Jennifer Taylor - Dr Constantine's Bride

Despair welled up inside her again. She had no idea what she was going to do if it turned out that he had been telling her the truth. When she had left England that morning, she had left behind everything to do with her old life. Once she and Kelly had decided to move abroad they had given up the lease on their flat and sold all their furniture. There was nothing left in England to go back for now, not even her sister.

Katie felt a lump come to her throat as she checked her watch. Kelly’s flight had been due to leave after hers but she would be on her way to Sardinia by now. Kelly had been through a lot in the past two years and a new job was what she needed to put her life back on track. But if she went back to England then Kelly might feel that she had to go back too. Was that really what she wanted? Did she want to spoil Kelly’s chance of finding happiness because her own plans hadn’t worked out the way she’d hoped they would?

Katie took a deep breath then pushed open the waiting-room door. No matter what happened, she wasn’t going back to England. And if that didn’t please Dr Christos Constantine, it was hard luck.

‘Sinus rhythm,’ the nurse announced.

Christos nodded. ‘Good. I didn’t think we were going to get him back at one point.’ He turned to Yanni. ‘He’s going to need bypass surgery urgently. There are at least three separate sites where the arteries are almost completely blocked. I’d like Alexis to assess him so can you give him a call, please?’

‘You’re recommending that he has the surgery here rather than at home in England?’ Yanni asked.

‘Yes. I don’t think he would survive the flight home and I am not prepared to take the risk.’ He shrugged. ‘His insurance should cover the costs, but if there’s a problem then we shall do it as an emergency procedure. I’ll speak to his wife while you sort things out with the surgical team.’

‘Of course.’

Stripping off his gloves, Christos left Resus. Once he had spoken to the patient’s wife, he would be able to get on with the business of sorting out this other mess. The only viable solution he could see was to send Katie Carlyon back to England. If she stayed in Paphos there was always the chance of her running into Petros. Although his cousin had claimed that Katie had been hounding him, Christos didn’t doubt that he had been happy to spend time with her in the beginning. Katie Carlyon was a very beautiful woman and few men would be able to resist her allure.

Christos wasn’t sure why it bothered him to think about all the men who must have passed through Katie Carlyon’s life. He tried to put it out of his mind as he made his way to the nursing station to collect her. There was no sign of her when he got there and he frowned.

‘If you’re looking for the young woman who came in with you, she’s in the relatives’ room,’ Maria, the nurse, informed him. She smiled archly at him. ‘Is there something you want to tell me, Christos?’

‘No, thank you.’ Christos knew what Maria was really asking. She wanted to know if he was romantically involved with Miss Carlyon. It never failed to amaze him how interested in his affairs—or rather the lack of them—his staff appeared to be.

He sighed as he made his way to the relatives’ room. The fact that he had taken time off work then reappeared with a beautiful young woman in tow was bound to excite a lot of speculation. It was his own fault, of course, for not giving his staff anything better to talk about, but he couldn’t help it if he rarely dated. He’d been too busy with his work to worry about his private life. He’d also learned his lesson after what had happened between him and Eleni. If he hadn’t been able to make a go of it with Eleni, what hope did he have of sustaining a relationship with anyone else?

It was easier if he accepted that he would remain single. Maybe once upon a time he had dreamed of having a family of his own, but the likelihood of that happening now was virtually nil. He would need to invest a lot of time and a lot of effort into a marriage and he wasn’t sure if he could do it if it meant his career would suffer. It was far more sensible to settle for what he had.

Pushing open the door, he stepped into the room then stopped dead when he spotted Katie sitting next to his patient’s wife. As he watched, she put her arm around the old lady’s shoulders and hugged her. Christos frowned. There was such compassion in the gesture that it made all his preconceived ideas about her seem ludicrous. He simply couldn’t equate this kind and caring woman with the manipulative harridan whom Petros had described at such length.

Which was the real Katie Carlyon? All of a sudden, he realised that he needed to find out the answer to that question even though he wasn’t sure why it mattered so much.

‘I’M SURE there will be some news soon. Try not to worry.’

Katie hugged the old lady again, wishing there was something more she could say to reassure her. She glanced round when she heard the door slam and flushed when she saw Christos coming towards them. He stopped in front of them and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the look he gave her. Why did she have the strangest feeling that he was studying her?

‘Mrs Briggs? I’m Dr Constantine, the head of the trauma unit.’

He pulled up a chair and sat down, his expression softening when he saw the fear on the old lady’s face. ‘Your husband is alive, Mrs Briggs. He had a second heart attack but we managed to stabilise him. You’ll be able to see him very soon.’

‘Oh, thank heavens!’ Marjorie Briggs clutched Katie’s hand. ‘I thought you were going to tell me that Frank was dead. I couldn’t have stood that, really, I couldn’t.’

She broke into a storm of weeping again. Katie patted her hand as she waited for her to calm down. Dealing with distraught relatives had been part of her job for so long that it was second nature to her now. Reaching into her bag, she plucked out a tissue and handed it to her.

‘I know it’s been a terrible shock for you, Marjorie, but the fact that Frank has rallied for a second time is a really positive sign, isn’t it, Dr Constantine?’ She glanced at Christos and once again was struck by the feeling that he was assessing her every word and action.

‘Indeed it is. Your husband is doing extremely well in the circumstances. However, the next few hours will be critical, you understand.’

‘You mean that Frank could have another heart attack?’ Marjorie said, her voice quavering.

‘Sadly, yes.’

He leant forward and Katie was surprised when she saw real compassion in his eyes. From her experiences that day, she wouldn’t have put him down as someone who empathised with other people, but it seemed that she might have misjudged him.

‘We’ve carried out various tests on your husband and established that the cardiac arteries are almost completely blocked in three separate places. I feel it would be safer if he underwent immediate bypass surgery.’

‘You mean you want to operate on Frank here?’ Marjorie exclaimed in dismay.

‘Yes. In my opinion it would be far too dangerous to allow him to fly home to England for the operation. We have the facilities to do it here and your travel insurance should cover the cost of the operation plus the aftercare. If it doesn’t, then we do have funding available in special cases. All I need is for you to sign a consent form so the operation can go ahead.’

‘Oh, I don’t know what to do! Frank’s never had a day’s illness in his life so are you absolutely sure this is necessary?’ Marjorie pleaded.

It was obvious the poor woman was overwhelmed by thought of having to make the decision all by herself so Katie gently intervened. ‘Dr Constantine wouldn’t have suggested it if it weren’t in your husband’s best interests, Marjorie.’