His mouth tightened. ‘I’ll have to take her straight back to school—’

Adrienne gave a moan of protest. ‘No!’

‘Adrienne, I have no choice!’ He sounded tired and frustrated. ‘If I could see another way, believe me, I’d take it. It’s just for the short term.’

Libby wondered exactly what was going on.

Why was his niece living with him?

Bev touched his arm. ‘Dr Christakos—’

‘I’m on my way. Adrienne, we’ll discuss this later.’ His dark eyes rested on Libby. ‘I don’t particularly want her waiting around here so if you’re sure it’s all right, I’ll take you up on your offer. Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome.’

She watched as he strode out of the ward and then turned to Bev who was watching open-mouthed. ‘What are you staring at?’

‘You.’ Bev’s eyes twinkled merrily. ‘So you’re definitely avoiding him, then.’

Libby gritted her teeth. ‘This is nothing to do with Andreas.’

Bev nodded solemnly. ‘Of course it isn’t. I’m sure you’ll manage to avoid him when he comes to pick her up from your flat.’

Libby glared at her friend. ‘Mammoth rat factor, remember?’ Turning her back on Bev, she held out a hand to Adrienne and gave her a warm smile. ‘Come on. Time to go and raid my fridge I think.’

This had absolutely nothing to do with Andreas, she repeated firmly to herself.

Nothing.

CHAPTER THREE

LIBBY let herself into the flat.

‘Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.’ She dropped her keys on the hall table and walked through to the kitchen.

A dark-haired man with wicked blue eyes was lounging at the table, nursing a cup of coffee and reading a medical journal.

‘You’re in big trouble, buster,’ Libby muttered, glaring at him as she tugged open the fridge door. ‘This is Adrienne, by the way. Adrienne, this is my brother, Alex. Don’t be taken in by the blue eyes and the charismatic smile, he’s a total menace and I’m about to kill him.’

‘Hello, Adrienne.’ Alex smiled easily and then glanced back at his sister. ‘Why are you going to kill me? You should be thanking me.’

‘Thanking you?’ Libby removed an armful of food from the fridge and slammed the door shut with such force that the contents rattled ominously. ‘Where the hell were you last night?’

‘Language, Elizabeth, language,’ Alex reproved mildly, his eyes flickering to Adrienne. ‘And to answer your question, I was in the middle of a tricky delivery. My legendary skills as a doctor were in demand. I was saving lives—snatching the innocent from the jaws of death—’

‘Yes, yes, spare me the drama,’ Libby interrupted him impatiently, and deposited the food on the kitchen table. ‘For your patients’ sake, I hope you’re a better doctor than you are a brother.’ She reached into the cupboard for some plates. ‘Here we are, Adrienne. Help yourself. Food always helps in a crisis. Smoked salmon, ham, cheese, salad, chocolate, more chocolate…’

Adrienne sat down at the table and glanced between them, her face slightly pink. ‘I’m not very hungry,’ she said shyly. ‘I’m really sorry if I’m in the way.’