Embarrassment nearly suffocated her. She started to cross her arms and stopped, realizing shed made a bad situation worse. She recognized the bold admiration in his chiseled features, the frank appraisal common to most men shed come in contact with. Throughout her twenty-five years, shed grown to both know and hate that stark, assessing look. Yet somehow, with his velvet stare boring into hers, she couldnt take offense.
Even so she couldnt possibly be interested in a stranger with too many inconsistencies in his character. Awkward one minute, self-assured the next, Kayla couldnt help but wonder who he was.
And what he wanted.
She darted a glance across the room. He might have been prepared to walk into a photo shoot instead of her place of business. His blond-streaked hair had been slicked back, the bottom curling around his collar as if fighting the stiff hold hed tried to maintain. The cut was longer than most nine-to-fivers preferred and added a dangerous edge to his appearance. The hard look in his eyes seemed to verify that impression. The perfectly sculpted features were at odds with the man inside. Mr. Kane McDermott had been around lifes many corners more than a few times.
He wasnt the ordinary man who frequented her aunt and uncles establishment. Her establishment, she reminded herself. The man was a paying customer, and that meant she had to quit dissecting him and get down to business.
Can I get you a cold drink? she asked.
He leaned against the wall, one shoulder propped against the scarred wooden paneling. His potent gaze never strayed from hers. How about I buy you a drink? he asked in that seductive voice. I meanoh, hell. I cant pull this off.
Pull what off? Whats going on?
I cant pretend Im a geek in need of training.
She raised an eyebrow. You think thats the services we offer?
Let her be Charmed!? he asked, repeating her aunts company slogan. It was on the pamphlet my friend gave me.
I see. Well, weve advanced beyond those days. Not that we cant offer basic etiquette lessons if you need them, butWhat do you mean you cant pull this off? That you cant pretend youre a geek in need of training? she asked warily, steering the conversation back to her main concern. It wasnt like her to be sidetracked by a good-looking man-which made this one all the more dangerous.
A friend of mine sent me here. He attended one of your dance classes last year. Your name is too unique for me to be mistaken.
She narrowed her gaze. Whats your friends name? Kayla asked.
John Fredericks. Says he nearly flunked out of Ballroom Dancing.
She rolled her eyes, remembering the lessons her aunt had insisted Charmed! offer. Kayla never did understand how they filled a class. Thats because he had two left feet and was preoccupied with landing a date for New Years Eve. She couldnt see the good-natured but shy man as a friend of Kane McDermotts, but apparently appearances were deceiving. If John and Kane were friends, Kane had just handed her a reference she could trust. How is he? she asked.
His company sent him overseas. He said to ask your aunt for tips on dating French women, Kane said with a grin. For the next time he calls.
Kayla felt a pang of regret. Shed have been glad to give him advice. She liked John, too.
What happened? Kane asked.
She and my uncle were killed a few months ago.
Together?
Yes. Tears stung behind her eyes, as they did each time she thought of the accident and the aunt with whom shed had so much in common. They shared an above-average IQ as well as a special relationship, due in large part to the fact that her aunt understood the oddity of being too smart.
She shook off the memories and focused on her visitor. The police said they skidded in the rain and hit a tree.
Im sorry, that must have been roughlosing both of them at once.
I didnt know my uncle well. Theyd only been married a little over a year, but at least he made her happy before she- Kayla stopped, realizing she was confiding in a total stranger.
Im sorry. He paused. John will be sorry, too.
Thank you. She lowered her gaze before meeting his stare once more. But my aunt being gone doesnt change the facts.
Which are?
You came in here pretending to be something youre not.
Which are?
You came in here pretending to be something youre not.
He flinched. And that was wrong. But Johnhe thought wed hit it off. He glanced down at his hands.
Why didnt you just say that when you came in?
Because you cant trust someone elses opinion. Hell, thats like accepting a blind date. So Icame in here to check you out, he admitted sheepishly.
John must have told you about me a long time ago, she said.
Whys that?
Because Charmed! rarely offers classes for the dating impaired anymore and neither does our brochure. We concentrate more on the international business arena now.
He had the grace and manners to look embarrassed. I knew the minute I walked in here I couldnt pull it off, he muttered.
So you said. Kayla narrowed her gaze. Why is that? she asked, hoping that her cup size had less to do with his answer than the chemistry. She was attracted to his looks, but a lot of good-looking men existed in the world. This one affected her on a deeper level.
Youre even more beautiful than Id hoped.
A little too smooth, she thought with chagrin. So much for her futile hope hed be special.
But beyond that if you actually teach all these classes, theres a wealth of knowledge in there and, Im not ashamed to admit, smart women turn me on, he said with a boyish grin.
Despite herself, she laughed at his obvious attempt at humor.
Does this mean youll go out with me? he asked.
Oh, how she wanted to, but dating a stranger wasnt a smart move. She glanced at his determined gaze and doubted hed take a straight no for an answer. I wish I could, but I have to be here for the repairman. She forced a regretful smile and squelched the female buried inside her who wanted to accept his invitation.
He unbuttoned his suit and slipped the jacket off his broad shoulders before flinging it onto the nearest chair. It was that or be roasted alive. He turned back to her. Now where were we? Oh, yesyou going out with me.
She opened her mouth to insist shed made her final decision when the phone rang. She picked it up, grateful to discover on the other end the plumber returning her call. Gratitude quickly turned to dismay. She placed the receiver back on the cradle.
Kane raised his dark eyebrows. Problem?
She nodded. The repairman. Hell be here. Tomorrow. He hopes. She plucked at her damp shirt.
Well then. He started to unbutton the cuff on his shirt. Wed better get to work.
We? she asked.
You and me. I dont see anyone else volunteering. His gaze darted around the room. Do you?
No, butare you a plumber?
No, maam. But living in an old apartment, Ive seen my share of broken heaters. So lets get going. With a flip of his wrist, he began rolling up his sleeve. When the first one was finished, he began on the second, revealing muscular forearms and bronze skin. With her fair complexion, she always admired deep-olive skin, but his coloring had little to do with the pulse-pounding adrenaline flowing through her system.
It was one thing to sense this mans strength, another to witness the physical evidence of it firsthand. Kaylas mouth grew dry and she grabbed for the bottled water sitting on her desk. She wet her parched lips before attempting to speak. Wrench?
What?
She plucked up the tool shed deposited on her desk earlier. I asked if you needed a wrench. To shut off the heat.
Take it along and well see.
She followed him into the back room. He knelt down to examine what she considered a foreign piece of equipment.
The temperatures already turned down, he said.
The cleaning crew must have turned it on by mistake. It was near ninety when I got here. I got the dial turned down but the heat didnt follow.
It probably needs to hit its peak before itll start coming down.
You mean its going to get hotter? she asked, fingering the damp bangs that stuck to her forehead.
Count on it. His searing gaze zeroed in on hers and the heat in the room seemed to soar. No man had ever had such a heart-stopping effect on her before. Drawing a deep breath, she wondered how to handle such raw masculinity. Shed made too many mistakes to mess up again.
He cleared his throat. Theres another choice. We can hit the emergency switch and hope we dont blow the unit in the process.
She shook her head. No, thank you. Cant afford that kind of repair.
Then you have no choice but to let it run its course. In the meantime, do you have a bucket? he asked.
As a matter of fact She retrieved the pail her aunt had used to store cleaning supplies. Here. She offered it and he grabbed the handle.
What about a skate key? he asked.
She blinked at the strange question. A what?
He chuckled. Never mind. He reached around and patted the floor surrounding the heater. Aha. He held a small rounded key aloft. Triumph lit eyes that she now realized were stunning-an aqua mix that emphasized more blue than green and turned her already mixed up insides to pure mush.
She glanced at his find. Let me guess. A skate key?
Sort of. Most of these old units need to be bled at the start of every season, sometimes more often. People familiar with them leave the key in a place they wont forget. Otherwise you have to go running and hope you can find
The nearest skater? she asked wryly.
Shed do in a pinchif she looked like you.
A burning flush heated her cheeks. Thanks to her fair skin she probably resembled a tomato by now. Look, Mr. McDermott, I appreciate your help, but you dont have to flatter me.
Do compliments make you uncomfortable, Miss Luck?
She shrugged, knowing hed hit a nerve. In her experience, compliments were a means to an end.
A woman like you should be used to them. I would think youd take them in stride.
Lets just say, Id rather get back to the problem at hand, she said, gesturing toward the heater. I thought you bled a heater when there was no heat.
You do. But you might as well stabilize the system so you dont have major problems when you turn it on again next winter. He turned back to the heater and soon the sound of water running into the bucket filled the otherwise silent room. After her third trip to empty the water into the bathroom sink, he flipped the key and rose to his feet.