the romance of the evening. She needed to go home to the familiarity of her flat before she did something stupid.
Having made the decision, she slid out of the ladies' toilets with the minimum of fuss and made her way up the stairs, walking purposefully in the hope that no one would stop her.
They didn't and within minutes she was at the front of the hotel and hailing a taxi.
She stepped into the cab with a feeling of relief, pushing away the feeling of guilt that Andreas would still be waiting for her on the terrace.
He'd probably be a bit annoyed with her at first, but he wouldn't mind that much. To him it had just been a one-night stand.
He was surrounded by women who were desperate to get their claws into him, so losing her wasn't going to matter to him, was it?
She wasn't coming back.
Andreas breathed out heavily as he acknowledged that Libby had fled.
The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him.
For all of his adult life women had pursued him relentlessly, all of them hoping to be the one to finally make him settle down.
But he'd never been even remotely tempted.
Until now.
He still couldn't quite believe what had happened down by the lake. There was something about Libby that seemed to make him lose control in public places.
He'd only known her for a month but he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Libby was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
The trouble was, the woman he'd finally fallen in love with had just vanished into the sunset.
Chapter 7
Libby arrived on the ward the following morning, relieved that she was working. At least she didn't have time to brood. And as it was a Sunday it was extremely unlikely that she'd see Andreas, which gave her another day before she had to face him.
She'd bumped into Alex at breakfast, looking decidedly the worse for wear, and he'd given her a curious look but hadn't questioned her about her mysterious disappearance the night before.
Libby gave a wry smile. Knowing her brother, he'd probably disappeared himself and hadn't even noticed her absence.
She tied her hair up, checked that her sleepless night didn't show on her face and walked onto the ward.
Poppy, the little girl with cystic fibrosis who was back on the ward yet again, greeted her cheerfully from the side ward. 'How was your party?'
Libby lifted her eyebrows. 'And how do you know about the party, young lady?'
Poppy grinned. 'I heard everyone talking about it yesterday and they said that you were going with Dr Christakos. I think you're so lucky. He's so cool.'
Remembering the fiery heat of their encounter by the lake, Libby sucked in a breath.
Not cool.
'The party was fine, thank you, Poppy,' she said, taking the little girl's temperature and nodding with satisfaction as she read the result. 'And if you carry on improving like this, you'll be back home and going to your own parties soon enough.'
Poppy's face brightened. 'Am I better?'
'Definitely better. The physiotherapist will be up soon to sort out those lungs of yours.'
Poppy groaned. 'I hate physio.'
Libby sighed and gave her a hug. 'I know you do, sweetheart, but it helps, you know it does. Where's your dad this morning?'
'Gone for breakfast in the canteen. He was starving.'
Libby pulled a face. 'Well, the food there is enough to cure anyone of hunger so he'll be back soon. Why don't you use the playroom when the physio has been?'
They encouraged the children to get up and use the playroom, rather than sitting on their beds, and Bev had lost no time in spending some of the money that they'd raised at the auction.
Poppy shifted awkwardly on the bed. 'I don't really know anyone … '
'You know me,' Libby said cheerfully, filling in her chart. 'I'll be there.'
Poppy smiled. 'Oh, well, in that case … '
Making a mental note to take Poppy to the playroom later, Libby moved on to her next little patient.
Rachel Miller was back in for some tests. The baby was sitting in her cot cooing happily and playing with a stuffed toy.
Alison smiled when she saw Libby. 'She's fine now, but Dr Christakos wanted her to have those tests and they couldn't do them when she was in a few weeks ago.'
Libby nodded. 'They shouldn't take long.' Libby leaned into the cot and pulled faces at Rachel, who chuckled happily and reached to grab her. 'She's gorgeous, Alison. You're very lucky.'
'I know.' Alison smiled proudly at her daughter. 'We wanted a baby so badly and we tried for so long to have her. I still have to pinch myself.'
Libby looked at the little girl wistfully, feeling a sick empty feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She knew all about wanting a baby badly. There were days when she positively ached for a child of her own. But she was rapidly coming to the conclusion that it was never going to happen.
Part of her envied women who happily went ahead and produced babies without the support of a partner and she was aware that it was happening more and more frequently as women made decisions about their lives without the involvement of a man.
But she wasn't like that.
She was old-fashioned enough to believe that a baby was a miracle that should be shared with someone you loved. That a baby was part of the person you loved.
Libby sighed and straightened.
She really must stop being so soppy and romantic. Real life just wasn't like that any more. People got divorced. People had babies without partners. And people had one-night stands. It was a fact of life. It was just that she didn't want it to be a fact of her life.
She'd always wanted so much more than that, but it seemed that love and fidelity was an endangered species.
With that thought in her head she went through to the treatment room to fetch something-and came face to face with Andreas.
Libby felt the blood drain out of her cheeks and looked round for a suitable means of escape.
'Well, hello, there. Remember me?' His voice was a lazy drawl and he planted himself firmly in front of the door so that her exit was blocked. 'We were at a ball together and then suddenly you vanished.'
And given the chance, she'd vanish again.
'I went to the ladies.'
He lifted an eyebrow. 'You spent the night there?'
She flushed. 'I don't want to talk about this now.'
'Well, I do,' he said pleasantly, and she glared at him.
'What are you doing here anyway?'
Those dark eyes mocked her. 'I work here.'
'But it's Sunday,' she muttered, screwing her fingers into her palms and trying to stop her knees trembling. She was fast discovering that it was impossible to look at him without remembering what he'd made her feel. 'I wasn't expecting to see you on a Sunday.'
In fact, she'd been banking on it.
He gave a faint smile. 'Avoiding me, Libby?'
'No.' She managed a casual shrug, wondering just how fast a heart could beat before it exploded. 'Why would you think that?'
'Well, it could be something to do with the fact that you vanished in the middle of the evening,' he said, and she looked away from him.
It had been a pretty dreadful thing to do.
Suddenly feeling guilty for the way she'd behaved, she looked at him uncertainly. 'I'm sorry if I damaged your ego.'
He studied her with brooding concentration. 'My ego is totally bombproof, agape mou. But I do want to know what made you run.'
Him.
Her feelings.
'I didn't run.'
'You escaped to the ladies and never returned,' he reminded her softly, a hint of a smile playing around his firm mouth. 'I assumed your name must be Cinderella and I searched everywhere for white mice and pumpkins but there was nothing in sight. Not even a stray shoe. All I could see was a cloud of dust as you vanished into the distance.'
'I didn't run. I just thought-I … ' Her excuses faltered under his dark scrutiny. 'Well, I thought that was it so I might as well go home.'
Before she'd started fantasising about fairy-tale endings.
She absolutely didn't love him.
'You thought that was it?' He lifted a dark eyebrow. 'Excuse me?'
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and tried to look casual. 'We had sex, Andreas. No big deal.'
'''No big deal''.' Andreas repeated her words slowly. 'So, if it was no big deal, Libby, why did you run away?'
Oh, why couldn't he just drop it?
'Look … ' Libby closed her eyes briefly, wishing he wasn't quite so astute or persistent. 'It was just a one-night stand. Plenty of people have them.'
Just not her.
Andreas looked at her thoughtfully. 'You poor thing. You really are scared, aren't you?'
'Scared?' Libby stiffened defensively. 'What am I supposed to be scared of?'
Andreas shrugged. 'At a guess-letting go. Trusting someone.' He moved closer to her. 'Obviously what we shared last night scared you so much that you panicked and couldn't face me again.'
'That's not true,' she lied, and he gave a wry smile.
'Libby, you know it is true.'
'Stop making it into something it wasn't,' she said frantically. 'It was just a one-night stand. It was just sex.'