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The day got worse when she and Ben walked down to the village, where he told everyone they met he had a daddy. Not that it was necessary. The hospital receptionist and the local grapevine had already done their work well, and when she walked into the post office the postmistress asked her when the wedding was.
Chapter Ten
AS IT happened, in the end Phoebe did not have to make the decision as it was made for her…
She gave up trying to sleep at six the next morning, and got out of bed and checked on Ben. He was still asleep—probably because she had let him stay up late last night. She had not wanted to be alone with her thoughts.
Not that it had done her much good. She was no nearer reaching a decision even as she took a long shower. She lathered the soap down over her body and slowly back up to her throat, then raked her fingers through her long hair. She tilted her head back and felt the warm jets pound against her overheated flesh, and a vivid image of Jed nuzzling her breasts filled her mind. With a low groan she grasped the bottle of shampoo and washed her hair with more vigour than necessary. Then, turning the water to cold, she stood under the freezing spray.
When she was sure the heat and the sensual hunger that had invaded her body since the reappearance of Jed Sabbides in her life was finally extinguished, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.
Damn! She could hear the distant ring of the telephone. Snatching a bathtowel from the cupboard, she wrapped it around her shivering body and rushed downstairs, wondering who on earth could be calling this early.
Phoebe picked up the receiver, and before she could utter a word Jed’s deep dark voice resonated in her ear.
‘Where the hell have you been? I have been trying to call you for twenty minutes.’
‘I was in the shower, and now I am standing shivering in the hall with only a towel for warmth, so—’
He cut her off. ‘Hell and damnation, Phoebe! I need a picture of you near naked in my mind like a hole in the head right now,’ he growled in a deep frustrated tone, and the calming effect of her cold shower disappeared.
‘Just be quiet and listen. My father had a heart attack last night. He is in hospital, in Intensive Care, and I arrived in Greece at three this morning.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Phoebe said, her heart touched. Even Jed, hard as he was, had to feel bad when it came to his father’s health.
‘I don’t want your sympathy. I just want you to do as I say. I’ve spoken to his consultant and the next forty-eight hours are crucial. He is in and out of consciousness, but I have told him about Ben and he wants to meet him. There is no way I am going to let my father die without seeing his grandson. A car will be arriving at your door at nine, to take you both to the airport. I’ve arranged for Sid to accompany you, and he will bring you to the hospital—understand?’
‘Yes—no. Wait,’ she stammered, her heart no longer aching with sympathy but racing in panic.
‘I have no time to argue. Just do as I say.’ And he hung up.
Phoebe took Ben’s hand in hers and gave him a reassuring smile as they walked down the hospital corridor to Intensive Care. ‘You will see Daddy soon, and you are going to meet your grandfather, who is not very well. But don’t be afraid—he will be fine.’
‘Sid said I’m a big boy and not afraid of anything,’ Ben said. ‘Isn’t that right, Sid?’
‘Sure thing.’ Sid smiled at Phoebe over the top of his head. ‘Don’t worry—take a seat.’ He indicated the chairs against one wall. ‘I’ll tell Mr Sabbides you are here.’ And he walked through the door opposite.
Phoebe watched the door swing closed and sank gratefully down on a chair, urging Ben to sit down beside her. She was scared. Events had moved so fast she felt as if she had lost all control, and it terrified her.
After Jed had called she had woken Ben up and told him they were going to Greece in a plane to see his daddy. He’d been thrilled. Reluctantly she had packed a few things, knowing she could not ignore the wishes of a dying man.
That was if the man was dying! She would not put it past Jed to use his father to get his own way. He’d had no trouble in using Ben over the daddy issue on Sunday, she had reminded herself, and she’d still not been certain about their going. But when a grim-faced Sid had arrived on her doorstep and confirmed the facts she’d locked up the house and got into the car.
Phoebe glanced around. It was hard to believe that after answering the telephone at home that morning she was now sitting in a hospital corridor in Athens this afternoon, not knowing what to expect next.
Suddenly the door opposite swung open and Sid walked out. ‘Mr Sabbides will be here in a second, so I’ll leave you now,’ he said, and left.
Warily Phoebe watched the still swinging door, her nerves knotting painfully in the pit of her stomach as Jed appeared.
‘Phoebe—you came,’ he said, in an unfamiliar hoarse tone.
She looked up at his grim face ‘Yes.’ Their eyes held for tense, interminable seconds, the shadows of their past intimacy melding with the present to create a rare moment of mutual understanding.
‘I wasn’t sure you would,’ he admitted. ‘But I am glad you did.’
Phoebe tore her eyes from his and let her gaze sweep over him. He had shed the jacket of his suit somewhere, and his pants were crumpled. The open-necked shirt he wore was equally crumpled. His dark hair lay in dishevelled strands across his forehead, as if he had combed his fingers through it countless times, and his heavy-lidded eyes were strained in a face that looked oddly grey.
Concern for him flooded over her, and she had an impulsive desire to leap to her feet and take him in her arms. But she fought to control the impulse, determined not to let him see it.
