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Satisfying herself that the males in the establishment had taken themselves off, she hurried to the bathroom, stood under the shower and wondered what to do. The events of last night wouldn't go away, no matter how hard she wished they would, so she would just have to take him aside and firmly inform him that it would never, could never, happen again.
So she dressed in the neat grey suit she had brought with her to bolster her research assistant image when working with the Professor, and stared at her subdued reflection: hair neatly slicked back, face wearing only a modicum of make-up, expression suitably aloof. All very well, but would Luke accept her ploy? Would he believe that whatever madness had overtaken her last night would not be repeated?
Probably not, a nasty little inner voice told her, reminding her that during each successive confrontation between them she had given just a little bit more—and he had been quick to take what was offered! He had, she recognised sickly, adroitly led her by the nose—and she, poor sucker, had suspected nothing! But now was the time to call a definite halt. It was up to her, she knew it was, and she would do it or die in the attempt!
Apart from a slightly raised dark brow, Luke gave no hint of surprise at her choice of formal gear. He put a steaming mug of fresh coffee down on the table and asked, 'Would you like toast? Eggs?'
'We had our breakfast ages ago!' Jamie scampered up to her and flung his arms round her knees. 'Luke said not to wake you 'cos you'd had a heavy night. What's a heavy night, Annie?'
'Late to bed,' she lied, hating herself for blushing because she knew that had Jamie not felt an urgent call of nature her night would have been very heavy indeed!
Wordlessly, she shook her head at Luke's offer of breakfast, meeting his eyes just briefly before flicking her own away. She had seen something in those deep blue depths that had turned her bones to water.
Getting a hold on herself, she picked up her mug and cradled it gratefully between cold hands, wondering how she was going to get through the rest of the day if she only had to meet his eyes to go weak at the knees. So her relief was enormous when Jamie piped, 'My mommy's coming today!'
'She phoned from Birmingham about half an hour ago,' put in Luke. 'She was lucky and got a flight almost immediately. She should be here by lunchtime.'
'Great,' Annie muttered thankfully against the rim of her mug. Another twenty-four hours here, cooped up with that devil, had been something that had made her shake just to think about.
She caught his eyes on her, humorously narrowed, and swallowed the unaccountable lump in her throat with the remainder of her coffee. Today he had chosen to dress in black—a lightweight, body-hugging black sweater, narrow-fitting black denims. The sombre garb didn't make him look menacing or predatory—just devilishly attractive, and she wished, for one shattering moment, that he weren't the man he was.
Why couldn't he have been more like Norman? Norman wasn't the love 'em and leave 'em type, whereas Luke didn't know the meaning of the words commitment and fidelity! She would be plain crazy to fall into his arms for the brief affair he had in mind—no matter how much she desired him physically. He was obviously a womaniser of the worst possible kind. No man who would attempt to seduce his own cousin's fiancée could have an honourable bone in his body!
Briskly, she emptied her mind of such maunderings. He was a loner, uncommitted to anything but his work, and any relationship she entered into would have to be long-term.
'Professor Rhys is out of intensive care now, and making good progress,' Luke told her, following her to the sink where she was making a minor production of rinsing her mug.
'You phoned the hospital?' Her hands stilled suddenly, her voice emerging huskily. He was too close; his nearness made her shake inside.
'No, they sent smoke signals,' he responded drily, making her feel a fool. And worse than a fool. Useless. While she had been sleeping as though drugged, he had been up, giving Jamie his breakfast, contacting the hospital. He was a caring, responsible man, she had to give him that, and the admission shook her. And it puzzled her, too. She couldn't easily equate the caring side of his character with that of the devious seeker of immediate satisfaction he had proved himself to be. And, in any case, it would have been easier to continue to think of him as irresponsible, uncaring, intent merely on self-gratification.
She stood rigidly at the sink, the mug clasped between her hands, willing him to go away, to give her space to breathe, but he took the mug from her to hang it on the dresser, smiling faintly as if he knew how much he troubled her. And now was as good a time as any to come out with her carefully prepared speech. Jamie had disappeared so there was nothing to stop her, but although she opened her mouth no words came out.
Luke said, 'Jamie and I will be going for a walk. Won't you join us?'
The voice was coaxing, very warm, and through the window she could see the wide expanse of blue sky, a rugged snatch of landscape glittering gold and silver and green beneath the sun. And she was almost tempted until, his eyes raking her as if he could see right through the prim grey suit to the soft body beneath, he continued, 'Though I would suggest you get out of that defensive garment first. It's not much good for hill walking, or anything else.'
And that did it. It reminded her that she shouldn't willingly go anywhere with him!
'You go ahead,' she replied tartly. 'I'll get a room ready for Jamie's mother and make lunch. She's bound to be feeling washed out when she arrives,' she qualified stiffly, 'with all that travel and worry.'
She hadn't meant to make it sound as if he were callous, going out to enjoy himself while she stayed behind and worked. But it came out sounding that way and she could have sworn a flicker of distaste—and disappointment?—moved across his face before he turned away.
'Suit yourself. I'd planned on being back in plenty of time. We could have done everything necessary together.'
Together. The word imprinted itself on Annie's brain, made her throat feel tight. It held promise and pain in equal measure. Being the people they were, togetherness was out of the question, she knew that perfectly well. So why did she suddenly want to cry?
Pans were bubbling on the stove, the study fire was blazing well and coffee was percolating by the time Paula Fellows arrived. And Annie was able to tell her the latest news.
'Your father's well on the road to recovery. Luke phoned earlier, and I enquired again about half an hour ago. You can go and see him whenever you like.'
'Thank God for that!' Paula's face was ashen with fatigue and her grey eyes brimmed as she told Annie huskily, 'I can't thank you enough for stepping into the breach. I can't think what would have happened to Jamie otherwise.'
'Mrs Morgan would have taken him with her,' Annie assured her quickly and, sensing that total collapse was imminent, suggested firmly, 'Coffee, I think, by the fire. Then lunch. After you're rested I'll drive you to the hospital.'
In the event it was Luke who drove Paula to see her father while Annie played a strange hybrid of cricket and football with Jamie on the grass in front of the house. His reunion with his mother had been ecstatic. 'Where's Daddy?' he had demanded at last.
Paula, still inclined to be tearful, had told him, 'He'll be here tomorrow afternoon. He couldn't get a seat on the same flight and he's going to have to hire a car.' She had passed a shaky hand over her forehead, glancing up at Luke. 'I honestly don't know whether I'm coming or going.'
