‘Alekos, you can’t.’ Her eyes slid over his shockingly expensive suit and handmade shoes, and he turned his head and gave a mocking smile, reading her mind in a single glance.
‘Don’t judge a book by its cover—isn’t that what you English say? I flew straight from meetings in Athens. Just because I’m wearing a suit, doesn’t mean I can’t weld a pipe. Get me something to work with, Kelly.’
‘He can look that good and weld a pipe? Colour me bright green with envy,’ Vivien murmured faintly and Kelly gave her a shove.
‘Go and turn the water off.’
By the time the water was turned off and they’d located a rusty metal box of tools hidden in the caretaker’s cupboard, Alekos had discovered the fault.
‘The joint in this pipe has corroded.’ He’d removed his jacket and his shirt was soaked, sticking to his lean, muscled torso like another skin. ‘What’s in that box?’
‘I have no idea.’ Distracted by the sheer power of his body, Kelly struggled to open the box, staggering under the weight and Alekos frowned down at the assortment of tools.
‘Give me that one—no, the one underneath it; that’s it.’ He proceeded to remove the offending pipe and examine it closely. ‘Here is your problem.’ He ran his finger over a section of ancient pipe. ‘I doubt it’s been replaced since the school was built. Doesn’t anyone maintain this place?’
Vivien was gazing at his shoulders. ‘I don’t think our caretaker possesses your skills. And we’re a bit short of money.’
‘It doesn’t need much money, just regular maintenance. Kelly, my phone is in my back pocket—get it out.’
‘But—’
‘I have my hands rather full at the moment,’ he gritted. ‘Not to mention being soaking wet. If you could not choose this moment to argue, that would be appreciated.’
Kelly stepped through the water and slipped her hand into his pocket, feeling the hard muscle of his body burn through the wet fabric. Quickly, she closed her fingers around his phone and dragged it out, aware that he was as tense as she was. Four years ago she hadn’t been able to keep her hands off his body—and he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off hers.
It was something she’d been trying to forget ever since.
Judging from the sizzling glance he sent in her direction, he felt the same way.
Kelly gulped. ‘What do you want me to do?’
‘Speed dial.’ He gave her instructions and she did as he said, then held the phone to his ear so that he could speak. Listening to the flow of Greek, she wished she’d spent less time focusing on his body when they were together and more time honing her language skills. At very least she should have learned how to say ‘get out of my life’.
‘Do you know what he’s saying?’ Vivien hissed and Kelly shook her head just as Alekos ended the call.
‘I will have a team here in less than ten minutes.’
‘A team?’
‘I can fix this pipe for you, but I don’t have the equipment. We need a new section of pipe, the same diameter; my security team can locate what we need and have it here. It will do them good to have something useful to do instead of hovering on street corners.’ He wiped his damp forehead on his shoulder and then glanced around him in incredulity, taking in the peeling paint. ‘If this place were a ship, it would have sunk by now.’
‘It makes the Titanic look seaworthy,’ Vivien agreed fervently and Kelly rolled her eyes.
Being this close to Alekos, and in these circumstances, was the worst possible torture; she didn’t need to witness hero-worship from her closest friend. ‘Can we just get on with this? Alekos, I’m sure there’s somewhere you need to be. Now that you’ve identified the problem, we can sort it out, so you are free to go.’
‘Go? Are you mad?’ Vivien’s voice was an astonished squeak. ‘We’re never going to be able to find anyone to fix this at such short notice. He knows what he’s doing, why would you want him to go?’
‘Because Kelly is feeling uncomfortable being this close to me.’ A sardonic smile on his face, Alekos fixed his gaze on her. ‘Isn’t that right, agape mou?’
His use of that particular endearment sent the tension rocketing through her. It reminded her too clearly of intimate moments she was working hard to forget. ‘I’ve changed my mind about selling the ring. I want it to go to a good home, and you’re definitely not a good home. And, just because you can roll up your sleeves and fix a leaking pipe, don’t think I’m impressed.’
‘I’m impressed,’ Vivien said dreamily. ‘Really impressed. I thought you ran a shipping company. But you can—wow. I mean, wow.’
Alekos looked amused. ‘I do run a shipping company.’
‘But not from behind a desk, obviously.’
‘Unfortunately, it usually is from behind a desk. But I have a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering which occasionally comes in useful.’ He looked up as a woman walked into the room followed by five men carrying stacks of equipment.
‘These men say that—oh.’ The school secretary blinked in horror and Kelly formed her lips into something approaching a smile.
‘It’s all under control, Janet.’
And it was. With Alekos giving orders, the men worked as an efficient team, but what really surprised her was that he did the actual work himself. His team gave him what he asked for and, while he fixed the pipe they set about cleaning up the water and setting up drying machines.
By the time Alekos had finished, a new section of pipe had replaced the old piece that had rusted away and the cloakroom was drying.
Kelly was just trying to slink away when he closed his hand around her wrist like a vice. ‘No. No more running.’ Hauling her against him, Alekos swung her into his arms; Kelly made a choked sound and clutched at his shoulders for support.
‘Alekos! What are you doing? Put me down.’
Half-alarmed, half-laughing in envy, Vivien put a hand on his arm. ‘Whatever you do, don’t drop her! Gosh, if you’re that desperate you can use my classroom, if you like, it’s empty.’
‘Put me down!’ Kelly snapped, twisting in his arms. ‘I want to keep the respect of these children and I won’t be able to do that if you’re carrying me through the school like—’
‘Like a man?’ Ignoring her, Alekos said something in Greek to his team and strode out of the door. ‘You’ve put on some weight since you were nineteen.’
‘Good.’ Kelly banked down the hurt caused by that comment. ‘I hope you put your back out.’
‘It was a compliment—the extra weight appears to be distributed in all the right places, although I can’t be sure without a closer inspection.’
‘How can you say things like that when you’re involved with another woman? You’re disgusting.’
‘You’re jealous.’
‘I’m not jealous. As far as I’m concerned, your sick-eningly skinny blonde can have you.’ Kelly wriggled, but wriggling just made him hold her more firmly so she lay still, trying not to breathe in his familiar male scent—trying not to look at the dark shadow of his jaw and the impossibly long lashes. ‘Put me down right