LITMIR.BIZ

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masse, they turned and exited, carrying Sophie along with them but leaving Niko behind.

      He raised an eyebrow. “Family. Gotta love ‘em, right?”

      No. No, you didn’t. Annalise knew that first hand. But that was knowledge she had no intention of sharing. Sharing meant intimacy and intimacy was something Annalise didn’t do, especially with a man who made her breath skip when he stood this close.

      She fell back on her professionalism. “Enjoy your dinner. Bring Sophie back any time you need to.”

      “Thanks.”

      Annalise stood by the glass door and watched him walk away.

      It wasn’t that she didn’t like to look at men—she just liked to look from a distance. Now she allowed herself to admire the breadth of his shoulders and tautness of his butt even while her medical training had her noticing the slight hesitation of his left leg as he climbed the short flight of stairs leading to the main hallway. He’d said something about an injury when he boarded the elevator with her, hadn’t he?

      Not her concern unless he sought out medical attention. She had to remind herself of that daily when she wanted to fix the world.

      When her office was empty once again, it felt as if all the energy had been sucked out with the Christopoulos family.

      No, not energy. They had taken joyous chaos with them when they’d left. The energy had gone with Niko, along with the impression of stability he projected of keeping that wild bunch under control.

      Usually her haven, the atmosphere of the medical suite felt as cold as the stainless steel of the countertops and she felt restless, on the verge—but on the verge of what?

      Underneath her feet the rumble of the huge engines reverberated as they churned through the waters of the Gulf of Mexico on their way towards the open water of the Atlantic.

      She was being silly. The feel of freedom was all around her. Why, then, was she missing the anchoring sensation Niko had taken with him?

      CHAPTER THREE

      NIKO SAT AT the dining table surrounded by family, knowing he’d turned down his best chance of a family of his own.

      His ex-fiancée hadn’t asked him for anything extraordinary—only to give up his work, to give up his soul.

      She hadn’t understood. He hadn’t been able to make her understand what Doctors Without Borders meant to him. That he’d never felt more alive as he beat the odds, winning out over a harsh world unlike any his family had ever seen and snatching the downtrodden back from the edge of death. What were the odds he could make his family understand anyway?

      Misunderstood. Different. The story of his life. Was there anyone on the planet who could understand?

      In walked Annalise Walcott. She’d shed her lab coat, exposing the silk blouse over her trousers. Classy.

      She was the total package, wasn’t she? Brains and beauty. Such a winning combination.

      While he’d appreciated the shorts earlier on the gangway, now he appreciated the way her silky blouse moved across her …

      “Uncle Niko, what are you staring at?” His nephew Marcus interrupted as the teen followed Niko’s line of sight.

      “Just taking in the scenery.”

      “You mean that brunette at that corner table? She looks like your type.”

      Niko checked out the voluptuous dark-haired woman sitting alone. Big hair, big earrings, big bone structure, everything he usually liked in a woman. He even liked her interesting nose, more aquiline than fashionable, but it suited her. “She’s okay, I guess.”

      Beside him, Yiayia was taking a keen interest in the conversation while trying to appear as if she wasn’t.

      “You’re not talking about Dr. Walcott, are you?” Marcus asked.

      “Absolutely.”

      His nephew gave him a quizzical look. “She’s not Greek.”

      “It’s not like I’m going to marry her.”

      Marcus laughed. “Everyone knows you’re not the marrying kind, Uncle Niko. We all live through you vicariously, even Dad.” Marcus elbowed his father next to him to get his attention.

      Niko’s brother Stephen gave him a somber frown. “You’ve got to settle down sometime, Niko. We all liked Melina. Maybe if you talked to her? Apologized for whatever you did. Or even if you didn’t do anything—”

      “My broken engagement is none of your business, brother.”

      Stephen narrowed his eyes, but backed down and looked away when Niko continued to glare, using refilling his wife’s wine glass as his excuse to turn away.

      The eight years that separated them in age also separated them in values. Or maybe they were just too different. His brothers were so much like the father he could barely remember, while he was his own person.

      If only he didn’t have to keep reminding them of that.

      Marcus spoke barely loud enough to hear. “It’s true, isn’t it, Uncle Niko? The Christopoulos men are destined to be family men, aren’t they?”

      “You’ve been listening to Yiayia too much.” Niko could see a lifetime of family tradition shackling his nephew, just as it tried to shackle him.

      “Every man has to find his own purpose. Family is a very good purpose—just not for everyone.” Knowing what he was about to do was tantamount to anarchy, Niko leaned in and pinned his nephew with his stare. “Promise me, Marcus, that you’ll take some time to think about what you want—not what anyone else expects from you.”

      Marcus swallowed hard. “Not everyone is as strong-willed as you are, Uncle Niko. I envy that about you. But someday …”

      Niko thought of all the trips he took abroad with Doctors Without Borders, the trips his family thought he took for leisure. They thought he was gallivanting to tropical paradises, giving his wild side a long leash before settling down while his partners carried his load.

      He encouraged them to think that. What would they think if they knew his partners admired and supported his perilous service work? And how would they feel about him if they knew family wasn’t on his radar?

      Not providing grandchildren was the second-biggest sin in the Christopoulos family Bible, right under “Don’t live dangerously.”

      It was a rule he wasn’t very good at following. Neither had his uncle or his grandfather. But, then, his parents had both been killed in a car wreck while on a trip to the store. Playing it safe didn’t mean a person would be safe. And following the family rules didn’t mean he would be happy like they were.

      How did the good doctor juggle her family with her medical practice? Working on a cruise ship, she was separated from her loved ones more often than not, wasn’t she?

      Because he was staring, and because she turned and caught him at it, he stood and walked toward her to invite her over.

      She looked around, as if she were looking to see who he was approaching.

      He brightened up his smile a few notches.

      She gave him a nervous smile back, shook her head and started to turn away. And his ego took the well-aimed shot to heart. Of all the women in all the world, why did he have to find this one so fascinating?

      Then fate worked in Niko’s favor. The captain, coming up behind her, helpfully pointed out that a guest was requesting her presence.

      “Good evening.” As the ship rocked, the captain politely rested his hand on Annalise’s back, effectively keeping her still and steady. “Are you in need of our doctor?”

      Niko had the strongest urge to push away

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