No Other Love

by Jean Adams

  Bill put down his cup. “Half day?”

  “Yes. I’m working tomorrow instead, so I have to get my weekend chores done this afternoon. I was going to take something home for lunch, but since I’ve already eaten—”

  “I have to go too,” Lucas put in hurriedly. “I just picked up a big project. The client wants it yesterday, so I need to make a start as soon as I can. Gotta get the bus home, dammit.”

  “Where’s your car?” Bill inquired.

  “In the garage. It won’t be ready till late this afternoon.”

  “Jenna goes your way. Why doesn’t she give you a lift?” Bill turned to her. “Jenna?”

  She shrugged and pulled a couldn’t-care-less face. “Of course. If he wants.”

  Two could play the indifference game.

  Lucas shot his friend a warning look. “Thanks, but I’m sure I’ll manage.”

  “Suit yourself.” Ignoring Lucas further, Jenna got to her feet and smiled at Bill. “See you tomorrow night then.”

  “Yeah. See you, sweetheart.”

  Before leaving, Jenna favored Lucas with an angry glance of farewell. “Thank you for lunch.”

  “Don’t mention it. Bye, Miss Blake.” He flicked his eyes over the papers on the table by his arm.

  Jenna resisted the urge to knock his papers all over the floor. But that would have been childish, just because he hadn’t shown any interest in her. But why did she want him to? She had her own plans.

  Poor Bill looked awkward though, like he was desperately trying to keep the peace in a war of words he didn’t even realize existed, and failing miserably. As she had failed in her attempts to make Lucas smile. Just once.

  Whatever she thought she’d seen in him had fled, like a will-o-the-wisp. She grabbed up her purse and leaned forward to kiss Bill goodbye on the cheek. Turning to go, she eyed Lucas one last time. He looked up at the same time. Their gazes collided briefly before he quickly averted his, but not before she noticed a glitter in his eye. Her stomach tightened.

  Outside the sandwich bar, Jenna waited a few seconds to draw in a long breath. Trust her to bump into the most delicious man she’d ever met, only to find he was the unfriendliest, the most uncommunicative, the rudest…

  Who did he think he was, ridiculing her because of her job? It wasn’t her fault it brought rich and famous people into her radar.

  What would he think of her master game plan to be accepted into the rarified world of the aristocracy, marry into the upper crust, to have a big white society wedding? To be the lady she knew she was always meant to be.

  Still, if what Bill said was true about Lucas getting himself together after a disastrous love affair, she could forgive his behavior a little. She’d love to know what the woman had done that cut him so deeply? What kind of a woman could hurt a man like Lucas so badly he’d shut himself away? Shut people out of his life?

  She pursed her lips, pushed Lucas Nelson out of her mind and started on her way home.

  As though she’d conjured him up, Lucas’ deep voice interrupted her thoughts. “Miss Blake, wait up.”

  She turned to see the man she’d been mentally sticking pins into hurrying toward her. “If the offer’s still open, I’d like to take it up. I didn’t realize how late it was, and I am in a hurry.”

  She could’ve said, ‘How come you didn’t realize since you know it’s lunchtime?’ Instead, she kept her tongue. Not one to hold a grudge, Jenna smiled up into his stony face. “Of course.”

  A half smile threatened to lift one corner of his mouth. “Hey, thanks.”

  They walked in near silence to the building where Jenna had parked her car. She sensed Lucas wanted to say something, but he made no attempt to start a conversation.

  “Over there,” she said, indicating the parking building on the other side of the road.

  As they crossed the street she inhaled a sharp, involuntary breath when Lucas cupped her elbow in his big hand. There was nothing awkward about his action. It was automatic, one of those small, intimate moments a man shares with a woman that makes her feel special, cared for m om .

  Something Jenna was unused to.

  The warmth of his fingers burned through her dark blue uniform, sending a shiver of awareness through her body. The moment they reached the other side of the road, however, his hand dropped away from her arm and the connection was broken, leaving her feeling like a small boat set adrift in a choppy sea.

  They got into the elevator. “Fourth floor.”

  Lucas pressed the button and they rode up in near silence to where she’d parked her car. The lack of communication between them was driving her crazy. She had to say something, anything that would stimulate some kind of dialogue. Keep the fragile connection open. But why should she care since it didn’t appear to bother him? “So what do you do, Lucas?”

  “I’m an apprentice copywriter.”

  “That sounds interesting.”

  “And before you say I’m a little old, at thirty-four, to be an apprentice anything, it’s a job anyone with an ounce of wit can do, no matter what their age.”

  “I wasn’t going to say any such thing,” she defended. The elevator stopped and the doors slid open. “Here we are. Car’s just over there.”

  He walked behind her to the vehicle while she searched for the keys in her purse. They got in and the moment the car doors closed she immediately became aware of his nearness. His musky aftershave infused her being. And had the cabin shrunk? The passenger seat seemed closer than usual, so close she could feel the heat from his body. His knee got in the way when she reached for the gearshift. “Sorry.”

  He shifted his knee a fraction. “No problem.”

  Jenna finally managed to put the car into drive and negotiate her way out of the building. “What made you decide on a career as a copywriter?”

  “I realize it’s not what you’re used to, dukes and earls and movie stars and such, but—”

  Jenna bristled at the remark. “Any more cracks like that and you can walk home.”

  She became conscious of his gaze on her, but he ignored her comment, carrying on as though she hadn’t spoken. “It means I can earn very good money. It keeps my creative juices flowing and my intellect sharp. I prefer to work for myself. Be my own man.”

  “I don’t blame you.”

  He peered out the side window. “Besides which, no one can take it away from me.”

  Jenna jumped on the crumb of information. “Did someone take something away from you?”

  Immediately, he closed up like a clam and dragged in a deep breath, but he didn’t answer her question. As though realizing he’d given something away, he turned his gaze back to her. “So what about you? Did you never want to fly?”

  Jenna shook her head. “No. I thought about it, but decided against. This way I get to spend six months at a time getting to know places, getting to know people. I never much fancied being a trolley dolly.”

  “My sister’s a stewardess.”

  Ouch! “Sorry. No offense. I just meant—”

  “None taken. I know what you meant.”

  She chanced an apologetic smile. “So, who does she fly with?”

  “Trans International.”

  For a supposedly intelligent man he didn’t have much in the way of conversation. “Wow. They’re good,” she said, adding a lightness to her voice she didn’t feel.

  “She’s happy enough.”

  Whew. He was hard work. If he didn’t want to talk, why take up her offer?

  As though he’d caught her irritation bubbling under the surface, he ventured, “Is your phone okay? Not broken?”

  She surveyed him quickly. “Don’t know. I haven’t tried it since it fell out of my bag.”

  “Want me to take a look at it?”

  “Thanks. It’s in a side pocket.”

  Lucas hesitated.

  Jenna smiled. “Don’t worry, there’s nothing in there you shouldn’t see.”

  He waited a moment before retrieving
her phone, and took his own from his jacket pocket. “I’ll test it on my number.”

  He punched some keys and a few seconds later his phone rang. “Seems to be working okay.”

  “That’s a relief. Thanks for that.”

  While he tested her phone, from the corner of her eye Jenna noted his hands. Long, lean fingers. Neat, well-manicured nails. The hands of a lover. Just for a moment her mind lit up with a rogue erotic thought and she imagined those hands on her, stroking, caressing.

  She shook it from her mind. Enough ideas like that, Jenna. But she had become aware of a sudden shift in the relationship. Nothing she could put her finger on, just a slight bump in her well-planned road that sent a shiver down her spine.

  Lucas replaced the phone into the bag and gazed out the front window. “You can drop me here if you like.”

  Jenna signaled and pulled into the curb. “Do you have much further to go?”

  “Just over there. The red brick building. I’m on the third floor.” He opened the door and got out. “Thanks for the lift. You’ve saved me some precious time. Got a tight deadline on this job. Bye, Miss Blake. Thanks again.”

  “Jenna,” she reminded him on a sigh. “And you’re very welcome.”

  She sat for a moment, watching him walk away and up the steps of his apartment building without a backward glance. He opened the door and disappeared inside, leaving her with the oddest feeling this man would have a profound effect on her life.

  But heaven knew Jenna didn’t want that. She wasn’t in the market for any attachments or complications, however temporary, getting in the way of the life she’d planned for herself.

  But oh, this man could easily distract her. If she let him.

  So she’d just have to make sure she didn’t give him the chance.

  Chapter Two

  What in hell just happened?

  Lucas let himself into his apartment and leaned his back against the door, feeling like he’d just been picked up by a tornado and dropped into a different world. A tornado by the name of Jenna Blake, with shiny auburn hair that gleamed in the sunlight, and deep, green eyes that looked like they were issuing a challenge.

  He’d thought her snooty when they’d first been introduced, although it hadn’t taken him long to realize she wasn’t at all. She was the mirage of perfection he’d bumped into earlier and she’d merely been defending herself against his remarks. Thoughts he should’ve kept to himself. And his big mouth hadn’t stopped her willingness to give him a ride home. She could’ve told him to get lost. So why hadn’t she?

  Could he finally be coming out of the blue funk he’d been in for more than six months? Maybe, but that was no reason to go leaping in again with both feet. To protect himself he’d slammed the portcullis down. Hard. His ego, not to mention his vulnerable heart, needed all the protection he could give it right now.

  He’d been captivated by the softness of her voice when she spoke. And another thing, it wasn’t like him to be tongue-tied, but with her he could barely think of a darned thing to say. Not bad for a man who made his living from the written word.

  As they drove he caught whiffs of her perfume. Expensive. Delicious. Evocative of cold nights curled up in front of a roaring log fire, the light from the flames dancing on her silky auburn curls falling over his hand.

  But he couldn’t afford to let his guard down, to let Bill know he found Jenna Blake even remotely attractive, or Bill’s matchmaking efforts, however well meaning, would come out of retirement. That was the last thing Lucas wanted. Once Bill told his wife they would’ve ganged up on him and he and the lovely Miss Blake would’ve been thrown together every chance the couple could think up. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to see rejection in those beautiful green eyes. He especially didn’t want her to know he’d had scant control over his nether regions.

  There was no way in the world he’d make a jackass of himself over a woman as lovely as Jenna Blake. Women like her, the sunlight glinting in her hair, eyes as deep and green as virgin rainforest, flawless complexion, were reserved for special men. Men like dukes and earls and movie stars. Not copywriters.

  Two doses of public humiliation were enough to last any man a lifetime. Once had been plenty. The second time had confirmed his lack of self worth.

  Shaking her image free of his memory, he pushed away from the door, dumped his papers on the black wool sofa and fired up his computer, ready to start the research on his latest project: investing in precious metals. He, himself, had built up quite a diverse investment portfolio. Happily, the client wanted something Lucas could really get his teeth into and get his wandering mind off Jenna Blake. The phone rang. It was Bill.

  “Just checking you caught up with Jenna and got your ride.”

  Here we go. “Yeah. Thanks.” Lucas rested the phone between chin and shoulder and logged on.

  “Good. At least you got a chance to apologize.”

  “Son of a bitch!”

  “Don’t tell me you didn’t. Luke, sometimes you can be—”

  “Okay, okay. I hear you.” He wished Bill would shut up. He didn’t appreciate being reminded he was an asshole for being rude to Jenna, even though he’d tried to convince himself she was stuck up. But it was the only means of self-defense he could call on at such short notice. She’d snuck under his defenses when he least expected it and he’d been taken by surprise by the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. He’d had one heck of a job keeping his first arousal in months under control.

  “You were damned rude to Jenna,” Bill said, dragging him out of his self-deprecating thoughts. “It’s not her fault those other bitches played you for a prize fool.”

  Luke’s gut kicked. “I know and I’m sorry, but women like her rub me up the wrong way.” What else could he say? He had to convince himself somehow.

  “What do you mean women like her?”

  Lucas took in a deep breath. “All airs and graces. Name dropping.”

  “Hey, Luke, cool it. She doesn’t mean anything. She’s just excited about her job. She deserves it. I happen to know she’s worked damned hard for this.”

  “I said I’m sorry. What more do you want me to say?”

  “Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to her.”

  He had to concede Bill was right and nodded solemnly, even though his friend couldn’t see him. “First chance I get. When—if—I see her again.”

  Bill chuckled. “You will. Tomorrow night.”

  “For pity’s sake, will you give that a rest?”

  “Just looking out for my buddy.”

  Lucas backed down reluctantly. “I know, and I appreciate it.” He sighed. Maybe if he agreed to go, Bill would end this relentless harping on about getting him to go out more. “Okay, I’ll come, but I reserve the right to leave whenever I choose.”

  “Agreed.” Was that a note of smug triumph in his friend’s voice?

  And that was that. He’d said he’d go and once he’d given his word, he wouldn’t go back on it.

  Especially since the delicious Jenna Blake had said she’d be there.

  ****

  For the dance, Jenna had chosen to wear her hair loose. She flicked it outside her coat collar, wrapped the coat around her gold-colored evening dress and hurried inside the country club. The atmosphere of celebration had already grabbed the revelers.

  This was the life, the life she’d envisioned for herself back in London over the past few years. Fleetingly, she wondered if Bill had managed to persuade his handsome friend to come tonight, but from Lucas’ adamant stance yesterday, somehow she doubted it.

  Why should she care? She wasn’t on the look-out for romance, however gorgeous the man. Romantic attachments weren’t on her radar right now.

  She checked her coat at the door, and turned into the room. Her heart leaped.

  Lucas was there. He was talking to Bill’s wife and sat nursing a drink at the large central table Bill always reserved for “his crowd.” So, Bill had managed to talk Luc
as into coming tonight.

  There was an empty seat directly opposite him and Jenna honed in on it. “Anyone sitting here?”

  “Nope, it’s all yours,” someone said, and everyone chorused a greeting of welcome.

  Jenna didn’t acknowledge Lucas immediately. She didn’t need to. Her peripheral vision could see him clearly from this position without having to look at him directly.

  Lucas acknowledged her with a curt nod. “Miss Blake.”

  She easily heard his deep timbre above all the other voices. Glancing across at him, she smiled. “Mr. Nelson.”

  She sat, willing herself not to look again in his direction. Once seated, however, her gaze drew to him like the proverbial magnet every chance she got. Thankfully, his attention seemed to be in another direction.

  Conversation flowed easily between friends, and Jenna had to fight for control of her gaze that kept straying to the man sitting opposite.

  Later in the evening, Jenna joined the queue around the long table for a sumptuous buffet dinner, when a deep voice suddenly spoke low in her ear.

  “I believe I owe you an apology.”

  She gasped when she recognized the rich tone of Lucas’ voice. Somehow, he’d squeezed in behind her.

  Goosebumps rippled over her skin and when she turned to find his face so close it temporarily robbed her of breath. It was a sensation she’d never experienced before and she struggled to draw air into her lungs. He smelled of expensive aftershave and musky male, and she had to fight like crazy not to give in to the urge to kiss that tempting mouth that seemed to be willing her lips to hone in on it.

  Her gaze flicked over his face. “An apology?” she repeated inanely.

  Deep brown eyes glittered with amused insolence. He was even more attractive than she remembered.

  His tongue flicked out to moisten lips that threatened to break into a smile. “I was unnecessarily rude when we met yesterday.”

  She tried to laugh but nothing happened. “I didn’t even notice,” she lied.

  “I wouldn’t have given me a ride home if I’d been you.” His husky voice resonated in her deepest places. The deep chocolate gaze bore a strange light, telling her that beneath the initial sadness lingering in their depths, there beat the heart of a passionate man. “Anyhow, I humbly apologize.” The voice rumbled up from his chest.