Madison Gregory’s temporary new boss, obstetric consultant Theo Petrakis, has everything – gorgeous body, gorgeous mind, gorgeous heart. There is just one problem – he has vowed never to marry or have children. However much he wants Madison, he knows it wouldn’t be right to have a relationship with her when he can’t fulfill her dreams.
Yet Theo’s behaviour just doesn’t add up. He behaves as if he loves her, he just doesn’t say it, and he adores kids, so why doesn’t he want any of his own? Then, just as Madison discovers the reason, she also discovers she is pregnant with his child…
Don’t miss this first book from Kate Hardy’s new duet THE LONDON VICTORIA out now from eHarlequin.com in print and eBook format.
Read on for an extract from The Greek Doctor’s New-Year Baby – and meet the delicious Theo…!
Madison noticed him the moment he walked into the room.
Despite the fact that the hospital’s charity ball was heaving with people, all wearing Venetian masks – and he was dressed the same as all the other men in a dinner jacket, dark trousers, white shirt and bow tie, plus a plain gold eye mask – there was something about the tall, dark-haired man that set him apart from the others. Some kind of energy that drew her eye.
Not that she was going to do anything about it. Not tonight.
As the chair of the committee for the hospital’s fundraiser ball, Madison Gregory had work to do. Such as making sure that everything was running like clockwork behind the scenes. Being there to troubleshoot any last-minute problems. Charming people with a sweet smile and fixing any little niggles without a fuss.
But so far everything had been minor, because everything had been planned down to the last detail. Now, she could see couples smiling and laughing and just having fun on the dance floor. Relief flooded through her. She’d got it right. This was going to work.
Eve, one of the senior nurses from the emergency department, came up to her. ‘Maddie, you’ve been rushing around since an hour before everything started. Why don’t you take a break?’
A little voice in Madison’s head added, and go and find out who the man in the gold eye mask is. She brushed it aside and smiled at Eve. ‘It’s OK. I’m fine.’
‘You paid for a ticket, too,’ Eve reminded her. ‘Which means you’re entitled to dance and have some fun. Just because you’re the chair of the organising committee, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself.’
‘I am enjoying myself.’ And it was true: Madison loved being in the thick of things. She’d been hard put to choose between specialising in emergency medicine and her final choice, obstetrics, because she enjoyed the buzz of being too busy almost as much as she loved those magical first minutes of a new life.
And then, as the music changed, a hand touched her arm. ‘May I?’ a deep, unfamiliar and slightly accented voice asked.
Even before she looked up, she knew who it was going to be, and a shiver ran down her spine.
The man in the gold eye mask.
He was looking at her with the most sensual, smouldering gaze she’d ever seen: dark eyes with a hint of green and gold and grey. Stunning.
Not to mention a slow, sweet smile that actually made her knees go weak.
‘I…’ Her throat dried, and Eve gave her a shove.
‘She means yes,’ Eve said sweetly. ‘Have fun.’
Before Madison could protest, she was dancing with the stranger.
***
Theo had been aware of her all evening: the girl in the floaty dress with the pink and gold cat mask covering her upper face and the most incredible smile. He’d seen her talking and laughing with plenty of people, though he hadn’t actually seen her on the dance floor.
And now he was dancing cheek to cheek with her. Despite his dance partner’s high-heeled shoes, she wasn’t that tall and he had to dip his head slightly to dance with her; but she felt perfect in his arms. And those blue, blue eyes behind the mask were just stunning. Like a Mediterranean sky on a late summer evening, shading to dark navy at the very edge of her irises. Her dark hair was loose around her shoulders: not perfectly straight, but not a riot of curls, either. Soft, enticing waves that made him want to tangle his hands in them, feel the silkiness against his fingertips.
Even more than that, he wanted to see her hair spread over his pillow. And he really, really wanted to explore that beautiful mouth. Tease it with kisses until it opened beneath his mouth, letting him deepen the kiss.
Kyrios. He couldn’t remember when he’d last felt a pull of attraction this strong.
But right now she was in his arms, holding him close. And it felt good…
