Tempted By Dr Patera. Tina Beckett

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       CHAPTER TWO

      THIS WAS DEAKIN’S HOUSE?

      She set a skillet on a burner to heat and gritted her teeth.

      Why hadn’t Theo told her? She’d assumed it was a relative’s house or something. But the tiny white building behind the opulent house was perfect, and she loved staying there. The formal manicured grounds here made the Serenity Gardens look like something out of a dollhouse, although it was a gorgeous setting. The clinic’s grounds were informal, while the house she was staying so close to screamed money. Even the boathouse had a tiny apartment over it.

      She had never really stopped to think about who on the island could afford something like this. Theo had said he and his friends’ parents had been part of something called Mopaxeni Shipping. They’d all been wealthy. She didn’t know the whole story, and although the clinic was state of the art she had gotten the impression that they were only scraping by and looking for fundraisers.

      Like that calendar over the desk in the main entryway at the clinic that boasted photos of twelve very hunky locals. Some of them were doctors, or employees of the clinic, and others were firefighters or involved in other lines of public service.

      Deakin was somewhere in the main house at this very moment. It had been more than obvious that he wasn’t happy with her being here. The look on his face when he’d realized exactly which cottage Petra was talking about had been priceless...and embarrassing. But unless she just wanted to leave the island there wasn’t much she could do about it. And she was enjoying the work far too much to let Deakin’s grumpiness drive her away.

      The property was usually rented out when Deakin wasn’t there, Theo had finally admitted when she’d called him and confronted him about the cottage. He hadn’t been positive Deakin would come back when he’d offered it to her, and they’d needed her at the clinic. And for that to happen she’d needed someplace to sleep. It had been the only logical solution.

      That didn’t make it the most comfortable one now that Deakin was home. He’d claimed it didn’t bother him to have her staying there, but his voice told another story.

      Cracking an egg, she listened to the satisfying sizzle as it hit the heated oil, the earthy scent filling the air, making her mouth water.

      She made her way to the refrigerator for some orange juice, pulling a small glass from a cupboard on the way. She could do this. From what she’d heard about Deakin, a plastic surgeon who specialized in treating burns victims, he didn’t stay in one place for any length of time. He probably wouldn’t be here for more than a week or two. As soon as he could Deakin would be on his way.

      He didn’t like the island. She wasn’t sure how she knew that, but she did. It was in the way his eyes shifted from thing to thing, that ever-present frown on his face. Something here held bad vibes for him.

      Maybe he’d been injured on the island?

      It didn’t matter.

      She hadn’t come to the island to speculate on its residents, past or present. She’d come here to escape.

      No. Not to escape. To start over.

      There was a difference. Starting over involved staying here on this earth, not—

       Dammit.

      A piercing shriek shattered her thoughts in an instant, and her brain struggled to locate the source.

      A smoke alarm, just behind her.

      Why...?

      Oh, no! Where there’d once been the satisfying crackle of a cooking egg there was now billowing smoke coming from the stovetop.

      But that alarm...

      God! Her ears!

      The racket was huge and dramatic, with flashing strobe lights and a screeching caterwaul that reminded her of a seagull. Or maybe a million of them.

      The hot oil wasn’t actually on fire, thank heavens, so she rushed over and grabbed the pan. She was hurrying toward the sink with it just as the front door burst open.

      Deakin appeared, stopping in his tracks as his eyes jerked from her face and landed on the pan, which was now safely under the tap.

      He came over, putting both hands on the edge of the counter, his breath seesawing in and out. “What happened?”

      She could barely make out the words over the alarm.

      “I СКАЧАТЬ