She ran a hand over her face, wondering whatever could have possessed her to do something quite so stupid.

But she knew what had happened.

She’d been overwhelmed by the chemistry between them, seduced by his warmth and his breathtaking sex appeal. He had an amazing way of making her feel as though she were the only woman in the world.

As if he really cared.

In fact, she’d been so overwhelmed it would have been all too easy to convince herself that he really felt something for her.

Which was utterly ridiculous.

She sucked in a breath and gave herself a sharp talking-to.

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 SEVEN

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.