Humbled and frustrated by the constant demands on his attention, she stood there feeling like an intruder.
‘Miss Jenkins?’ A woman hurried across the room towards her, her black hair caught up in an elegant knot at the base of her neck. ‘I’m Helen. If we could make a start?’
Relieved to have a purpose, Kelly followed her into a suite of rooms and stared in disbelief at the racks of clothes in front of her. It was as if an exclusive store had been opened up for her use alone. In the short time she’d spent with Alekos four years ago, she’d never seen this side of his life. They’d spent time walking barefoot on the beach; they’d shared dinner on the terrace of his villa wearing the same clothes they’d worn to visit a local market.
Now his life was laid out in front of her.
Two other women were hovering but it was obvious that it was Helen who was in charge. ‘If we could start by choosing the dress, Miss Jenkins, then we can decide on hair and mak
e-up.’ Her eyes narrowed, she studied Kelly and then walked briskly to the rails. ‘I think I have something that would be perfect.’
Kelly, who had been worrying about exactly what constituted ‘perfect’ for a business dinner, stared as the woman whisked a dress off the rail. ‘Hot pink?’
‘You will look spectacular. Colours of the Mediterranean.’ Helen slipped the dress off the hanger. ‘Your eyes are the colour of the sea, your hair the colour of washed sand and this dress—’ she shrugged ‘—is the colour of oleander. Do you like it?’
Kelly stared at the mouth-watering silk confection on the hanger. ‘I’m trying to look grown-up and sophisticated—I thought maybe something safe. Something black?’
The woman gave her a pitying smile. ‘Black is for funerals. I was told that tonight is a celebration. Why don’t you slide into the bath that Nina has prepared for you and then we’ll try this for a change. If you don’t like it, we’ll find something else.’
A celebration?
Kelly’s heart fluttered. As she slid into scented water in the largest bath-tub she’d ever seen, she wondered exactly what they were going to be celebrating.
It must be something big if Alekos was going to all this trouble.
And he’d wanted her here, which meant it couldn’t be business-related or he would have done that on his own.
It must be about them, she thought to herself with a shiver of excitement. Over the past few weeks they hadn’t really discussed the future; they’d been concentrating more on the present and their relationship. Which was good, she told herself. That was the right way to do it.
And if a small part of her was slightly disappointed that Alekos hadn’t mentioned the baby, then another part of her understood. This was a big thing for him, wasn’t it? And he was nothing like her; he didn’t deal with problems publicly. He worked them out quietly for himself.
She needed to be patient and give him time.
The fact that he’d brought her here proved that he saw them as a couple. She was part of his life now.
Reflecting on the likely nature of the forthcoming ‘celebration’, Kelly trailed her fingers through the frothy, scented bubbles. Obviously they were going to be celebrating something that hadn’t happened yet.
Her heart gave a spring and she felt a flutter of excitement.
Was he going to propose?
She racked her brains to think of other reasons to celebrate, but nothing came to mind. Exams, new jobs: it couldn’t be any of those things.
Lying in the warm water, Kelly tried to work out whether she’d say yes straight away or make him wait.
But why make him wait? What would be the point of that? She loved him—she’d never stopped loving him—and now she was having his child. It was a pointless waste of time pretending that she didn’t want to be with him.
Her excitement levels rose to almost agonising proportions, and Kelly could barely sit still as one of the girls washed and conditioned her hair.
‘I dare not do too much to it or I will be in trouble with the boss.’ Helen trimmed it and then blow dried it into soft waves. ‘He is right that you have beautiful hair.’
‘Alekos said that?’
‘“I need her to stun the crowd, Helen”,’ Helen parroted as she repeated her instructions from Alekos. ‘“But don’t touch her hair. She has beautiful hair. And, whatever you do, don’t cut it short or you will never work for me again”.’
Taking the fact that she had to stun a crowd to be yet more evidence that he was introducing her to the world as someone important in his life, Kelly beamed. ‘You work for him a lot?’
Helen smiled and reached for the make-up she’d already spread across the table. ‘He used to fly me to Corfu to blow dry his grandmother’s hair. She always loved to look her best, but she found it harder and harder to travel because of her health, so Alekos took me to her. He adored her.’