Libby smiled politely, noted that the girl's name was Eva and wondered whether she knew that Alex would be seeing someone else within three months. He never dated anyone for longer than that. He was more wary of commitment than she was.
She introduced Andreas and instantly he and Jago started talking about a case they'd had in A and E the previous day.
'No talking shop,' Katy reproved mildly. 'This is supposed to be the one night of the year when we have an evening out without discussing medicine. Anyway, it's time to sit down. We're all on the same table.'
They moved into the ballroom, found their table and Libby seated herself between Alex and Andreas.
She was painfully conscious of how close he was, his lean, brown hand resting on the table only inches from hers, his muscular thigh resting alongside hers and the width of his shoulders under the jacket he wore.
Although they talked and laughed with everyone on the table, she was always aware of him next to her.
From time to time during the meal she caught him watching her and knew that he was playing a waiting game. Andreas was well aware of the effect he had on her and he was biding his time, knowing that the feelings inside her were heating to dangerous levels. It was psychological seduction, mind games designed to drive her slowly but surely to a point of desperation.
Her insides were so churned up by the way he made her feel that Libby lost her appetite. She pushed her food unenthusiastically around her plate and Alex looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
'Following the Hollywood diet, Lib?'
She gave a wan smile. 'I'm just not that hungry.'
'Or, at least, not for food,' Alex murmured softly, his eyes flickering past her to Andreas who was engaged in conversation with Katy, seated to his right. 'I've never seen you like this before. It must be love.'
Love?
Libby's eyes widened and she looked at him in horror. Of course it wasn't love! She'd never be so foolish as to fall in love with a man like Andreas. He was every woman's fantasy and she had no doubt that she was just a temporary interest.
'It's not love,' she said in a strangled voice. 'I've never been in love.'
Alex shrugged. 'Well, something's wrong. That's chocolate mousse sitting in front of you and you're not showing any interest in it.'
Libby looked at her plate and realised that she hadn't even seen the chocolate mousse arrive. Normally she would have devoured it, but tonight she just couldn't face food of any sort.
Not even chocolate.
'If you're off chocolate, it must be serious,' Alex said dryly, glancing from her to the untouched mousse. 'It's either love or gastroenteritis. Trust me, I'm a doctor. I know about these things.'
Thoroughly unsettled, Libby glared at him. 'You're a troublemaker and can we, please, change the subject?' Her eyes flickered past him to Eva who was talking to a colleague of Alex's from A and E. 'Anyway, you're a fine one to talk. She hasn't stopped drooling over you all night.'
'She'll get over it,' Alex drawled lightly, reaching for his wine.
Libby shook her head slightly, wondering what sort of female it would take to shake her brother out of his customary cool.
'Don't you feel guilty about going through life breaking hearts?' Libby muttered in an undertone. 'It's men like you that have made me the woman I am today.'
Alex lifted a dark eyebrow. 'A crazy, shoe-mad chocoholic?'
'You can joke,' Libby said loftily, 'but you know it's true.'
Alex frowned. 'It's not true. I've never deceived a woman in my life.' His tone was maddeningly cool. 'I'm always totally honest with them. And I'm completely faithful when I'm with a woman.'
'Which is for a maximum of three months,' Libby reminded him tartly.
Alex shrugged his broad shoulders dismissively. 'So? I've never met a woman I wanted to wake up next to every day for the rest of my life.'
Libby rolled her eyes. 'Well, I'm just glad I'm your sister.'
Alex smiled the smile that stopped women in their tracks. 'What you're saying is that I'm so irresistible that if you weren't my sister you'd be in love with me.' His blue eyes gleamed with amusement. 'Go on, admit it.'
Libby's mouth fell open and she was about to deliver a suitable retort when Katy intervened.
'I can't hear what the pair of you are talking about, but I know you're quarrelling, so stop it,' she admonished gently from across the table. 'Alex, stop teasing Libby!'
'Me?' Alex lifted a hand to his broad chest, his expression hurt. 'I would never tease my sister. I have the utmost respect for my sister.'
'Alex … ' Libby's tone was sugar sweet and she lifted a hand to her plate, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she looked thoughtfully at her brother's pristine white dress shirt. 'I've just thought of a use for this chocolate mousse.'
'Will you two stop it?' Katy stared at them, aghast, and then shot an embarrassed look towards Andreas. 'I'm so sorry. What must you be thinking? They love each other really, it's just that they can't seem to help winding each other up. They're always the same.'
Andreas laughed, totally relaxed. 'Don't apologise. Their conversation is very entertaining.' His eyes rested on Libby thoughtfully. 'And illuminating.'
Libby forgot about the chocolate mousse and Alex's shirt and looked at him in horror. Just how much of the conversation had he overheard? Had he heard Alex suggesting that she was in love? She sincerely hoped not.
The chat started up again but Libby found herself staring at Andreas, trapped by the look in his stunning dark eyes. His gaze was intense and focused and there was no way he was letting her look away.
'So why haven't you eaten anything tonight, Libby?' His firm mouth shifted slightly at the corners. 'Is it the Hollywood diet-or is it something else?'
Libby gritted her teeth and resisted the temptation to slide under the table to hide her embarrassment. He'd obviously heard everything.
She closed her eyes and cursed her brother and his big mouth.
It was becoming harder and harder to keep Andreas at a distance. How was she going to manage it if he thought that she was so affected by him that she was off her food?
'I'm just not that hungry,' she mumbled, pushing her plate away from her and accepting the coffee that the waiter offered. 'I never eat much at these things. Hard to make a serious impact on the dance floor if you're full of food.'
Andreas glanced towards the band, which was playing something with a pounding rhythm. 'If you're aiming to make a serious impact, we'd better get started.' He stood up, broad-shouldered and confident, and extended a hand. 'Dance, Libby?'
Aware that the rest of the people at the table were watching her expectantly, Libby let him pull her to her feet.
It shouldn't be a problem, she reassured herself. The band was playing fast stuff. Nothing that required the slightest bit of physical contact.
But the minute they reached the dance floor she realised that she'd made a major misjudgement.
Andreas was a fantastically good dancer. He closed strong fingers around hers and swung her against him, picking up the rhythm of the music and controlling her moves like a master.
Totally seduced by the pounding beat of the music and his strong lead, Libby let herself go, swaying and spinning, moving away from him and then back again, feeling his hard, muscular strength against her heated body.
A natural dancer, Libby ignored the fact that her hair had escaped from the pin on top of her head and was flying around her face as he spun her around the dance floor.
She was having far too much fun to care.
It was only when the music ended and applause broke out around them that she realised that they were the only ones that were dancing.
Suddenly self-conscious, she made to retreat to their table but Andreas laughed and hauled her against him.
'Don't you dare. We haven't even begun yet.'
This time several couples joined them on the dance floor, obviously inspired by their exhibition.
They danced continuously until finally the band shifted tempo and played something slow and seductive. On the dance floor the lighting softened and suddenly the atmosphere became more intimate.
'You didn't tell me you could dance,' Libby said breathlessly, pink and laughing from the exertion. 'That was fantastic.'
'I'm Greek,' he reminded her silkily. 'All Greeks can dance.'
Without giving her a chance to argue, he curved a strong arm around her, pulling her firmly against him, and Libby put a hand on his shoulder, feeling the hardness of muscle thinly disguised by the fabric of his shirt. Disconcerted by the way he made her feel, she tried to keep up the conversation.
'I thought you did traditional dancing with lots of plate-smashing.'
'That, too. Now stop talking, Libby.'
He pulled her closer, sliding an arm around her hips so that she was pressed against him.
Aware of every incredible inch of him, Libby dipped her head against his chest and closed her eyes, breathing in his male scent and the subtle hint of aftershave.