Keeping Luke's Secret

by Carole Mortimer

  The older woman’s effusive greeting of the man as she kissed him warmly on the cheek before linking her arm possessively with his seemed to say it was a distinct possibility. It was only because Leonie knew Rachel to be in her seventies that she knew this man was Rachel’s junior by at least ten years, but with the actress’s ageless beauty, that didn’t really seem important.

  Leonie shot a surreptitious glance at Luke beneath lowered lashes in order to try and gauge his reaction to his mother’s obvious warmth towards the older man. After all, it was usually the child’s partner who was looked over critically by the parent, not the other way around. Although, in view of the fact that Rachel had never married, this situation couldn’t be new to Luke.

  He was looking across at the older man, giving nothing of his inner thoughts away in his closed expression, only the narrow assessment of his gaze to show that he had acknowledged his mother’s effusiveness at all.

  ‘It looks as if we can finally go in to dinner,’ Luke remarked dryly as his mother finally signalled to her guests that it was time go through to the dining-room, taking a light hold of Leonie’s arm as they followed the other guests through to the adjoining room.

  Leonie had eaten lunch with Rachel in the much smaller family dinning-room. The room they now entered was absolutely beautiful with its tall, ornate ceiling, the round mahogany dining-table set with a dozen glittering dining places, no stark electric light to spoil the romantic ambience but dozens of lit candles flickering on every surface around the room, two magnificent candelabra on the round table itself, a display of lemon and white roses in its centre.

  ‘Wow!’ Leonie breathed admiringly. ‘Why bother to go out to eat?’

  Luke chuckled softly at her side. ‘Rachel rarely does; she despises restaurants.’

  Leonie found them a little impersonal herself, but as she wasn’t one of the world’s best cooks…! ‘This is absolutely beautiful,’ she murmured huskily, totally bemused by the enchantment of her surroundings.

  Although that was dimmed somewhat once she realised she was seated next to Luke for dinner!

  Rachel, with the prerogative of hostess, has placed name-cards at each table setting; Leonie found herself seated between Luke and the late arrival, Rachel herself seated on this man’s other side.

  Leonie had been hoping that she wouldn’t find herself seated between two of those self-obsessed peacocks she had been introduced to earlier, but she wasn’t sure she was any happier at finding she had Luke next to her, either!

  ‘Your chair, madam.’ Luke moved to pull her chair back with a flourish, green eyes glowing with humour as he seemed to sense her indecision.

  ‘Thank you,’ Leonie accepted, knowing she really had no choice but to sit where Rachel had placed her. Besides, there was always Rachel’s friend to talk with, too…

  ‘I don’t believe we’ve been introduced, Rachel,’ Luke, once he was seated next to her, seemed to have similar thoughts as he sat forward to prompt his mother into the introduction.

  Rachel turned to look at him, a slight frown on her creamy brow as she did so. ‘Are you sure that’s your seat, Luke?’ she said slowly.

  ‘It is now!’ He grinned unrepentantly, picking up his intricately folded napkin before shaking it out and placing it pointedly across his thighs.

  ‘Yes, but—’ Rachel looked perplexed, glancing around the table. ‘I had put you next to Gloria, Luke.’ She turned back to him exasperatedly. ‘You know she and James don’t get on.’

  ’Probably because James finds her as boring as I do,’ Luke dismissed uninterestedly. ‘Your guest, Rachel,’ he reminded pointedly.

  What had become more than obvious to Leonie, during this conversation between mother and son, was that for some reason Luke had swapped two of the place-cards. Deliberately placing himself next to her…?

  What was she to make of that? Or was she to make anything? After all, it might just be that Luke found her less boring than the maligned Gloria! Whatever the reason, Luke seemed happy with the arrangement. Which was more than could be said for Leonie!

  She had been hoping for a respite from Luke’s overpowering company during dinner, was finding this whole evening something of an ordeal. Jeremy had teased her last night about going off and enjoying herself for the weekend, and although she was enjoying the research she had so far managed to accomplish, the social side of this wasn’t at all restful!

  ‘This is my good friend Michael Harris, Leonie. Luke,’ Rachel added in a rather put-out voice. ‘Michael, this is Leonie Winston, a family friend. And, as you’ve probably already guessed, this is my difficult son Luke.’

  Leonie shook Michael Harris’s hand, leaning back slightly as Luke moved forward to do the same thing, his elbow lightly brushing against her breasts as he did so.

  Rachel still looked disgruntled. ‘I do wish you wouldn’t mess with my carefully planned table arrangements, Luke.’ She frowned at him.

  ‘Next time, don’t put me next to Gloria,’ he returned reasonably.

  ’He always was impossible!’ Rachel confided in Michael Harris after one last exasperated glare at her son.

  Leonie had to admit she found Luke just as impossible!

  Had his touch just now been an accident, or deliberate? Whatever it was, Leonie found she could hardly breathe after that light brush of his arm against her, and to her embarrassment her breasts were straining against the thin material of her dress, the nipples pert and aroused. Something Luke couldn’t be unaware of if he were to turn and look at her.

  Which, as if by telepathy, he now did, dark brows rising mockingly as he saw her discomfort. ‘Everything okay, Leonie?’ he drawled softly.

  ‘Everything is just fine!’ she snapped, grabbing up her own napkin as the first course was delivered to them, concentrating for the next few minutes on eating the melon and strawberries in port, deliberately ignoring Luke, although she was also exactly aware of the moment he turned his attention away from her and began a conversation with the woman on his other side.

  He was—he was—She had never met anyone as irritating in her life!

  Irritating? Maybe. But was that all of what she thought of Luke Richmond? The truth of the matter was, she had never been so aware of a man in her life before! Or so utterly miserable at the realisation…

  What of her friendship with Jeremy? The affection and liking she felt towards him? Because she couldn’t say, no matter how her traitorous body responded to Luke, that she felt that same affectionate liking for him! She didn’t dislike him, it was just that he was like a piece of holly she had once cut herself rather badly on one Christmas: beautiful to look at, but lethally dangerous to the touch!

  Not that she intended touching him! It was just that—

  ‘Melon and strawberries not to your liking, Leonie?’ Michael Harris enquired lightly at her side.

  A natural assumption when she had apparently just been pushing the pieces of fruit around on her plate for the last few minutes. A fact this man had obviously been aware of…

  She turned to smile at him, having liked this man’s reassuring looks from the beginning; he looked solid and dependable, eyes a warm blue, his dark hair liberally streaked with grey. He was obviously also as much an outsider to this glittering company as she was.

  ‘It’s fine,’ she dismissed even as she placed her spoon and fork down on the plate. ‘I’m just not very hungry.’

  He nodded sympathetically. Almost as if he understood the reason for her dilemma…

  Which he couldn’t possibly, Leonie reassured herself. Besides, Luke was just playing with her. As a means of dispelling an otherwise boring evening, obviously!

  ‘Rachel tells me you’re a historian,’ Michael continued interestedly. ‘With a name like Winston, I couldn’t help wondering if you’re any relation to Leo Winston…?’

  ‘He’s my grandfather,’ she confirmed warmly, relieved to have found someone here this evening who even knew what a historian was, let alone be familiar with her
grandfather’s work, too. ‘Do you know him?’

  ‘Of him only, I’m afraid,’ Michael admitted ruefully. ‘He was at Oxford several years before I was.’

  ’I see.’ She nodded, sure that he was being extremely generous with that term ‘several years’! ‘What field of study did you go into, Mr Harris?’

  ‘Please call me Michael,’ he invited lightly. ‘Nothing so interesting as your grandfather, I do assure you,’ he excused self-derisively.

  ‘Champagne, Michael?’ Rachel offered attentively at his other side. ‘Or would you prefer wine?’

  ‘Just a mineral water for me, my dear,’ he accepted familiarly. ‘I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay too long,’ he added. ‘Unfortunately, I have to drive back into London later this evening.’

  Rachel looked disappointed. ‘I was hoping you would be able to stay for the weekend.’

  ‘It really isn’t possible, Rachel,’ Michael Harris told her regretfully. ‘Another time, my dear, hmm?’ he murmured apologetically, reaching over to lightly clasp Rachel’s hand as he did so.

  ‘Why the rush to return to London, Michael?’ Luke spoke hardly at Leonie’s side, his conversation with the young woman seated to his right obviously over. ‘Not too many men would dare to disappoint my mother in this way,’ he added dryly.

  ‘I have other commitments later this evening that I simply can’t get out of,’ Michael Harris answered mildly, looking completely unperturbed by the scorn in the younger man’s voice.

  ‘Really,’ Luke drawled derisively.

  ‘Really,’ the other man echoed lightly. ‘Your mother tells me you’re a screenwriter, Luke; are you working on anything at the moment?’

  It was a question Leonie had been wanting to ask him herself all weekend, but as a means of focusing the conversation onto Luke rather than himself—which was undoubtedly what Michael Harris was attempting to do—it wasn’t too successful; Luke simply wasn’t like the other people here this evening, was one of those rare people who did not enjoy talking about himself!

  But the question did result in the conversation becoming more general, the four of them chatting together about the merits or otherwise of plays and films they had seen recently—Leonie thanking heaven for those weekly visits she had made to both with Jeremy in recent months!

  It also meant, with Luke’s attention moved away from her, that Leonie was able to enjoy the delicious salmon that was served as their main course, even managing to eat some cheese without becoming the focus of Luke’s ascerbic tongue. But she thought she might be pushing her luck to indulge in dessert and coffee, refusing both before making her excuses.

  ‘But it’s still early,’ Rachel protested chidingly.

  ‘It’s been rather a long day for me,’ Leonie excused lightly as she stood up. While it may still be early to Rachel, it was after eleven o’clock and, quite simply, Leonie had had enough for one day!

  Luke stood up too. ‘I’ll walk you to your room,’ he announced arrogantly.

  Leonie looked up at him frowningly. Exactly what did he think his mother, and the other dinner guests, were going to make of him doing that?

  More to the point, what did she make of it…?

  CHAPTER 6

  ‘STOP looking so worried, Leonie,’ Luke murmured huskily at her side, his hand firmly gripping her elbow. ‘Anyone would think I’m about to pounce on you as soon as we’re out of the room!’

  She could feel the colour warm her cheeks. Warm her cheeks more, Leonie corrected; she already felt uncomfortable enough at being the focus of all eyes as she and Luke left the dining-room together. Obviously, as she had already suspected, it was an unusual occurrence for Luke to appear to have brought a woman here. She said appear—because they both knew her being here had absolutely nothing to do with Luke!

  But with his mode of introduction earlier—’a family friend’—and his mother’s determination not to reveal the real reason Leonie was here, the two of them sitting together at dinner too, what other conclusion could the other guests this evening have come to?

  She sighed heavily. ‘I didn’t for a moment think you were going to do that!’

  ‘Disappointed?’ The warmth of his breath touched her ear.

  Leonie turned sharply—and then wished she hadn’t; he really was standing as close as that warmly caressing breath had implied, his face only inches away from her own now.

  ‘Smile,’ he advised tauntingly. ‘After all, we are still on show,’ he added with obvious derision for the attention that was still being focused their way.

  Leonie’s smile was more of a grimace. ‘There really was no need for you to accompany me,’ she said crossly once they were finally out of the room, firmly removing her arm from his grasp as she turned to face him in the hallway. ‘What on earth are those people in there going to think?’ she added impatiently.

  ‘I’m not sure most of them are capable of thinking of anything, apart from themselves,’ Luke drawled dismissively. ‘Although they may just think I’m being a caring host,’ he suggested pointedly. ‘But what does it matter what they think, anyway?’ he continued impatiently as Leonie still frowned. ‘It’s unlikely that you’ll ever see any of them again.’ He shrugged uninterestedly.

  That was true. Although that really wasn’t the point…

  ‘Don’t tell me, your boyfriend wouldn’t like it?’ Luke bit out scornfully.

  She had no idea what Jeremy would make of this evening. Or indeed, Luke Richmond. She and Jeremy spent enjoyable evenings together a couple of times a week, but there had been no declaration of feelings, on either side. But, even so…

  ‘So there is a boyfriend, after all…’ Luke murmured as his pale gaze rested speculatively on her confused expression. ‘Another historian?’

  ‘As it happens—no,’ Leonie answered him dryly. ‘Not that it’s any of your business,’ she added crossly.

  ‘It isn’t?’ Luke challenged softly. ‘Do you intend telling him about our little walk together earlier today? Of our boat-ride over to the island?’

  She swallowed hard, not sure what she was going to tell Jeremy yet.

  ‘Or that I kissed you?’ Luke added softly.

  Leonie gave him a startled look at this last claim, her cheeks once again fiery-red. ‘But you didn’t—’ She didn’t get any further as Luke’s mouth came down firmly on her own, his arms moving about the slenderness of her waist as he moulded the soft curves of her body to his harder one.

  Well, he hadn’t kissed her before—but he most certainly was now! Very thoroughly!

  Leonie felt as if she had been swept into the eye of the hurricane that she was quickly learning was Luke Richmond, as if everything else around her were in turmoil, that there were only Luke, and the warm strength of his arms about her, the sensuous pleasure of his lips as they moved against hers.

  As her own lips responded!

  Her pulse was racing as her arms encircled Luke’s neck, her body on fire, her lower limbs fluid. She—

  ‘Really, Luke, could you find somewhere a little more—discreet, if you wish to continue kissing Leonie in this way?’

  Leonie had turned to ice at the first sound of Rachel’s voice, now she turned sharply within the confines of Luke’s arms, finding herself face to face, not just with Rachel, but with Michael Harris as well. Obviously the other man had been about to take his departure—until he’d found his exit blocked by Luke and Leonie…!

  ‘Rachel!’ she gasped her dismay. ‘I—this isn’t—we—’ She broke off, groaning her embarrassment. She had wondered about the guests earlier, but now she wondered what on earth Rachel was going to think of her!

  When had she become so anxious about other people’s opinions? Or had she always been this way? If she had, she hadn’t been aware of it. Until this moment…

  Luke released her with such abruptness that the removal of the warmth of his body next to hers was like being hit by a blast of icy air. The coldness in his gaze as it raked briefly over her before he l
ooked at his mother made Leonie shiver in reaction, her first impulse to wrap her arms protectively about herself. If she weren’t sure that would make Luke view her even more scathingly…

  ‘I do believe you’ve embarrassed Leonie, Mother,’ Luke bit out in harsh challenge.

  Rachel returned her son’s gaze unflinchingly, her usual warmth replaced by dark disapproval. ‘I believe that was your prerogative, Luke,’ she rasped back angrily. ‘Even knowing—’

  ‘Rachel, perhaps this isn’t the time, or the place, for the two of you to discuss this,’ Michael Harris cut in placatingly, at the same time shooting Leonie a reassuring smile.

  Leonie wished she didn’t look as if she needed that reassurance! After all, she was twenty-nine years old, had certainly been kissed before, and neither she nor Luke was married or engaged to anyone else. Under any other circumstances—namely, without Rachel’s unexpected appearance, accompanied by her guest—the kiss she and Luke had just shared could easily have been dismissed. If not forgotten…

  Rachel made a visible effort to disperse her unaccustomed anger, even managing a smile that bordered on exasperation. ‘I really am sorry about this, Leonie.’ She reached out and grasped Leonie’s icy-cold hands. ‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have spoilt Luke so much when he was a child—then he wouldn’t have the mistaken idea that he can just take what he wants, when he wants it. And ignore the consequences,’ she added with another censorious glance in her son’s direction.

  Somehow Rachel’s apology on her son’s behalf, her obvious anger with Luke, only succeeded in making Leonie feel worse. After all, she hadn’t exactly been repulsing Luke’s kisses when the other woman and Michael Harris had left the dining-room so unexpectedly!

  The derision in Luke’s expression, when Leonie dared a sideways glance in his direction, seemed to imply he was thinking much the same thing!

  Leonie straightened defensively. ‘Think nothing of it, Rachel,’ she dismissed. ‘Once again, it was nice meeting you, Michael.’ She gave the older man what she hoped was a smile, before turning and making her way down the hallway to the stairs that led up to her bedroom, forcing herself to take them one at a time, determined not to look as if she felt as if the devil himself were at her heels!