No Other Love

by Jean Adams

  Oh, God. This was dangerous, given where they were. She’d been given a second chance, but a second chance at what?

  Placing her hands on his shoulders, she reluctantly gave a half-hearted push and all too soon the awkward, delicious kiss ended as quickly as it’d begun. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw a glittering chocolate gaze.

  What did she see there? Sadness? Longing? Desire? Lucas’ kiss was way too exciting and she’d wanted more. She’d better get out of the car quick, before she went back for seconds.

  She pulled away from him a fraction and cleared her throat. “What were you going to say? Before we, uh…” Was that husky voice really hers?

  “I forget.” His rich voice sounded deeper, lower, almost a whisper.

  The atmosphere inside the cabin was charged with so much electricity Jenna felt the magnetic pull toward him, even though she knew she should get away.

  With almost a super-human effort, she dragged herself away, cleared her throat again and got out. “Bye then, Lucas. And—”

  “Don’t you dare say ‘thank you’ again.” He raised his eyebrows in challenge and smiled. “See you Monday morning.”

  She laughed. “Bye.”

  He didn’t drive away immediately, and she became aware he was sitting in the car, waiting, watching to see she got safely inside.

  She turned to wave, let herself in, and closed the door.

  ****

  Lucas sat for a few moments, watching Jenna go, his thoughts a million miles out into the stratosphere.

  Dammit! That was never supposed to happen, not after what had happened earlier. He hadn’t meant to kiss her again. Yes, he had, and he couldn’t help himself.

  Okay, so this time she’d kissed him by accident. But a man would have to be crazy not to respond. Neither did she pull away when he took over, took another taste from her sweet lips. Good thing they had been in the car or this time anything could’ve developed. The way he was feeing he was ready to jump her bones any time because earlier this morning she’d blown his mind.

  Nothing had surprised him more, knocked him off balance, than when she’d asked him to hold her.

  How could he refuse?

  His mind completely deserted him when she kissed him and they started removing each other’s clothing.

  But it was when he’d slipped his hand into the top of her slacks that something made him stop. Maybe it had been that car backfiring. Whatever it was, it’d done the trick. Snapped him back to his senses. Stopped him from making a jackass of himself.

  Hadn’t he had enough humiliation to last him a lifetime? A third dose would be too much to take.

  She had her plans. She wanted to marry a duke or an earl. Maybe even the one she’d told him about. There was no room in her life for him. And he’d be damned if he’d be the one to rob her of her dreams as he’d been robbed of his.

  And another unplanned child out there in the world wasn’t an option he relished.

  As much as he’d wanted more, he must never let that happen again or he’d be in big trouble. Not that he wasn’t already. But her plans would never include him.

  He was no match for what she wanted. A duke. An earl. A big society wedding.

  He’d reserve his judgment about the movie stars.

  But whatever she was after, it wouldn’t be an apprentice copywriter, no matter how much money he had.

  But he feared it could already be too late for him. He’d fallen under her spell and there wasn’t a damned thing he could to about it.

  Chapter Nine

  Jenna tossed her keys on the small table by the door, sat heavily on the couch and closed her eyes, her mind swirling with the effects of the soul-bending morning she’d shared with Lucas.

  His touch had awakened feelings she never knew she had. Made her want things she didn’t want to want.

  Drunk on his kisses, she’d felt her blood turn to champagne, bubbling and fizzing through her veins. She’d pushed her hands under that thick, white sweater, run her fingers over his warm skin, and then…

  And then what, Jenna?

  If he’d asked you to stay, would you have? You might have settled down on the couch and got cozy. What if he’d wanted to take you to bed?

  Experienced or otherwise, no woman could’ve misinterpreted what had gone through his mind.

  Neither could she misinterpret her own feelings of wanting in her stomach, the dampness between her legs. Her stomach churned with warning, even as the thought excited her.

  “That isn’t what you have planned for yourself.”

  When she’d crossed the road just now, had she walked in a straight line? Or had she wandered all over the road like an intoxicated snail?

  Goodness, not even Roger, the eighth Earl of Kendal had that effect on her. His kiss certainly never left her feeling warm, mellow. Oh, he was handsome enough, a real aristocrat, just what she’d always wanted, and he’d asked her to marry him. Twice. A girl would have to be stupid to turn him down. He never could understand why she’d refused him. Sometimes neither could she, but marriage hadn’t been on her radar at that point in her life.

  And she’d done too much work on herself, going for her goal, to accept the first proposal that came along.

  “Besides, Roger has no wow! factor.”

  She’d dated men, of course she had. Had even allowed one or two of them to kiss her. But her mother’s words of warning, coupled with the way the two of them had been forced to live on the edge of poverty while she was growing up, always set alarm bells ringing in her head before she allowed any relationship to go further than she was prepared to go. A life like her mother’s was not for her.

  But with Lucas…

  The alarm bells stayed silent.

  What did that mean?

  His beautiful mouth had closed over hers, taken possession. She’d wanted to give herself to him, had been prepared to. No, she’d begged him to. How dangerous was that? One way or another, Lucas had turned her safe, well-planned, little world on its head.

  She tried to shake thoughts of Lucas out of her mind, but they wouldn’t be shaken. Good grief. No way did she want to end up like her mother.

  Jenna tried to re-focus her mind, going over the earlier scenario with Lucas. At breakfast, she’d started to think about her father in the new, different light.

  She’d never seen him. What story would he have to tell? Would he have a different take on it?

  Her mother never had a kind word to say about him. She’d always said he’d left her in the lurch. Ruined her chances of a career on the stage. So she’d always instilled into Jenna never to let any man derail her aspirations. But how did she really know what the truth was any more?

  What if her mother had left town, taken her away, leaving a distraught father to search in vain for his lost little girl? Had he been as bitter, and, yes, she had to admit, as dejected at losing his daughter, as Lucas had been this morning?

  Jenna moved around the house like an automaton, cleaning and dusting, while thoughts chased each other at a million miles a second.

  By mid-afternoon she finally finished her chores, later than usual, and sat down for a well-earned cuppa.

  The house phone rang.

  “Jenna?”

  “Lucas,” she responded, a little too enthusiastically. Her heart soared at the sound of his velvet tones and she held the phone a little closer to her mouth than normal. She smiled, even though he couldn’t see her.

  “My garage just called about your car,” he said.

  The car! She snapped her thoughts to attention. “What did they say? Is it anything too serious?”

  “No, it’s a vacuum hose leak. It’s fairly common and not too expensive. I told them to go ahead and fix it.”

  “That’s great.”

  “Good. They can’t start work on it ’til first thing Monday, but it’ll be ready by the evening. You still want me to pick you up?” He said it as though he’d expected her to change her mind.

  “If tha
t’s okay with you.”

  “Sure. I’ll be there. About eight.”

  “Fantastic. Thank—”

  “Welcome. Bye.” He clicked off before she’d had a chance to finish.

  She smiled sadly. He couldn’t even speak to her after what she’d done. Now he’d probably shut himself away in that pristine apartment again for the rest of the weekend, working or reading.

  Of course she could always call him back and invite him to dinner. Repay him for his kindness. She toyed with the idea for a while then thought better of it. She dare not call him back, and reminded herself for the umpteenth time such a gesture could prove fatal to her peace of mind. And her plans.

  She’d interrupted his life enough already this weekend. He’d just as likely get defensive and withdraw, given his lack of trust in women.

  Not that he ever got overly defensive with her, except when they’d first met. This morning was proof of that, but it’d be best for both of them if she didn’t get too close.

  ****

  At five minutes to eight precisely Jenna saw Lucas pull up outside her condo. Heart light, she grinned and felt like skipping down the path, and would have but for the bags she carried. “Morning, Lucas.”

  He got out and started toward her. “Hey, you look a bit like a pack mule. Let me help you with those. What have you got there?”

  “One uniform for cleaning and pressing. One sister’s blouse, duly washed and ironed.”

  “You didn’t need to do that.” He took her packages and placed them on the back seat.

  “It was the least I could do so say thank—”

  “Don’t you dare.” He straightened his spine to peer at her under his lashes. Her heart stumbled.

  “It’s my way, Lucas, so you’ll just have to lump it. Anyone would think you have an aversion to people showing appreciation.”

  He laughed. “Maybe I have.” She liked seeing him laugh. It deepened the dimple in his left cheek. “Hop in.”

  It felt good being with Lucas again, even though she detected a certain awkwardness in him. Was he embarrassed about Saturday morning? Or perhaps he had something else on his mind and wasn’t even thinking about that. She, on the other hand, had rewound and replayed that morning over and over for the rest of the weekend. His strong, lean fingers threading through her hair, his delicious mouth taking hers with such passion.

  He glanced at her. “You okay?”

  Jolted out her warm memories, she turned her eyes to him awkwardly. “What about?”

  “The father thing.”

  His words brought her back down to earth. “Oh, that.” She let go a deep sigh. “I did a lot of thinking yesterday, as you can probably imagine, and I decided whatever the truth, I’ll never know for certain. He might tell a different story. At least I owe him the benefit of the doubt.”

  “That’s very generous of you.”

  “How can it be any other way?”

  Lucas merely smiled.

  She carefully avoided the subject of Saturday morning for the remainder of the journey, talking mainly about trivial, meaningless things Lucas seemed happy with.

  Outside the Europa offices, Lucas waved her goodbye. “See you tonight. Around five thirty?”

  She turned and smiled. “I’ll be ready.”

  The day dragged by until finally, Jenna was ready and waiting by the big ticket-office window, excitement coursing through her body as she looked along the street for a sign of Lucas’ car.

  “You still here, Jenna?” her boss, Claude, asked from behind.

  “I’m just waiting for Lucas.” Even as she spoke his name, her heart thumped in her chest.

  “Nelson?”

  “Yes. Why are you so surprised?”

  “Didn’t think we’d get him interested in a woman for a long while yet.”

  “He’s not interested in me,” she came back defensively, although she wasn’t sure if she was defending Lucas or herself. “I told you what happened when my car conked out on Friday night. Lucas took care of me, and my car. That’s all.”

  Claude gave her one of his beaming smiles. “Oh, yeah? Took care of you, how exactly?”

  “He offered me dry towels, a decent meal, and a bed for the night, so—”

  “He bedded you?” Claude waggled his eyebrows.

  She could tell her face flushed bright pink by the rising heat in her cheeks. “No, so don’t read anything into it that isn’t there. He’s not like that.”

  “News flash, honey, all men are like that given the right circumstances.” He chuckled. “And I have to admit I did wonder who had you checking the clock every two minutes for the past hour.”

  “Was I clock-watching?” That wouldn’t look good on her report. And, she admitted now, but only to herself, Lucas was the reason she felt as jumpy as a spring lamb. The day hadn’t gone fast enough. Had she been glancing at the clock all day?

  Five minutes later Lucas pulled up outside the Europa office. Her heart raced as she opened the office door and headed outside calling, “Night all,” over her shoulder.

  Lucas leaned across the car and pushed open the passenger door. “Hi, how was your day?”

  She fell into the car. “Busy, but it evened out just after four thirty. You?”

  She glanced across at the office, very aware she was being watched, and saw Claude at the huge picture window, a big grin on his face. She screwed up her nose at him just as Lucas pulled away from the curb.

  Lucas burst her happy bubble. “Sorry I’m a bit late. Nearly forgot to come pick you up. I—uh—had some deep research to get through.” He grinned oddly. “Remembered just in time.”

  “Oh.” Well, that certainly deflated her ego. “You didn’t have to come,” she said. “I could’ve found my own way.”

  He indicated and changed lanes. “I gave you my word I’d be here.”

  And she was being childish. What was this, anyway? Something Claude said had set bells ringing in her head. She didn’t want Lucas to be interested in her, at least not in a romantic way. But she’d like to show her gratitude for all his kindness. As a good friend. After all, that was all they were to each other, wasn’t it? Good friends.

  “Actually, I’d like to invite you for dinner tonight.” The words were out of her mouth before she’d even thought about what they implied.

  He shot her a grin. “Why?”

  “I’d like to repay your kindness.”

  “I don’t expect repayment. You needed help. I gave it. Anyway, I’m busy tonight, but thanks for the thought.”

  Why did he always retreat into his protective shell? “Another time maybe. When you’re not so busy.”

  He didn’t look at her, but she saw his jaw tighten. “Maybe.”

  Maybe. What kind of an answer was that? Maybe he thought she was coming on too strong again. Perhaps she was, after what happened on Saturday, meddling in his well-ordered life. Perhaps he thought she felt obliged to invite him.

  Maybe! Maybe! Maybe!

  They drove the rest of the way in silence. It took only a few minutes before Lucas stopped the car outside the busy garage. “Here you go.” He didn’t switch off the engine. “I have to leave you here I’m afraid.”

  Her heart dropped to her stomach. So abrupt. She had come on too strong. “Um, that’s fine. I’m sure everything will be—”

  “Sure. It’ll be okay.” He managed a smile. “They always do a good job.”

  “I don’t know how to—”

  “No thanks necessary.” He revved the engine, obviously in a hurry to get going.

  Jenna got out of the car, but loath to let him go so soon, leaned in to offer her farewell. “Will we see you at the club on Saturday?”

  “Depends how busy I am.”

  She had to accept that. “Okay. Bye then. Thanks, Lucas.”

  “Welcome. Bye.”

  She closed the door, he put the car into drive and he was gone, back to rejoin the heavy evening traffic.

  Was that it? The end of a friendsh
ip that never amounted to anything? It was all her fault. If she hadn’t come on to him, they could’ve continued to be good friends until her posting came to an end.

  Dear Lord, why did she keep trying to encourage a friendship with Lucas when there was no friendship to be had? Probably just as well. She sighed as though she had lost something she’d never really found.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the mechanic. “It’s all ready for you, ma’am. Running sweet.”

  She forced a smile. “Thank you. How much do I owe you?”

  “Nothing to pay.” He handed her the keys

  “Nothing? But surely—”

  The mechanic smiled. “Mr. Nelson already paid.”

  “What? When? He didn’t say anything.”

  The mechanic led her to where the car was parked. “He called in on his way to the city this afternoon. Insisted on taking it for a test run. Almost made himself late for his appointment.”

  His appointment with her.

  The tension that had built in her body after Lucas drove away dissolved. She couldn’t stop a grin from surfacing. “Is that a fact? Thank you for telling me.”

  He hadn’t forgotten her. Not only had he paid for the repairs, he’d even tested the car to make sure the work was done to his satisfaction.

  So that was why he drove off in such a hurry. He didn’t want to be around when the mechanic told her what he’d done. But why not? He must know he couldn’t keep it from her for long. Maybe it was his way of putting some distance between his act of kindness and their friendship. Was that why he’d refused dinner? No matter. Her heart felt suddenly lighter as she drove home. She became conscious of the stupid grin spread across her face. Goodness. Motorists driving in the opposite direction must think her totally crazy.

  And one way or another, she’d find a way to thank him.

  Chapter Ten

  The next weekend Claude and his wife, Madeleine, had offered to pick Jenna up to go to the club. As she waited for them she could barely control her feeling of excitement. As the past week had ticked slowly by, approaching Saturday, her excitement had become almost unbearable, so when Claude offered to pick her up, she readily agreed. It saved her having to concentrate on driving. Instead she could focus on seeing Lucas again, even though she should fight it. She couldn’t let him stand in the way of her plans. She couldn’t.