'He just bought a date with me, that's all,' she said quickly, throwing a warning glance at Alex. 'The money was for a good cause. It was all very harmless.'
Except that the sum hadn't been harmless. He'd paid a small fortune for the privilege of spending an evening with her.
Adrienne's eyes were very round. 'Wow. That doesn't sound like him. Andreas is very picky about women. Especially women he doesn't know. He doesn't trust them. Grandma says it's because he's handsome, Greek and a millionaire,' she said ingenuously. 'They're after him for the wrong reasons. So why you were sleeping in our spare room?'
Aware of her brother's amused gaze, Libby gritted her teeth. 'It's a bit complicated.'
Alex drained his coffee-cup. 'I'll just bet it is,' he muttered under his breath, and Libby rolled her eyes in frustration.
Whoever thought it was great to be a triplet had never had a brother as infuriating as Alex.
'None of this would have happened,' she snarled, 'if you'd fulfilled your brotherly duty and bought me.'
Alex stood up, as cool and relaxed as ever. 'Of course, there's always the possibility that he might have outbid me if he's that rich.'
'You're filthy rich and I'm your sister!' Libby looked at him in exasperation. 'You should have been prepared to pay whatever it took.'
'To keep you out of the clutches of a handsome Greek millionaire?' Alex's eyes brimmed with laughter. 'I don't think so. I think he could be just what my baby sister needs.'
Libby stared at him, a suspicion forming in her mind. 'You did it on purpose, didn't you?' she said slowly, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him. 'You never intended to buy me.'
'I've always been very careful with my money,' Alex said lightly, 'and, anyway, there's nothing like a new love affair to take your mind off your old one. You needed a distraction from Philip.'
He lifted one broad shoulder in a careless shrug and with a conspiratorial wink at Adrienne he strolled out of the room, leaving Libby fuming.
He was so infuriating.
'He's gorgeous,' Adrienne whispered, her eyes still fixed on the door as if she was hoping that Alex would reappear. 'Really, really handsome. Those blue eyes are amazing.'
'He's dangerous,' Libby muttered, pushing her plate away and reaching for her coffee. 'Wherever he goes, he leaves a trail of broken hearts and sobbing women.'
At that moment her brother was not her favourite person.
'Like Andreas,' Adrienne observed wisely, and Libby smiled wryly.
She could imagine that it was true.
Andreas Christakos was staggeringly good-looking and if he was rich as well then that would be enough for most women.
But not her.
She was far too cynical to be taken in by a handsome face and buckets of sex appeal.
And she certainly wasn't interested in his money.
She stood up and smiled at Adrienne. 'Come on. Let's do your hair before he picks you up.'
Andreas rang the doorbell and glanced at his watch in frustration.
He was much, much later than he'd planned. Stabilising the little girl in A and E had taken a long time and in the end he'd admitted her to the ward, leaving instructions with the staff that they were to call him if there was any change in her condition. It had been a nasty attack.
The door opened and, instead of Libby, he found himself staring at a tall, dark-haired man with very blue eyes.
Andreas tensed and the warmth of his greeting froze on his lips.
This was not what he'd expected. It had never occurred to him that Libby could be living with someone.
His reaction to the evidence that she had another man in her life was so intense that he sucked in a breath as he felt a rush of that most basic of emotions-
Jealousy.
The man extended a hand, his expression friendly. 'I'm Alex-Libby's brother. You must be the guy who bought her. I tell you now, you should get yourself a refund. The girl's high maintenance and she costs a fortune in chocolate and shoes.'
Brother?
The tension left his shoulders and Andreas smiled warmly. The knowledge that she lived with her brother and not her boyfriend caused him a significant amount of relief.
'Come on in.' Alex stood to one side to let him pass. 'The girls are in the bedroom. I don't know what's going on but there's lots of giggling.'
'It was kind of her to bring Adrienne home.' Andreas glanced around him, noticing the elegance of the spacious apartment. 'Your sister is good with children.'
Alex gave a short laugh. 'Better with children than she is with adults. Can I get you a drink?'
Andreas smiled and shook his head. 'No, thanks. I need to take Adrienne back to school.' He ran a hand over his darkened jaw. 'That's if I can persuade her to go back.'
At that moment a door opened and Adrienne came flying out, her face happy and smiling.
'Guess what? Libby's promised to pick me up from school and take me shopping one day soon.'
She had? Why would she do a thing like that?
Andreas hid his surprise. A day shopping with a twelve-year-old girl bent on choosing a totally unsuitable wardrobe wasn't his idea of relaxation. Why would Libby have volunteered for the task? She had no reason to want to help Adrienne.
He looked at Libby curiously but she carefully avoided his gaze.
Adrienne slipped an arm through his and looked sheepish. 'I'm sorry I ran away. Did you ring the school? Were they furious?'
'Yes, I rang and, no, they weren't furious. They were worried.' Andreas rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, wondering how he was going to help her to settle in. For all his experience with women, he knew nothing about twelve-year-old girls. 'It's a good school, Adrienne.'
Adrienne pulled a face. 'I suppose the teachers are OK but I haven't got any friends.'
'You've only been there for a week,' Libby said quietly. 'These things take time. Remember what we said.'
'Yeah.' Adrienne nodded and then looked at Andreas. 'Can we go for a pizza before you take me back?'
Relieved to have avoided a long drawn-out debate about whether she should go back at all, Andreas smiled. Whatever Libby had said to the child, it had obviously made an impact. 'Yes, we can go for pizza.'
'And can Libby come?'
Libby stiffened. 'I don't think-'
'Of course she can,' Andreas said smoothly, ignoring the furious look she shot him. 'It's the least I can do after the hospitality she offered you tonight.'
'Fantastic. I just need to say goodbye to Alex.' Adrienne hurried off towards the kitchen and Libby looked at Andreas angrily.
'I've already told you, I don't go on dates.'
'If you think that eating pizza with a twelve-year-old is my idea of a date, you're in for a pleasant surprise when I finally take you out,' Andreas drawled. 'You can relax. This is Adrienne's evening. You're quite safe.'
She sucked in a breath. 'Don't you understand no? Do I need to learn Greek?'
'It's just a pizza, Libby,' he said mildly, noticing with satisfaction that she seemed very tense. She definitely wasn't indifferent to him. 'Trust me, when we go on our date, we won't be eating pizza.'
'I won't go on a date with you.' Her eyes clashed with his and her blue eyes sparked. 'I don't want to go on a date with anyone.'
'But I'm not anyone.'
Her soft lips were parted and he could see a pulse beating in the side of her throat but she was still glaring at him.
'Sure of yourself, aren't you?'
He smiled, intrigued by the complexities of her character. On the outside she was prickly and sassy, but on the inside-his guts clenched as he remembered the way she'd handled the children-on the inside she was soft and all woman.
And he wanted her.
He lifted a hand and brushed her flushed cheek with a lingering touch that made her stiffen. 'Remember the fireworks, Libby.'
He could tell by the expression on her face that she didn't want to remember them. That remembering them disturbed her.
They took Adrienne for a pizza and then drove her back to school.
Libby helped to settle her into her room while Andreas went to talk to the headmistress.
Noting the awed expressions of her roommates as they stared at both Andreas and his incredibly sexy sports car, Libby privately doubted that Adrienne would have any more trouble fitting in, but she chatted away to the other girls, trying to help Adrienne bridge the gap.
When they finally left the school it was dark and Andreas drove back towards her flat.
'I owe you a big thank you.'
She glanced at him briefly, suddenly conscious of the intimacy created by the confines of the car. 'For what?'
'For being so kind to Adrienne.'
'She's a nice girl.'
His strong fingers tightened slightly on the wheel. 'I feel somewhat out of my depth,' he admitted wryly, sounding very Greek and very, very male. 'Dealing with twelve-year-old girls is new to me.'
His broad shoulders were only inches away from hers and she shifted slightly in her seat to try and create some distance.
'How did she come to be living with you?' Maybe if she stuck to neutral subjects she'd be able to forget how good-looking he was. 'She said something about her grandmother deciding that she was too old to look after her.'