The Man From her Wayward Past

‘I guess the world grew tired of St Oswalds and moved on.’

‘I can’t see anyone studying their reflection in a rock pool,’ Luke agreed, his sweeping ebony brows lifting with amusement as he glanced at her.

‘I wasn’t looking at myself. I was studying wildlife, if you must know.’

‘I was pretty wild back in those days,’ he commented dryly.

‘You are so full of it. I wasn’t looking at you,’ she insisted heatedly, knowing full well that the whole point of sitting sentry by that rock pool had been to make sure she was in position when Luke came thundering by.

He’d always chosen the wildest pony in the bunch so he could thrash her brothers, but when Luke had returned to the guest house he’d been all gloss and manners. An only child, idolised by his parents, Luke had never let them down. When Luke came down to dinner his necktie would be perfectly knotted, his hair neat and his shoes highly polished. Leave him with her brothers for half an hour and Luke turned feral.

It had been a kickback against his strict upbringing, she realised now, remembering how unbelievably sexy she had found the transformation from strait-laced Luke to an impossibly wild version. And now he was somewhere in between. Formidably successful in business, Luke was a barbarian, unstoppable and unbelievably sexy, on the polo field. What he was like in private she had no idea—not really.

‘Those were great days,’ he said thoughtfully, shifting position in a way that suggested Luke’s temporarily confined body was cramped like a coiled spring.

‘Yes, they were,’ she agreed, trying to forget the glances that had passed between them when they were teenagers.

She’d had to be so careful not to let her brothers see how she felt about Luke. Everything about the invisible bond between them had been breath-stealing and forbidden. And had quite possibly only existed in her imagination, Lucia conceded silently, since normally Luke had barely acknowledged her existence when her brothers were around.

Her brothers weren’t here now …

It made no difference. She wasn’t about to throw herself at Luke and make a bigger fool of herself than she already had by flirting and then flinching when the fear came roaring back.

‘Those holidays were the highlight of my year,’ he admitted, shaking her out of the reverie.

‘You being an only child, I guess down-time with my brothers was quite a novelty.’

‘That’s one way of putting it,’ Luke agreed, his lips tugging as he thought back.

She picked up his empty can just for the excuse to turn away and put it in the trash. Even then she could feel the heat of his stare on her back. Just what exactly was Luke thinking?

‘That’s the connection between us,’ he said, making her swing round.

‘What is?’ she demanded.

‘You were the only girl in a family with four hell-raising brothers, and I was an only child in a family with ramrods up its spine. Both of us were outsiders, Lucia. We just didn’t see it that way back then.’

‘So fill in the gaps, Luke. What have you been doing since I last saw you?’

‘Making money. Building companies. Making sure my father can retire with honour. Nursing the family’s charitable foundation back to health. What about you, Lucia?’

‘You first,’ she said stubbornly. ‘Why did you come back here?’

Luke cocked his head as he stared away from her. ‘Same reason as you, I expect. I’ve been trying to recapture something I’ve lost.’

‘Freedom,’ she said, thinking out loud.

‘I’m free enough,’ Luke argued, ‘but I do miss the good times we used to have here. When you can choose to holiday anywhere in the world it’s surprising how you hanker after the familiar. Only St Oswalds wasn’t the way I remembered it when I came back.’

‘No, it’s falling apart,’ she agreed.

‘So I’ll do something about it,’ he said with a shrug.

‘And so will I,’ she said, staking her claim.

‘What are your plans, Lucia?’

She felt defensive suddenly. How feeble they would sound compared to his. Her plans included working as hard as she could and trying to get the villagers to help too. She wasn’t ready to admit that her plans also included the rebuilding of Lucia Acosta, brick by unsmothered brick—preferably without hang-ups this time. But she had to admit there were possibilities to them working together. Luke was a highly successful businessman, while she understood the hospitality industry and how to make guests happy.