'Luke is nothing like Daddy,' Christina retorted fiercely. 'When I needed someone to talk to, who was it who made the time to listen? Not Daddy. Not even you. It was Luke. You're supposed to love him—and yet you don't know the first thing about him.'
'I've been such a fool.' Mike buried her face in her hands. She'd been so blind. Luke had warned her about leaping to conclusions about people—and she was still doing it. She'd misjudged Andrew Simpson, even Christina, and, worst of all, the man she loved. 'What am I going to do?' she muttered miserably. She was supposed to be the strong, confident, mature one, and here she was begging Christina for advice. 'I've so little time left to try and put things right. Luke's going back to New York on Tuesday.'
'Tuesday?' Christina exclaimed. 'But he told me tonight that he was catching a flight tomorrow morning from Heathrow because something urgent had just cropped up.'
'What?' Mike flung back the bedclothes and tugged on her jeans and jumper. He couldn't leave just like that, not without telling her, not without even saying goodbye.
'Mike, where are you going?'
'I have to see Luke before it's too late,' she muttered desperately, rushing to the door.
'But he's only...'
Christina's voice tailed off into the distance as she tore down the stairs.
* * *
The relief as she saw the light on in the cottage was overwhelming. She'd been terrified that Luke might have decided to go up to London tonight. As the Porsche squealed to a halt, Mike jumped out and ran up to the front door, hammering on it with her fist.
Oh, God, what was she doing here? She was going to make a complete fool of herself. Why hadn't she stopped to think before charging around here as if she were completely deranged? Luke didn't want her any more. He'd made that perfectly obvious. But it was too late to retreat now... the door was opening.
'Come to borrow some aspirin?' Luke drawled, leaning against the door-jamb.
'No...I...' Mike gazed up into the craggy face and swallowed hard. 'Christina said you were catching an earlier flight. Tomorrow. And I came to say.. .goodbye.' The tears were burning under her eyelids and she fought to control them. What did her pride matter? What did she have to lose? Except Luke. 'If you still want me to come to New York, I will. Not straight away, of course. I'll have to pack and...' Please say something, she implored him silently. Please put me out of this agony, one way or another.
'Why?' he demanded brusquely. 'Why have you changed your mind?'
'Because I love you,' she croaked. 'I don't care where we live as long as I'm with you. I don't care about Kingston Air any more. I'll sell Rakers' Moon.'
'That's entirely up to you. It's your house.'
'Yes,' she mumbled through frozen lips, her face ashen. That was her answer. Luke simply no longer cared about her.
'But I rather thought you might like to live there after we were married.'
Disbelievingly Mike searched his face, hope dawning as she saw the expression in his eyes that was at complete odds with the casualness in his voice.
With a muffled groan he pulled her into his arms. 'You will marry me, Mike, won't you?'
'Yes,' she said weakly, her eyes glowing. Wonderingly she reached up a hand and traced the contours of the strong, rugged face.
'And you really love me?'
'More than anything in the world,' she assured him softly, murmuring a blissful sigh as his mouth took possession of hers.
It was a long time before either of them spoke again and when Mike finally opened her eyes she found herself cradled in Luke's arms 6n the sofa in the sitting-room, although she had no real recollection of how she'd come to be there.
'You said something about living in Rakers' Moon after we were married,' she remembered hazily, nuzzling his neck. 'But I want to be wherever you are.'
Luke cupped her face with his hands, tilting it up towards him. 'I think I might have a small confession to make.' His eyes danced with teasing blue flames. 'I may have been guilty of misleading you again. I'm only going back to New York for a week. Ten days at most.'
'What?' Mike looked at him indignantly. 'And you deliberately let me think...' So that was what Christina had been trying to tell her when she'd rushed out of the house.
'You didn't think I was going to let you go that easily, did you?' He grinned, brushing her lips lightly. 'I'm in the process of selling my shares in Mereton Holdings. That's why I've been so damn busy the last few weeks, tearing about trying to organise everything. I've already resigned as chairman.'
Mike jerked herself upright. 'But you can't do that. Mereton Holdings is important to you.' One day he'd regret his decision, might even come to blame her for it.
'You're wrong,' he said quietly. 'Mereton Holdings has never been that important.' His mouth twisted. 'It's been a compensation, nothing more.'
For the loss of his musical career, Mike guessed at the words left unsaid, comprehension flooding her.
'And now I simply resent the demands it makes on my time,' he continued. 'From now on, I intend to concentrate on Kingston Air. And you.'
'Why didn't you tell me all this before?'
'I was going to, eventually, but I didn't want to rush things. Don't forget, I wasn't even certain that you loved me. I hoped you felt the same way about me— but I wasn't sure.' He smiled wryly. 'So I made my plan of campaign. I was going to come and live in England permanently, and do my damnedest to make you love me. I didn't care how long it took.' He sighed. 'The only reason I took you up to meet my parents is because I was trying to show you that, like them, I regarded marriage as a lifetime commitment.'
'And I overheard you telling Lisa you were going back to New York and thought——'
'I know exactly what you thought,' he mocked her.
'But you could have explained everything to me later,' she insisted.
'I was too damn angry with you to explain anything!'
'I'm sorry,' Mike said humbly.
'So you should be,' Luke teased her, kissing her soundly on the mouth. He lifted his head. 'Is Christina waiting up for you?'
'I think she'll guess where I am,' Mike mumbled, nestling into his arms contentedly.
'And if you don't arrive back until after breakfast tomorrow morning?' Luke queried, picking her up and carrying her towards the door.
'I think she might leap to the right conclusion.'
'You've just missed the turning.'
'I hope you're not going to turn into a nagging wife, Mrs Duncan.'
Mike giggled, brushing confetti from her hair. They were spending the first night of? their married life at Rakers' Moon, and then tomorrow flying out to board a chartered yacht to spend four glorious weeks exploring the Greek Islands.
'Why are we stopping here?' she demanded as Luke helped her from the car.
'Patience, Mrs Duncan. And all will be revealed.' He opened the boot. 'Here you are.'
'A bucket and spade?' She was probably going to spend the rest of her life being married to a lunatic, Mike thought with an idiotic smile.
'This way. Follow me.'
'Are we going to Rakers' Pool?'
'Wait and see.'
'I love it when you're masterful.'
'Right. Close your eyes and count to ten, and when you open them imagine it's moonlight.'
'One.. .two... I can't kiss you and count at the same time,' Mike protested, opening her eyes, grinning as she saw the small metal container lying at the edge of the dewpond. 'Contraband!'
She picked up the tin, examined it curiously and flicked open the catch.
'What's this?' she frowned, extracting a typed document covered in a waterproof jacket.
'Half my shares in Kingston Air have been transferred to your name.'
Mike's eyes locked into Luke's. 'And, under the terms of Matthew's will, you now own half my shares. So that means we're still...'
'Partners.'
'Equal partners,' Mike reminded him solemnly and flung her arms around his neck. Equal partn
ers for life.
An Unequal Partnership Page 16