Back to Luke (10 page)

He grasped her arms. “Sweetheart, do you know what you’re doing to me—what you’ve been doing to me since you came to town?”

Her fingers skimmed down his abs, flirted with the waistband of his shorts. Then, oh, man, they went lower and her whole palm pressed against his groin. “Mmm-hmm.”

It was too much. He had to have more, so he pushed her back and reached for the front clasp of her bra.

Before he could free her, some kind of banging sounded behind him. “Hey, Luke, what’s this hose…” The voice drifted off and Luke drew Jayne to him, to shield her from Jess.

But he was yanked away by the shoulder, jerked around, pushed back. Jess got a glimpse of Jayne, stepped between her and Luke, and dropped the still-running hose. “What the f…You bastard.”

Before Luke could react, Jess bent low and went for him. Luke stumbled back and out of the shed. They both fell to the ground. Luke’s head hit hard as he went down. He saw a blur of movement and then pain splintered through his jaw, spiraling outward to his whole face. Jess raised his fist again, but Jayne came into view and grabbed his arm.

“Jess, no! What are you doing?”

Suddenly, Jess’s assault stopped. He looked up at Jayne, whom Luke could see was now fully clothed, and gulped in a breath. “Are you all right?”

“Of course I am.” She tugged hard on his arm until he climbed off Luke and stood. “What are you doing?” she repeated.

“Don’t you know what’s going on here?” He studied her face. “Oh, no, you don’t! You thought this was real.”

“I…we…look, Jess, something just happened between me and Luke.”

“Don’t you know
why?
”

She shook her head.

Managing to turn to his side, Luke struggled to his feet, saw red drops on his chest and tasted copper in his mouth. His jaw hurt like hell.

Jess focused on him. “You son of a bitch. How dare you use her like this?”

Luke said, “Use her?”

And Jayne uttered, “Use me?” at the same time.

Jess’s face softened. “Jaynie, Luke’s making a move on you so Naomi and I will have a clear road to getting back together.” Jess’s eyes widened, then he sent a lethal glare to Luke. “Or are you planning to toy with her—which, by the way, you’re very good at—then break her heart so she’ll leave town?”

Vaguely, Jayne remembered Jess’s comments about Luke’s rep with women. And in New York, hadn’t she always wondered what he saw in her?

“H-he’s doing
that?
” Jayne whispered.

“The hell I am!” Luke’s voice rose, but he didn’t care.

“Oh, God.” Jayne’s hands clapped against her mouth.
“Oh, God, I didn’t know…I never thought.” She looked at him. “How
could
you?”

“I
didn’t
,” he said. “For God’s sake, Jayne, I didn’t.” He nodded to the shed. “It was all real in there, just like before.”

“Just like before?” Jess asked. “What do you mean?”

Luke started to answer when Jess glanced behind him. “Naomi? What are you doing here?”

Whirling around, Luke saw Jess’s wife standing a few feet away. Her face was ashen and her hands fisted at her sides.

“I knew you were at church, so I came to talk to Jayne. I thought maybe…never mind.” Her hands went to her hips. “I guess it’s a good thing I did, isn’t it, Jess? I got to witness your jealousy firsthand.”

“No, Nay, you got it all wrong.”

“Oh, yeah, sure, try to tell me what I saw with my own eyes didn’t happen. You’re a liar, Jess, and a fool.” She turned on her heel and stalked away.

After a moment’s hesitation, and a glance at Jayne, Jess went after his wife. Luke watched first Naomi, then Jess, round the corner of the house and disappear.

When they were alone, Jayne raised bleak eyes to him.

Pissed, Luke said, “Tell me you don’t believe him.”

Her look said she did.

“Damn it, Jayne, I still have feelings you. I never got over them.”

She shook her head wildly. “I don’t believe that.”

“Why?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She started to walk away.

He grabbed her arm. “You’re just going to run again, like you did before, aren’t you?”

“Running away from you is a very good idea.” She shook him off. “Leave me alone, Luke. I mean it.”

Dumbfounded, he stared after her, wondering how the hell something so special had gone this far south.

J
AYNE SAT
at the desk in her bedroom in Eleanor’s house, peering through the bay window that overlooked the gardens. It was eleven at night and darkness blanketed the flower beds. Still, their sweetness wafted up as if Mother Nature had sprayed a puff of her perfume just for Jayne. Usually, she took comfort in the evening beauty of outdoors. But not tonight.

In front of her was the official report she’d received today on the collapse of the walkway in the Coulter Gallery. Jess had been right to suspect the mistake had occurred in a change made after the original drawings had been completed. The fault did indeed lie in the steel rods that anchored the joists. Instead of one rod inserted in the middle of each beam, which she’d originally drawn into the design, she’d signed off on changing the order to two rods at either end, so the bolts didn’t have to be threaded.

Now that she knew what the problem was, Jayne recalled the concession she’d made to the structural engineer, Paul Gerber, whom the gallery had hired.

“It’ll save big bucks if we don’t have to thread the rods.” His tone was impatient, as usual.

“Cost isn’t the only factor to consider,” Jayne had told him.

“Hell, Jayne, you’ve said that about almost all the things that could be changed to save us some money.”

Trying not to bristle, she said crisply, “My original plans work with the joists.”

“Look, here’s some research I did on the Web. I also called a couple of my colleagues, since I thought you’d balk again. Everybody agrees that if they’re set right, the double rods will work.”

She scanned the papers he handed her.

“So, what’s the harm on this one?”

There didn’t appear to be any. Two of the Web sites said multiple bolts would be
more
secure. And though Jayne had had a lot of run-ins with this guy, she wouldn’t have conceded the point about the rods unless she’d thought it was safe. The research, combined with the fact that Gerber was a
structural
engineer and had the approval of others in his field, had convinced her.

So she’d given in on this one and the cost had been higher than she could have possibly imagined: her architectural career. Because, next to the official report, were two other mailings that had been forwarded to her.

The first and most damning was a report from the independent outfit she’d hired, confirming the board’s conclusions. The double rods in the joists had not been able to handle the weight of the building.

Next was a certified letter from one of her clients confirming her fears about her professional reputation.

Due to the collapse of the Coulter Gallery walkway, the city of Phoenix, Arizona, is invoking the cancellation clause in our contract, which states if any detrimental event occurs to other projects designed by Logan Architects, we reserve
the right to nullify our agreement with the aforementioned firm to design the Phoenix Convention Center.

Logan Associates had the right to keep the one hundred thousand dollar down payment, but Jayne had no intention of doing that. She had some pride left.

“So,” she said into the empty room, sipping a glass of merlot, staring at the pieces of her broken life, “this is how it’s going to be.”

She wished Jess was here. She wished she had a girlfriend to call and talk to, like she’d had in Sally. But most of all, she wished Luke’s attentions on Sunday had been genuine and he was with her to make her see things in a different light, as he’d done before.

Everybody makes mistakes.

But Jess was gone. By Sunday night, he’d left town. He’d come to tell her why. She’d been inconsolable about the debacle with Luke but hid it from her friend because he was in a worse state.

“I’m going away, Jaynie. I…” His hazel eyes had moistened. “I keep screwing up. Naomi won’t listen to the truth, and I punched out my best friend. Something’s wrong with me.”

“No, Jess….”

He held up his hands. “I’m going to a monastery Pastor Wilkins suggested.” The reverend had been volunteering at the Harmony site as part of the Riverdale church contingent, and Jess had become friends with him. “It’s a silent retreat. I need to get my act together.”

“I’m so sorry this caused you grief. I should just—”

“I’m not strong enough to fight with you about staying. Promise me one thing.”

“Anything, Jess. I’d do anything for you.”

“Don’t leave town while I’m gone.”

“All right.”

So she’d stayed and even gone to the Harmony Housing site to work. Where, shockingly, she’d encountered an angry Luke Corelli.
He’d
been angry. The gall of him, she’d thought initially.

He’d stood in the doorway of the trailer, hard hat in one hand, the thumb of his other hooked in his jeans belt loop. There was an inferno in his eyes, making them darker, almost liquid. “I’m surprised you showed up here today.” Even his tone had been cut-glass cold. “I figured you’d be long gone by now, that you’d run again.”

She lifted a brow, hoping her haughty expression would distance him. “I changed my mind.”

He waved his hand to encompass the interior of the trailer. “Even though you’ll have to work with me?” Shaking his head in disgust, he added, “Why would you want be around somebody you believe is such a scumbag?”

“I’m not afraid to see you. I made a mistake in judgment Sunday morning.” It had to be more than that, she knew. Jayne had believed Jess automatically because she still couldn’t trust men. After what had happened with Ben, she probably never would. “Let’s forget it happened.”

“A mistake in judgment? Is that what you’re calling it? Lady, you’re something else.”

“What do you mean?”

“We were all over each other in that shed.” He rubbed his neck. “I have the skid marks to prove it.”

Mention of what Jayne had done to him and the quick peek she got at a dark bruise when his collar tugged back made her gasp.

“We were totally into each other. If Jess hadn’t interrupted, you know what would have happened.”

“Then it’s a good thing he did.”

Luke had approached her, circled the desk and dragged her up. “Goddamn you, how can you say that to me? After what we shared in that shed?”

“We shared nothing. You, on the other hand, are very good at manipulation.”

“What about before? In New York?”

“It was a fling. The kind you’re known for, Luke. Everybody in town is aware of that. Even Jess said so.”

His face turned stone-cold and he let go of her so fast she stumbled backward. “Are you still unsure of yourself as a woman? I thought you got past that with me.” The last had come out hoarse.

He was right about the latter. With Luke she’d begun to feel sexy, feminine again. Then the problem with her firm had happened, she’d panicked, and denied all of it to herself.

She hadn’t known what to say. When she remained silent, he spit out, “Forget it. Maybe you’re not worth it.” Then he walked out.

Even today, forty-eight hours later, she’d had no retort for him. But she did have a niggling suspicion that she’d overreacted. His anger in the office had been so real, so genuine. And something else. When he got close, she could see in his eyes that he’d been hurt, hear the faint traces of it underlying his tone.

She glanced down at the white silk robe she wore over a matching nightgown that hid a few marks of her own. And she admitted to herself that Luke was right.

After her experience with Ben, she had no confidence in herself as a woman.

S
WINGING HIS RACKET
back, Luke swooped down on the ball a few inches from the floor and slapped it forward. The little blue sphere slammed into the front wall and came back to hit Belle in the arm.

“Damn it, Luke, take it easy.”

“Look, you’re no cream puff out here either. You’ve been whacking up a storm.”

“Shut up and serve.”

He didn’t take it easy on her. Instead, he smashed the next shot right below the line, so the ball sliced toward her, fast and low. Belle dived for it and missed, skidding across the floor on her forearms. Ouch! That had to hurt. Dropping his racket, he hustled over to her.

“You okay?”

She rolled over on her back and he saw brush burns on her skin.

“Hell.” He jogged to the side to retrieve water and a towel from his bag. When he returned, he hunched in front of her and started to treat the scrapes. She was sitting up now.

He pressed the cold cloth on her.

“That hurts.”

“Hush. This’ll make it feel better in a minute.”

She hissed in reaction to his ministrations. She’d been in a snit since they met at the gym a half hour ago, and he assumed it was because of Kenny’s incident with the police and dealing with a teenager who was grounded for a month. For his part, Luke had played like a maniac because he was furious at Jayne. And Jess. No, the thing with Jess hurt. He was mad as hell at Jayne.

“We’re a pair,” he said as he blotted the worst of the
bruises. Sweat was dripping off his face and Belle’s shirt was soaked through.

“You wanna go first?”

“No, you go. It’s Kenny, right?”

“Actually, it’s Nick.”

Luke’s head snapped up. Belle and Nick were the happiest couple he knew. She was a nurse, he was a doctor. They’d been married eighteen years and the depth of their feelings for each other was obvious to everyone around them. But today Luke saw concern in her dark eyes, and that worried him. “What about Nick?”

“We’re fighting over our son.”

“Is that all?”

“It’s enough. He thinks I’m too hard on Kenny. He said if I hadn’t forbidden him to hang out with those kids, he probably wouldn’t have rebelled and gone out with them to drink.”

“Is that true?”

“No, I think Kenny was just disobeying his parents.”

“This doesn’t sound too serious, sweetie.”

“Serious enough for me to refuse to have sex with my husband and ergo, we’re sleeping in separate rooms.”

“Wow. I’m sorry.”

Picking up her racket, she banged the edge of it on the floor. “Nick’s under stress at the hospital, and I realize that. His job’s tough. But he shouldn’t take it out on me.”

“I know.”

She nodded to the towel, which he’d kept wetting and applying to her arm. “I’m good.”

Leaning against the wall, he indicated the court. “We’re done for today.”

“We should be. We’re killing each other.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. “What’s going on with you?”

“I can’t tell you, Belle.”

His sister frowned. “Why? We talk about everything.”

“I wish I could, because I need somebody to hash this out with. But you’re biased.”

A very long pause. “It’s about Jayne Logan.”

“I’m not going into it.”

“You don’t have to.” He glanced over at Belle, who was staring ahead. “Naomi told me.”

“Damn it.”

Again, Belle was quiet for a long time. Then she said, “I’ll be fair. My first concern is you. What happened?”

He had to get this out and, despite what he’d said about her bias, he trusted no one more than the woman beside him. “There’s something you don’t know about me and Jayne.”

“What?”

“I, um, knew her in New York.”

“Yeah, Jess asked you to get her in with Madison Conglomerates.”

“I got involved with her there.”

“Define
involved
.”

“She calls it a fling.” He shook his head. “But it was more to me. I fell for her, big-time.”

“Really? I can’t believe it. Women always chased you, not the other way around.”

“First time for everything, I guess.”

“What happened?”

“She ditched me without saying goodbye. Left because of a scandal at the architectural firm where she worked.”

Belle waited.

“I thought I was over it. Hell, all that happened
twelve years ago and I’ve certainly gone on with my life. Then she came to town, and I started remembering things. It led to what happened yesterday.”

He could still see Jayne hosing him down, racing to the shed, and laughing in the why-bother black bra.

“Jess found you and got jealous.”

“No, I don’t think so.” He told Belle of Jess’s accusations. “He freakin’ punched me.”

“I’m sorry, Luke. I know how you’ve depended on his friendship since Timmy died.” She leaned into him and slid her arm through his. “What are you going to do about all this?”

“I have no idea.” Just recounting Jayne’s accusations infuriated him all over again. “Belle, tell me the truth. If I did pursue a relationship with her, could you ever accept her?”

“I’d try. Are you going to do it?”

“I don’t know.” How could he ever deal with the fact that Jayne believed he was a man without integrity? “I just don’t know.”

T
HE SUN BEAT DOWN
on Jayne’s head as she perched on the roof and anchored her feet on the section that was secure. Several pairs of workers were hammering plywood into place. A few feet away, Luke was nailing down a big board of it, and she worried about the precarious nature of his position. Hell, she’d been obsessed with him all week.

Come with me,
he’d barked just an hour ago.
We don’t have enough volunteers and I need somebody to feed me nails.

She would have balked, but they
were
short of help, and he’d been so mean all week she didn’t want to cross
him. Oh, all right, she admitted as she stared over at him, his head bent, the brim of his Yankees cap pulled down. She wanted to be with him. He looked like a million bucks up here, shirtless, wearing a tool belt. And every time she handed him nails and their hands brushed, the electricity between them sizzled. She was afraid that, now that he’d touched her again, she wouldn’t be able to forget what they had been like together.

They worked for an hour with the hot rays bouncing off the brown shingles mercilessly. She’d sweated through her Harmony Housing T-shirt, and the jeans she wore were sticking to her, never mind her feet swelling inside her work boots. She also felt a headache coming on and wished she’d brought medicine with her to the site.