'Yes, why not?' Mike murmured casually and saw Luke's parents exchange glances. What were they envisaging? she wondered wryly. A romantic stroll in the moonlight? 'I'll just fetch my jacket.'
Luke was waiting for her in the hall when she returned, the Labrador straining at the lead held in his hand. Wordlessly, he opened the front door and Mike followed him down the drive.
Neither of them uttered a. sound as they strode along the pavement, clearly illuminated by the street lamps and full moon. How long did Luke intend to keep up this war of silent attrition? Mike wondered disdainfully, flicking him a glance, her eyes resting on the tenacious angle of the uncompromising jaw. She was totally unaware of the equally stubborn set of her own small chin.
Turning left abruptly at the end of the street, Luke led her along another seemingly endless road, until they reached an area of open common ground, surrounded by trees. Released from its lead, the Labrador bounded ahead, dived into a clump of bushes, and returned proudly bearing a large stick which it lay carefully at Luke's feet.
Stooping down, Luke picked up the stick and hurled it with all his strength across the grass.
'Right,' he rasped, turning to Mike. 'What the hell is this all about?'
She didn't even pretend to misunderstand him. She was past playing games. 'I overheard you telling Lisa that you were going back to New York next week.' Her eyes blazed up at him. 'You might have damn well told me first. I'm your business partner if nothing else.'
'You're more than that and you know it,' he grated back. 'I was going to tell you --'
'When? On the morning of your departure?' she cut through bitterly.
'Tonight. I was waiting until you'd met my parents.'
She looked at him uncomprehendingly, unable to make the connection, and then gave up trying as he took hold of her hands.
'I want you to come with me.'
She stiffened. 'To New York? What for? A vacation?' she demanded caustically.
'My God, you can be aggravating,' he thundered. 'You know perfectly well what for. I want you to be with me. I want to wake up in the mornings and find you beside me.'
Mike's heart thudded against her rib-cage, a misty image floating blissfully into her head of herself and Luke, lying, arms entwined, in a huge bed. And then the idyllic picture faded, harsh reality sweeping it aside. The reality would be her alone in some huge, modern New York apartment, filling in her days with aimless pursuits, waiting for the moment when she heard Luke's key in the door.. .waiting for the inevitable telephone calls from his secretary to say that he'd been delayed in a board meeting... waiting for him to return from some overseas business trip. Waiting. Always waiting. Just as her numerous stepmothers had waited for her father—until they'd finally grown tired of the excuses, tired of always being placed last in the list of priorities.
Mike's throat constricted. It Would be all too easy to say yes, to throw caution to the wind. But she mustn't weaken, mustn't give up her independence to become a mere temporary appendage to Luke's life. It was far too dangerous a trap to fall into. One day, she thought bleakly, she would wake up and find herself with nothing.
'You seem to have conveniently forgotten about Kingston Air.' She finally found her voice.
'Steven Evans is more than capable of running it on a day-to-day basis.'
'Oh, I'm fully aware that I'm not indispensable,' she flashed back. 'But hasn't it ever occurred to you that I might happen to enjoy working at the airport... that I might actually have some plans of my own for KA?' Inspiration struck. 'Like expanding the engineering section, so that we can deal with more than just routine maintenance.' Why had she never thought of that before? 'And what about Rakers' Moon? My family?' Had he stopped for even one second to consider what he was asking her to give up for an uncertain future with him?
'We could always get married if that's what you want.'
Mike stared at him incredulously as she registered the complete and utter indifference in his voice as he made .what was presumably a proposal. His attitude to marriage was as casual as her father's, she thought disbelievingly. 'You haven't listened to one word I've been saying,' she said quietly. Did Luke really think that was all she wanted? A gold band and a piece of paper that her father had proved was utterly meaningless?
'Mike...' The sudden urgency in his voice alerted her to his intention and she averted her face quickly so that his mouth missed her lips and brushed past her ear.
'There has to be more to a relationship than...this.' She tugged her hands free from his clasp. 'At least for me.' She swallowed hard. 'No, Luke,' she said quietly. 'I don't want to go to New York with you.'
A cloud scudded across the moon, making it impossible to see the expression on his face, but when he finally spoke his voice was even and completely controlled.
'Normally, I'd suggest that we take the first flight back in the morning, but...'
She nodded in silent agreement. His parents were expecting them to stay until the evening. An earlier abrupt departure would necessitate awkward explanations, and she didn't want to run the risk of offending the couple who had welcomed her with such warmth into their home. She'd managed to get through this evening, Mike thought resolutely. Somehow she'd survive tomorrow.
* * *
Mike gazed out of the small oval window, the runway landing lights stretching out below as the aircraft began its final approach into the familiar airfield. Wincing slightly, she closed her eyes for a second and pressed her fingers to her temple.
'Headache?' Luke asked quietly. He'd spent most of the flight up in the cockpit, only returning to his seat beside her when the aircraft started its descent.
'Just a bit. Probably too much sun,' she dismissed it lightly, knowing full well that the throbbing pain in her head hadn't been caused by the May sunshine.
Accompanied by his parents, they'd spent the day walking in the Dales, under a clear, dazzling blue sky. In any other circumstances, she thought ruefully, the day would have been perfect. But she'd been far too tense to truly appreciate the breathtakingly beautiful scenery around her.
She'd been totally bewildered by Luke's attitude towards her. She'd been apprehensive about facing him again this morning, had been prepared for at least a period of initial awkwardness between them. But when she'd walked into the dining-room for breakfast Luke had greeted her with a casual cheerfulness that spoke of a long, untroubled night's sleep. While she'd only managed a slice of toast—untruthfully assuring his mother that she seldom ate more than that in the morning—Luke had worked his way through a large cooked breakfast. At first she'd wondered if his apparent good humour was merely an act for his parents' benefit, but it had persisted even when they were alone. He had treated her with unfailing courtesy throughout the day, and with a relaxed friendliness she found impossible to reciprocate.
She simply couldn't understand him, found his behaviour incomprehensible. Never once did he refer to the previous night. It was as if he'd simply wiped out the last two days from his mind. Her rejection hadn't even touched his male ego, let alone caused any more lasting emotional wounds. Finally, Mike came to the conclusion that his feelings for her were even more transitory and superficial than she'd supposed initially. In five days' time he would be flying back to New York; in a week, maybe two, she thought bitterly, he would have probably forgotten her very existence.
The aircraft taxied to a halt and Mike unfastened her safety-belt and followed Luke down the aisle to the rear passenger door.
'I'm going to call in the office and check up on any messages for me,' Luke announced as they walked across the tarmac towards the passenger terminal.
Mike looked at him disbelievingly. Did work monopolise his every waking thought? After breakfast that morning he'd put through a lengthy call to his London office.
'Hope your headache gets better soon,' he added casually, turning away from her.
'Thank you,' she returned politely, heading in the opposite direction towards the car park. It wasn't unt
il she was almost back at Rakers' Moon that she realised she'd forgotten to collect her overnight bag from the aircraft. She'd pick it up in the morning, she decided, and frowned as she saw the familiar bright red sports car drawn up in front of Rakers' Moon. What on earth was Christina doing here?
She discovered her half-sister in the drawing-room, reclining gracefully on the sofa, watching the television.
'Mike!' Christina greeted her enthusiastically and then explained, 'I phoned last night to ask if I could come down for the weekend and John said you wouldn't be back until tonight. So I thought I'd come on down anyway today and surprise you. You don't mind, do you?' Without giving Mike a chance to reply, she continued, 'I've brought Oliver with me, too.'
'Have you?' Mike said delightedly. 'Where is he?'
'He wanted to wait up until you arrived, and I thought a late night wouldn't hurt him for once, but he fell asleep on the sofa so I popped him up to bed. He's in the room next to yours.' Christina paused for breath. 'I'd forgotten just how huge Rakers' Moon is. You must get awfully lonely rattling around here on your own.'
'John and Ellen live in, don't forget,' Mike murmured and swiftly changed the subject. 'What time did you arrive?'
'About six. I haven't had supper yet. Ellen's left a casserole in the oven and I told her we'd just help ourselves. Is that all right?'
'Of course.' Impulsively, Mike hugged the younger girl, relieved to find her in such good spirits, remembering how downcast Christina had appeared when she'd last seen her. 'It's so lovely to see you,' she said warmly. 'I've been meaning to ask you down for ages,' she added guiltily, 'but...' But she'd been too occupied with her own life, she realised with burning shame.
Christina didn't seem to notice Mike's hesitation. 'I've something important to tell you --' she announced, her dark eyes shining with excitement.
'Tell you what,' Mike interrupted, knowing from past experience just how long her half-sister took to impart any of her news. 'Just let me dash upstairs, have a quick shower and change out of this suit, and then we'll have supper on our laps in here, and have a good long chat.'
She bounded out of the room and up the stairs, feeling happier than she had for days, aware too that her headache seemed to have eased. Unable to resist the temptation, she tiptoed into the bedroom next to hers, and stood for a moment gazing down at the sleeping small boy. Christina had been right, she admitted honestly. She did get lonely living in Rakers' Moon on her own. It was a house designed for a large family. It needed to be filled with children—and with cats and dogs, she added with a smile, thinking of Luke's parents. Silently she crept out of the room and made her way to her own bedroom.
After a quick shower, she dressed in a pair of comfortable, faded jeans and a huge, shapeless jumper that should have been discarded years ago, but to which she'd become deeply attached. Winding a towel around her damp hair, she returned downstairs, thinking how blissful it was to be able to relax at long last.
'Shall I start dishing up?' she began as she walked into the drawing-room and then paused in dismay. Luke was sitting on the sofa beside Christina, looking completely at home.
'You forgot your case,' Christina said cheerfully, seemingly completely oblivious to the frozen expression on her half-sister's face. 'Luke dropped it off on his way home, so I asked him to stay for supper. There's loads for three.'
'I see,' Mike said stiffly, conscious of the dark grey eyes assessing her scruffy appearance. 'Right, if everyone's ready, we might as well have it.' How dared Christina invite Luke to supper without consulting her first? And why hadn't he had the tact to refuse the invitation?
'I'll come and help you,' Christina offered, following Mike into the kitchen. 'You didn't mind me asking Luke, did you?'
'Of course not,' Mike said airily. 'Why should I?' She opened the oven door, lifted out the casserole dish and began to spoon the contents on to three plates.
'There's not much on this one,' Christina murmured helpfully.
'It's mine. I'm not very hungry.' Mike placed two generously laden plates on a tray and handed it to the other girl. 'Yours and Luke's. Take them on through. I'll bring the cutlery.' She wasn't going to alter her initial plan to eat supper on their laps just because Luke was here, she thought determinedly. Neither was she going to rush upstairs and change out of her disreputable, ill-fitting jumper. And the turban could remain where it was until her hair was dry. After all, she hadn't asked Luke to stay for supper. He wasn't her guest. Abruptly she snatched the towel from her head. Well, her hair was almost dry...
As she entered the drawing-room, she found Luke and Christina engaged in a light, bantering conversation.
'Knives and forks,' Mike announced, letting them clatter noisily on to a coffee-table.
'Thanks,' Luke murmured politely, giving her little more than a cursory glance before turning his full attention back to Christina.
Slumping down on a chair, Mike began to eat mechanically, watching the expression of amusement pass over Luke's face as Christina began to tease him with a familiarity that was indicative of more than just casual acquaintance. All those business trips to London which Luke had undertaken over the past few weeks.. .had he seen Christina on each occasion? Mike pushed her knife and fork together and stood up.
'I'm going to bed.'
At least her curt announcement seemed to remind Luke of her existence, she thought bitterly, as he turned his dark head towards her.
'Still have that headache?' he enquired blandly.
'Yes,' she lied swiftly.
'Mike, I didn't realise. You should have said something.' Christina was instantly sympathetic. 'Take some aspirin,' she advised.
'I expect an early night should do the trick,' Mike said briskly, moving across the room. She paused in the doorway and glanced back over her shoulder. Luke and Christina had forgotten her already, and were once again completely absorbed in conversation—and each other.
Preparing quickly for bed, Mike slipped in between the sheets, and leaving the bedside lamp on stared up at the ceiling. She was jealous of Christina, her own half-sister, she admitted with self-disgust. And she had no right to be. She had absolutely no claim on Luke. It was time she accepted that whatever relationship she'd had with him was well and truly over. She'd been perfectly happy before she'd met him, she reminded herself forcefully, and she would be again. She didn't need a man—and especially not Luke Duncan—to make her life complete. From now on, she thought resolutely, she would concentrate all her energies on Kingston Air.
She frowned as she heard the light tap on her door. 'Come in,' she muttered unenthusiastically.
Christina walked in, looking a little uncertain. 'I saw your light was still on. Are you feeling any better?'
'Yes, thanks. Has Luke gone already?' she asked with assumed uninterest and, seeing Christina's nod of confirmation, added carefully, 'You and he seem to get on very well together.' Why, she wondered drearily, was she turning the knife in the wound like this?
'We do,' Christina agreed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. 'I've seen quite a lot of him recently,' she added casually, seemingly oblivious to Mike's frozen expression. 'He's been helping me...' She jumped to her feet. 'I shall explode if I don't tell you! Guess what? I'm going to train as a nurse.'
Mike sat bolt upright. 'When did you decide this?' she asked incredulously.
Christina paced over to the window. 'Do you remember when you had flu and I looked after you? Well, it was the first time I'd ever felt useful... felt needed.' She turned round to face Mike. 'And I suddenly realised that I wanted to do something with my life, not just sit around all day worrying about how I looked, waiting to get married.'
'Why didn't you tell me all this before?' Mike demanded and then winced. 'You did try to, didn't you? The day I went rushing down to the airport.' She had known something was troubling Christina, but she hadn't waited to find out what it was. Kingston Air had taken priority over her own half-sister. She'd been guilty of the very crime of which sh
e'd accused both Luke and her father. It was an uncomfortable revelation. 'I'm sorry,' she muttered unhappily.
Christina shrugged. 'Anyway, the day after you left, Luke came up to London and took me out for lunch, and I told him about wanting to be a nurse. I thought he'd laugh, but he didn't. He was really interested and suggested I went to see a careers officer to find out all the details about training.' She smiled. 'He's been terrific, encouraged me all the way. Every time he came up to London on business, he used to pop in and see how I was getting on.' She took a deep breath. 'I know nursing is hard work,' she continued earnestly, 'and that I might be hopeless at it and not even finish my training. But at least I will have tried.'
'I think it's fantastic,' Mike said warmly, thinking how little she really knew about Christina. 'I suppose that's why you've seen so much of Luke,' she added slowly.
'Mmm.' Christina glanced at Mike's face and started to grin. 'You didn't think that Luke and I...?' She giggled. 'So that's why you've been in such a strange mood this evening. Oh, Mike, you idiot! I think Luke is wonderful. Who wouldn't? But he's too old for me, and, even if he weren't, I wouldn't stand a chance. Every time I see him, he spends half the time talking about you. I don't think he even knows he's doing it. He's absolutely crazy about you. Surely you know that?'
'He asked me to marry him,' Mike blurted out. 'And I refused.'
Christina sank down in a chair. 'Don't you love him?' she asked in amazement.
'Yes,' Mike mumbled. 'Isn't it ironic. ..you suddenly deciding you want a career?' She was beginning to feel slightly hysterical. 'And I'm supposed to be the one who's ambitious... and all I want is Luke.' Kingston Air didn't matter. She'd been deluding herself to think it did. Nothing mattered any more— except Luke.
'But if you love Luke, why——?' Christina shook her head in bafflement.
'Because it would never work,' Mike cut in drearily. 'Can't you see? Luke is just like Daddy. Maybe I'm selfish, but I want a husband I see every night and at weekends. I want my children to grow up knowing their father is always there if they need him.'
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