Free Fixed Up by Maddie Jane Page A

destructive part that’d got her into this lamentable position in the first place. She had to shut that part down immediately. It had no right leading her astray, making her forget what was important.
    Luke turned her to mush. Made her knees weak and her resolve even weaker.
    â€˜I am sorry for the kiss. It won’t happen again. Ever,’ she said.
    â€˜Come on. It’s not like we were going at it hammer and tongs on the workbench. You’re blowing everything out of proportion. One kiss between consenting adults in their own free time. That’s all it was.’
    Was it? It was difficult to think when Luke stood before her, tempting her with his hard body. Reminding her that he tasted of chocolate biscuits and warm, clean skin. The twinkle had returned to his eyes, turning them more blue than grey, which somehow confused her even more.
    â€˜It might’ve been just any old kiss to you …’ she said, suddenly incensed. How dare he be all twinkly eyed with her professional name at stake. ‘But—’
    He interrupted her. ‘One awesome kiss. And there’s plenty more where that came from, Princess.’
    â€˜So not interested,’ she said, seething now. Was he deliberately being facetious? Did he not see it from her side? Career-crushing, reputation-wrecking kisses couldn’t be swept casually under the rug.
    She wasn’t her mother.
    â€˜I work my arse off and I won’t have you damaging my business and giving my clients cause to gossip about me.’ Harper stomped over to hold the door open wide. ‘Don’t you have somewhere else to be?’
    ***
    Much to Harper’s surprise Luke kept his word and stayed away from her class the next day. A relief, she thought. It would’ve been too embarrassing to have the women watch them, looking for signs there was something going on between them when Harper knew there was nothing.
    So definitely a relief.
    Except not having him lurking up the back where he’d consistently been for all four days of the course so far seemed to make it more obvious something was up. Almost as if he became more conspicuous through his absence. Did it highlight the fact that maybe there was something going on between them?
    Crap. He’d wanted to come today. Harper hated to think he might have been right. Her mind swirled as it batted the possibilities back and forth.
    And what was with all the whispering? She was pretty sure no one whispered in her class before today. Oh God. What must they think? She scanned the faces of her students, trying to ascertain if anyone looked more … knowingly at her.
    â€˜Less gossip, more work please,’ she said sharply. She blushed at her own unfortunate choice of words. Someone tittered and she turned to hide her face. They all needed to pull their heads in and get back on track. Today’s topic, tiling, required precision, focus and a bit more skill than previous activities.
    â€˜Use your spirit level to draw a vertical line from the centre-point to the top,’ she said. ‘No, not there, the top of the area to be tiled.’ She walked around the room, checking, straightening, offering advice. ‘Watch that adhesive. Try not to get it on the face of the tiles.’
    Keeping her mind on the job helped. Issuing instructions and answering questions made the session fly by and Harper began to feel more normal as her control returned and her anxiety levels dropped. As the class ended for the day she couldn’t help thinking she’d had a close call but that maybe there wouldn’t be terrible repercussions. As long as it never happened again and she retained a thoroughly professional relationship with her students and no relationship at all with Luke, it would be okay.
    But as she farewelled everyone at the end of the session and wished them all a successful DIY-filled weekend, she realised her ordeal hadn’t ended yet.
    Joan and Shelia loitered at their