The Greek Children's Doctor(62)

'Why are you crying?'

She shook her head and scrunched the tissue into a ball, too upset to speak.

'Libby.' His tone was urgent and he put her away from him and cupped her  face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. 'Tell me.'

'It's nothing,' she hiccoughed. 'It's my problem, not yours.'

His face darkened and his fingers bit into her scalp. 'If this is what I  think it is, then it's very much my problem, too. Only actually I don't  see it as a problem.'

She closed her eyes and shook her head. He'd misunderstood, and who could blame him? 'Just drop it Andreas-please … '

She needed some time on her own. Time to pull herself together. She was being ridiculous.

'I thought I'd made it clear that I'm very traditional when it comes to  certain things,' he said softly, showing no signs of releasing her.  'Tell me why you're crying, because if you're afraid that I won't want  you now you're pregnant, you couldn't be more wrong.'

Libby pulled away from him and scrubbed the palm of her hand over her cheeks to get rid of the tears.

'I'm not crying because I'm pregnant,' she gulped finally, her voice  jumpy from too much crying. 'I'm crying because I'm not pregnant. OK?'

She gave a massive sniff, aware that Andreas was unusually still.

'You're not pregnant?'

Just hearing the words upset her again and her face crumpled. 'That's right-I'm not pregnant. And now will you leave me alone?'



She turned away from him but he reached out and grabbed her, hauling her  round so that she was facing him, his fingers biting into her upper  arms.

'If you're not pregnant, Libby, why are you crying?'

She tried to glare at him but instead her face crumpled again and she  gave another sob. 'Because I wanted to be pregnant, you dummy! I wanted  your baby.' She was vaguely aware that she was shouting but she didn't  even care. 'Which just goes to show how stupid I can be.'

Andreas stared at her, his dark gaze strangely intent. 'And why did you  want my baby, Libby?' His voice was hoarse and she tried to focus on him  through watery eyes.

'I don't know,' she muttered, and his fingers tightened on her arms.

'Yes, you do. Why, Libby?'

She hiccoughed slightly. 'Because you're very good-looking and I thought we'd make cute babies?'

He lifted an eyebrow and his firm mouth quirked slightly. 'So you selected me as a prime example of male genetic perfection?'

'Maybe.'

He looked at her. 'Come on, Libby,' he urged softly, 'be honest with me. Be honest with yourself for once.'

Heart racing, she spread her hands and glared at him. 'All right, I love  you,' she shouted. 'I love you heaps and tons. And it's terrifying  because I know that it won't last because it never does. And finding out  that I'm not pregnant is horrible. I didn't even know I wanted to be  pregnant until five minutes ago when I found out that I wasn't. How  illogical is that?'

'It's the best news I've ever had,' he groaned, dragging her against  him. 'I was beginning to think that I'd never get you to admit how you  feel.'

Libby stared up at him, her lower lip wobbling. 'I wanted to be pregnant.'

He gave a slow smile. 'I'll make you pregnant,' he promised, lowering  his head to kiss her. 'As many times as you like. I adore children, you  know that. I'd given up ever finding a woman who felt the same way.'

Libby blinked, still very unsure.

Andreas wanted children?

He wanted to have children with her?

'But you wanted me to take the morning-after pill.'

Andreas curved a strong hand round her cheek, staring down into her eyes  as he shook his head. 'No. That was the last thing I wanted.'

She stared at him, wide-eyed. 'So why did you suggest it?'

'Because you were panicking enough at the thought of us being a couple,  without me admitting how much I wanted to have children with you,'  Andreas said quietly. 'If you had wanted to take the pill, I would have  supported you, but I was immensely relieved that you decided not to.'                        
       
            



      

She was still reeling from the shock of finally admitting that she was  in love with him. She'd been fighting it for so long she hadn't even  admitted it to herself.

She looked at him, her heart thudding. 'So is this the bit where we live happily ever after?'

'I think it probably is,' he agreed, stroking the tears away from her  cheek with gentle fingers, 'although the final scene isn't usually  played out in a bathroom with the bride-to-be looking traumatised. Wash  your face or I'll have to tell our children that I proposed to their  mother when she had a red nose.'

She sniffed. 'You're proposing?'

'Not here,' he said dryly. 'I'm going to wait for more romantic  surroundings. Wash your face and then join me on the terrace and I'll do  it properly.'

Her insides fluttering with excitement, Libby waited for him to go and  then tried to concentrate on removing the evidence of hysterical crying.

Did Andreas truly want to marry her?



The thought of spending the rest of her life with him made her feel giddy with happiness.

How could she ever have thought that she didn't love him?

How could she have fooled herself for so long?

She adored him.

And he was about to propose to her. And she knew exactly what her answer was going to be.

Smiling, she wandered back into the bedroom and opened one of the drawers, looking for a tissue.

And then she saw the letter.

She probably wouldn't have looked twice at it if it hadn't been for the  fact that the bold handwriting seemed to leap from the page and the  first four words penetrated her brain like a sharpened knife.

Andreas, I love you.

Feeling suddenly sick, Libby reached down and picked up the letter, opening it up so that she could read the rest of it.

I really enjoyed this week together and I can't wait to be your wife.

Your loving Eleni.

Libby stared down at the letter for endless minutes, as if hoping that  by studying the words hard enough they might alter their shape in front  of her horrified eyes.

But they didn't.

They stayed the same, while the sick feeling inside her grew and grew.

Still holding the letter, she walked towards the terrace, hesitating  slightly as she saw Andreas standing with his back to her, his broad  shoulders blocking the view of the ocean.

He heard her approach and turned, the smile on his face fading as he saw her.

'You're as white as a sheet. What's the matter?'

She swallowed and dropped the letter on the table in front of her. 'This is the matter.'

He frowned slightly and picked up the letter, sucking in a breath as he scanned the contents. 'Libby-'

'Just don't even try and explain,' she advised him shakily, backing away  from him so quickly that she stumbled into one of the chairs. She  reached out a hand to steady herself and found that it was trembling.

He tensed. 'It isn't-'

'I believed you, Andreas!' She looked at him accusingly. 'When you told  me that I was the only woman you'd ever loved, I believed you. But  you're just like all the others. One woman isn't enough for you!'

Andreas swore softly and stepped towards her. 'Will you listen to me?'

'No.' Libby shook her head firmly, 'When you said that you were  intending to propose, I didn't realise that there was a queue. So tell  me, Andreas, when exactly did you plan to fit me in?'

'Eleni is not my wife.' His voice was terse and she tried to hide the pain she was feeling.

'Not yet maybe, but she obviously thinks that it's going to happen soon.'

Andreas gave an impatient growl and slammed his fist down on the table.

'Libby, less than half an hour ago I told you that I loved you. Do you  really think I would say those words when I was planning to marry  another woman?'

'Of course I do! Men do things like that all the time!' Libby's chest  rose and fell as she struggled to breathe. What usually happened  naturally now seemed to take considerable effort. 'Are you seriously  trying to tell me that you had no relationship with her?'

He ran long fingers through his hair in an impatient gesture. 'I'm not saying that, but-'

'But you conveniently forgot to mention her,' Libby interrupted  hoarsely. 'When I asked you about other women, you said that there  wasn't anyone special-'

'Because there wasn't,' he said wearily, his hands dropping to his sides.

'She thinks she's going to marry you, Andreas.' Libby heard her voice  wobble and hated herself for it. 'That sounds pretty special to me.'                        
       
            



      

There was a long silence and when he looked up his eyes were tired. 'For  a short time I did think that I would marry her, but it's history now.  On the other hand, perhaps we should both be grateful that you found  that note because it's proved to both of us that you just aren't capable  of trusting anyone.' His voice seemed to have lost all its warmth.  'I've told you that I love you more times than I can count, and I've  shown you in as many ways as I know. If you still can't trust my  feelings or your own then there's definitely no future for us. No  relationship can work without trust and you just can't give it. You damn  me without even listening to my side of the story.'