She must be going crazy, Robin thought angrily. For a moment she let her gaze move away from Bill as he talked animatedly to her father, then met Luke’s blue eyes, which held hers captive as surely as if he had put his arms around her. She was almost mesmerised by the force of his personality and the certainty that he intended to prove it was stronger than hers. The dominant male asserting himself. There were some things she knew about him by an instinct as old as time, Robin thought tremulously, a strange and unfamiliar weakness enveloping her as she felt herself drawn to the intensity of his gaze.
She knew that here was a man who was capable of great tenderness as well as brute strength; who would love a woman in any way she desired to be loved, wantonly or gently; who would know how to seduce with the slightest touch or a nuance of his voice. Robin dragged her eyes away from him, hearing Bill address her.
“Luke has his own hero, Robin. You have heard of the great Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, of course? It was he who built the railway bridge over the river Tamar, linking Devon and Cornwall, and brought the Great Western Railway all the way from London to the far west.”
“ ‘God’s Wonderful Railway.’ “ Robin nodded, giving the affectionate nickname for the line.
“That’s right.” Bill grinned. “We all reckon Luke was born a hundred years too late. He should have been scrambling about with that fanatic Brunel, bridge-building and tunnel-digging, and then turning his talents to the railway and ships ...”
“Give it a rest, Bill.” Luke grinned back. “I’m not a one-man industry. It takes a team of people to complete a project. Even Brunel knew that.”
“He had the ideas, though, and that’s where the two of you are alike. The ideas and the enthusiasm —”
It was getting to be a mutual admiration society, Robin thought. But Bill was revealing another facet of Luke’s character that she hadn’t known about. She didn’t know him. And after tomorrow it was unlikely they would meet again, except on rare occasions. Even if he came down to Cornwall to keep an eye on the work, which she didn’t doubt he would do, she must start looking around for a new job. It wasn’t in her nature to be idle, despite Luke’s first impression of her, and he was annoyingly right about one thing: In that part of the country, there was little possibility of her getting the kind of secretarial work she would prefer — something more interesting than a bland office routine, because after the excitement of working for Elaine Fowler, it was going to be difficult to accept anything less.
The thought that Luke Burgess would be going out of her life so soon after storming into it sent a pang of regret running through her. But Robin wasn’t the type of woman who could sit around, patiently waiting for the next time he would appear on site; neither could she waste her life mooning over a man who must have had his share of women. He might even be married. That sudden realisation was enough to set her pulse racing. She spoke before she could stop herself.
“How does your wife cope with your being away on site a lot, Bill?” It was to him she spoke first, turning as if with an afterthought to Luke. “And yours — or aren’t you married?”
“Not yet,” Luke said, his words meaning anything or nothing. Then he relented. “Bill is engaged to a lovely girl, but I haven’t found anyone I’d ask to share my life — unless you’re applying for the job, Robin. You’re free at the moment, aren’t you?”
“I’m not that desperate,” she snapped.
She saw his grin and knew he’d seen right through the questioning, damn him.
“You’re getting into the lingo though,” he observed. “Referring to the building area as ‘on site’ tells me you’re getting more interested than you were at first.”
Robin forgot all about being subtle and cautious. He had enough conceit about him to make a saint swear, Robin thought angrily. “I’m interested in seeing that my father isn’t being taken for a ride! I’m interested in seeing that my beloved home county isn’t turned into some kind of holiday camp because of some stupid town-hall planner who got sweet-talked by some clever up-country property developer! I’m interested in preventing the tranquility of at least one little bit of coastline from being swept away in the desire for a quick buck, to put it crudely!”
“Robin, really!” James’s face had got progressively redder as his daughter’s tirade gathered momentum, but to her surprise she saw that Luke wasn’t in the least upset by her attack. He was openly grinning at her, as if it added spice to the whole proceeding to have the daughter of his new business partner so incensed by his proposals. The contracts had been signed, and Robin felt strongly that her father was signing his lifeblood away, and hers with it.
“It’s quite all right, Mr. Pollard,” Luke said easily. “This kind of thing happens all the time in our business. You can hardly blame your daughter for wanting to preserve the environment she loves. I find it highly commendable, and I can only suggest that you reserve judgment on me, Robin. Look over the plans for the development and come to the site with us tomorrow to see for yourself that it will all be done tastefully and won’t resemble a holiday camp in the least. Please don’t jump to conclusions before you see what’s planned.”
His coaxing voice made her wild with anger. She didn’t want him reassuring her so condescendingly. She didn’t want him “understanding” her in that patronising manner. She didn’t want him there at all. She wished he’d never come. She wished he would go away and things could be as they had been before.
But Robin knew that was an impossibility. Her life had begun to change direction six weeks earlier. She had come home to Cornwall then, seeking a haven, finding the calm she sought. But she was too young and resilient to be in retreat for very long, and already she had begun seeking a new challenge, however subconsciously. It was time to begin living again.
And then Luke Burgess had come into her life. As yet, Robin didn’t know just how much he was going to shape her destiny. There was only one thing of which she was certain: Whether she loved him or hated him, she could never be unaware of him. For Robin, at least, things could never be as they were before, for he had awakened the woman in her.
Chapter Three
Robin found it hard to sleep that night. Luke Burgess’s face kept getting in the way whenever she closed her eyes. She had never met a man who had had such an instant effect on her, whether to irritate her or ... Against her will she began to imagine the hardness in that face softened into tenderness ... to imagine how it would be to be held by him, kissed by him, loved by him.
Robin moved restlessly beneath the thin bed-clothes, which were in a tangle around her body. She thrust them away from her, knowing that the sudden heat that suffused her came from an inner source rather than the warmth of the night.
For breathless moments she allowed herself to dream. With her golden looks Robin had never lacked boyfriends, but there had never been one to stir her the way Luke Burgess did. She had never felt the adrenaline flow in her blood so searingly before, nor believed that the magnetic attraction between a man and a woman could be so overpowering or so instantaneous.
She tried to think clearly. There hadn’t been any attraction that afternoon when the dark shadow of the man had spoiled her sunbathing. Yet, even then, with the sunlight glinting around Luke’s dark head, she had been aware of some devil’s touch, had known from that moment that he was a man who would have an appeal for women, even if Robin Pollard was the one who got away.
Right now she was beginning to wonder if she was going to be that lucky — if luck was the right word to use. To think of Luke in that context meant she was halfway to falling in love with him, and that was so absurd she wouldn’t even give it a second thought. Damn the man, Robin thought angrily. She thumped her pillow into shape and closed her eyes, pushing him out of her mind with a superhuman effort.
*
The next morning she dressed casually in linen slacks and a white silk shirt that was smart enough for lunch at a hotel in Helston, yet casual enough for clambering a
bout the hillside, inspecting the site for the new development.
“All ready for the fray?” James greeted her when it was time to leave for the half-hour drive into town through narrow lanes lined with hedgerow and over-hanging trees tinged with autumn.
“You have an odd way of referring to it,” Robin commented. “I thought you were all for this great new development scheme. Not having any doubts, are you, Dad?”
“I am not! I got the distinct impression that you and Luke were ready to do battle at every opportunity, though.” James smiled slightly as he drove expertly through familiar byways, avoiding the late tourists enjoying the Indian summer.
“I’m sorry about all that,” Robin muttered. “He just got me on the raw, that’s all.”
“So I gathered. Don’t let your quick tongue run away with you, will you, darling? I’m quite happy about Luke’s offer and confident about his integrity. I assure you I’m not being taken for a ride, as you so eloquently put it last night. Give me credit for having some business sense still. The fact that I’m retired from the rat race doesn’t mean my brain has stopped working.”
“Okay, Dad, you’ve made your point.”
“So do us all a favor and try not to clash with Luke every time you meet, will you?” James went on relentlessly.
He really was concerned, Robin thought. It didn’t matter anyway, because she was unlikely to meet Luke too often. For starters, she would make a point of keeping away anytime she knew he’d be down there.
Her resolve was cheering but a little premature. It implied that she had somewhere else to go, an interesting job to keep her occupied and new people to meet. And she had none of those things. Not yet. She had the whole of England in which to search for them, and her next resolve was to buy the national newspapers and see if anything suitable was being offered.
By the time James stopped the car in the small car park of the Helston Hotel, Robin felt she was on a more even keel. She loved this small Cornish town. When she was a child and her mother was alive, her parents used to bring her down from Truro every May eighth for the traditional Furry Day, when all traffic was banned from the town for the day and old dances were performed. The children danced in and out of the houses, carrying garlands of flowers and led by fiddlers. Later in the day the older people — including the notables, dressed in morning dress and top hats — would repeat the performance. It was pure carnival. But today Helston was its usual congested small-town self, with tourists and locals vying for room.
They found Luke and Bill in one of the small lounges, both looking businesslike with folders and briefcases beside them. They all shook hands formally, and this time Robin almost snatched her hand away from Luke’s, knowing she was being idiotic but not wanting to have a repeat performance of the sensuous palm-stroking of the day before. All the same, when the plans were spread out on a low table and Luke and Bill became crisp and businesslike, Robin couldn’t help noticing his hands.
The fingers were long and tapering — what her mother used to call a pianist’s hands. Mrs. Fowler would have approved, Robin thought inanely. The nails were clipped short and neat, and the backs of the hands were covered with fine dark hair. Each time he stretched out his arm to point out a new feature of the architectural drawings, Robin saw muscles rippling under his tanned skin.
Why didn’t he wear a long-sleeved shirt like Bill? she thought crossly, and in the same instant asked herself why the hell it mattered anyway. But he disturbed her and she didn’t want him to. It would have been easier on her if she could have found the man himself less physically attractive. She hated all he stood for, but she didn’t exactly hate him, and the fact that she was drawn to him against her will made her temper shorter than usual.
“The holiday complex will be in full view from here.” Robin stabbed a finger along the plans, where the cliffs jutted out into the sea.
Luke stared at her thoughtfully, knowing she was going to make every possible objection.
“Well, maybe so, but only the sea gulls will be getting a look,” he said with elaborate patience. “And since I’m not planning on starting up a nature camp, I hardly think our clients will be too worried. People on holiday don’t expect to be in total isolation, Robin.”
“Some do.”
“Then they won’t choose to come here, will they? And despite your fears, this will be an exclusive development. The costs are pretty high, and we will attract only people who can pay.”
“I see. So it’s to be a hideaway for the filthy rich, is it?” Perversely, Robin managed to imply that naturally she expected to hear this. Luke would be in it for the money.
“Don’t you think you’re taking your objections a bit far, darling?” James Pollard said mildly. “I’m perfectly satisfied with the plans, and I must say I’m full of admiration at the way the complex will merge into the original environment.”
And since it was her father’s land, it didn’t really matter a damn what Robin thought. There was no point in fighting it, except that it was in her nature to stick up for what she believed in. Right now she was making a stand for conservation and her own little space. She glared at Luke.
Hoping to ease the tension, Bill drew out some sketches from another folder and lay them down in front of her.
“This is the way it will look when all the work’s finished, Robin. We discussed several different ideas and decided that low buildings with flat roofs, rather in the style of the Mediterranean complexes, would be best. We can keep the profile of the hillside virtually unchanged, and the white-painted villas would be an attractive feature among the trees.”
“There aren’t that many trees there.”
“There will be,” Luke said calmly.
Did he think he was God to go altering the landscape at will? But any hopes of changing their minds about this was fading quickly. It had obviously gone too far now, and her father had conveniently kept quiet about it all until Mrs. Fowler’s death had forced Robin to come home. He was as much to blame as anyone. The entire male population was quickly going down in Robin’s estimation — even the anxious-faced Bill, who was clearly not cut out to deal with irate females so early in the day.
“Just when is all this going to happen?” she asked next, her voice still frigid.
“We start work in two weeks,” Luke informed her. “We will start moving in the heavy machinery at the end of next week, and the workmen will be installed in their temporary housing. I’m afraid there will be some disruption from noise for the next few months.”
“How long will it take?” If it annoyed the neighbours enough, perhaps they could get up a petition. But there were very few neighbours except at Pollard Manor, and Robin guessed that any others would be compensated. She was reading Luke Burgess very well by now. He always got what he wanted ...
“I estimate that if we get a reasonable winter without too much rain we’ll have the work done by Easter. We should be open for business for the early summer.”
“I see. I shall be sure and find a job well away from home, then, while all the bulldozing is going on. Perhaps you’d better go to the Riviera for the winter, Dad.”
“Like one of the filthy rich?” James grinned at her. “Now, why should I do that? This is as much my project as Luke’s, only in a smaller way, of course. I’m very interested to see how it all develops, and I’ve no intention of skipping the country. Besides, since I’m to get a percentage of all the holiday bookings, don’t you think I’ve a right to see that everything goes well? If there are any problems and the workmen need to get hold of Luke urgently, it will be useful to have a shareholder on the spot.”
Robin gaped at him. This was news to her. James hadn’t said anything about getting a percentage out of the holiday take. They really were business partners, then, even if Luke held most of the shares. Robin didn’t like the thought of that one bit. He was infiltrating her life too quickly and smoothly.
“Do you have a job in mind, Robin?” Luke forced her to look at him. �
�Your father told us about your love of this part of Cornwall, and it must be good to relax after London. Are you planning on staying down here? I can’t really believe you’d let me drive you away as you suggested just now.”
His blue eyes challenged hers. She felt a tremor run through her body as their gazes locked. Why did he always manage to do this to her? She didn’t want it — didn’t want him ...
“You wouldn’t,” she said curtly. “I do as I please. I’ve never let any man dictate to me, not even Dad.” She gave his hand a quick squeeze to let him know it wasn’t he she was getting at. “I preferred working for a woman too. Mrs. Fowler and I understood each other perfectly. She had an artistic temperament.”
“And yours is hardly predictable, is it?” Luke put in.
James gave a teasing laugh.
“You won’t get the better of Luke, Robin. I get the feeling you’re too much alike.”
“Then, it’s a good thing we won’t be seeing too much of each other, isn’t it?” she said.
Luke leaned back in the hotel chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him. He wore dark brown cord jeans and a cream shirt, and as he put his hands behind his head in a nonchalant gesture, Robin could see that there wasn’t an ounce of spare flesh on him. He had a superb physique, and she grudgingly registered the fact. Any woman would fall for him, given half the chance, except for her. She saw him for what he was, an exploiter of people and the countryside. She wouldn’t look beyond that.
“I was hoping we might see a great deal of each other, Robin,” he went on, his eyes never leaving her face.
Robin’s cheeks were tinged with colour, wondering suspiciously if his words were as innocent as they seemed. His expression mocked her, and then he sat forward, the businessman in him taking over.
“I have a proposition for you. I’m without a secretary at present and I need somebody quickly. I’ve had a couple of temps for the past few weeks, but they’re all hopeless and usually go off in tears if I shout at them. I don’t imagine you’d be quite as feeble as some of them.”
Partners in Love Page 3