‘I tell you what: try and find out what a guy called Harry Laurence is doing these days.’
* * *
Abby had had her first trip to see her doctor that morning.
She’d decided to close the café for the day, as Lori couldn’t cope with the morning rush and attend to the bookstore at the same time.
Still, as she walked back to South Road she was feeling pretty good, and she was wondering whether she should open up that afternoon. It would mean contacting Lori, but, as it was a pretty miserable day, she didn’t think her friend would mind.
Everything changed when she saw the car, parked illegally, across the road from the café.
She didn’t recognise it, but it was an expensive vehicle.
An Aston Martin, if she wasn’t mistaken. The type of car Luke had driven years ago. And although she wanted to remain calm and collected, her pulse started racing madly.
If it was Luke, what was he doing here? Had he come to give her and the other shopkeepers their notices to quit? If so, she might have less than six months to find another home and another job. And not just for her, she acknowledged anxiously. In less than seven months, she would need a home for her baby, as well.
Almost instinctively, she ran a hand over her stomach.
Was it only her imagination, or could she feel a slight mound beneath her shirt?
She was over eight weeks now and the doctor had said that in another two weeks, she should have her first ultrasound scan. The idea of being able to see the baby inside her was tantalising. To have living proof her son or daughter was real.
Ought she to ask Luke if he wanted to go with her to the hospital? She didn’t want to, but it was his baby, too. He was just as responsible for its existence as she was. And she had the feeling that he wouldn’t refuse such an invitation if he could fit it into his busy life.
As she neared the car a door was thrust open and, as on that other occasion, a long jean-clad leg emerged. It was Luke, lean and dark, and endlessly appealing, in a black button-down shirt, and deck shoes.
To her surprise, he looked relieved to see her. And she guessed he’d already read the notice on the café door. Where did he think she’d been? she wondered. She was tempted to say she’d been looking for a new place to live. But she didn’t want to start lying to him now.
He came across the road as she neared the café. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked, regarding her closely. ‘When I saw the café was closed, I thought you must be ill.’
‘Did you try the side door?’ she asked, without answering his question. She could imagine the uproar Harley would have caused if he’d heard someone hammering on the door.
‘I knocked,’ agreed Luke, ‘but when Harley started barking, I guessed you couldn’t be there.’
‘Or I’d have come rushing down to greet you?’ suggested Abby drily, and Luke pulled a face.
‘Uh, no,’ he said defensively. ‘But he wouldn’t have continued barking if you’d been there to shut him up.’
Abby inclined her head, conceding the point. Then, glancing across at his car, she said, ‘You’ll get a parking ticket. The wardens are pretty active around here.’
‘So I’ll pay the fine,’ said Luke indifferently. ‘Or rather, Felix will. He handles all that sort of thing for me.’
Abby shook her head. ‘So why are you here? Have you come to tell us when we have to leave? If so, I’ll ask the other tenants—’
‘I’m not here to ask anyone to leave,’ retorted Luke between his teeth. He paused. ‘I wanted to see you.’
‘Why?’
‘Do I have to have a reason?’ He sighed. ‘Let’s go inside and we can talk.’
Abby looked up at him, despising herself for the way her stomach clenched at the sight of him. Why was he really here? It could only be about the baby. She tensed at the thought that he might be considering trying to take over the child’s life as soon as it was born.
Surely even Luke would not be that cruel. Though his careless comments about parking his car proved that abiding by the rules meant little to him.
But she had to find out, one way or the other, and, with a shrug, she walked past him into the alley beside the café.
She was conscious of him following her, of his powerful body behind hers as she unlocked the door and stepped inside. But, before she could even close the door, he backed her up against the wall in the hall and gripped the back of her neck, tipping her face up to his.
His mouth was hot and demanding, and she was incapable of resisting him. Desire shivered through her, and, although he was supporting himself with his free hand so he wouldn’t crush her, Abby felt the unmistakeable thrust of his powerful arousal against her abdomen.
‘I’ve been worried sick about you,’ he muttered, cupping her face with his hands, his thumbs brushing her parted lips. ‘Where the hell have you been?’
Abby was breathless. ‘Why do you care?’
‘Because I do, all right?’ He kissed her again, this time giving in to the urge to push himself against her. ‘I’ve been waiting for the better part of an hour. I’ve even had to pacify a few of your customers, who turned up expecting their morning fix.’
His hands curved down her spine to her hips, lifting her until his sex fitted neatly into the hollow between her legs. ‘I want you, Abby. I don’t know how I’ve stayed away.’
‘Because I asked you to.’
Somehow, Abby managed to slide out from between him and the wall and slam the open door. She could imagine Greg Hughes’ reaction if he’d passed by as Luke was kissing her.
Turning back to her visitor, who was now unwillingly leaning back against the wall, she said quietly, ‘I’ve been to see the doctor. Why didn’t you ring before you left London? I could have told you not to come.’
Then she hurried away upstairs. Harley had started barking again, and she didn’t want him to attract any more attention, not with Luke’s car parked significantly across the street.
Or that was her excuse.
The truth was, she was too vulnerable at the moment. Whether it was her hormones, or simply the knowledge that she loved this man, whatever his faults, she didn’t trust herself not to say or do something she would later regret.
In consequence, she had to keep him at arm’s length, however impossible that might prove to be.
LUKE MANAGED TO calm the retriever’s exuberant welcome, and, putting the dog aside, he looked at Abby.
She was wearing a loose shirt and shorts today, the hem of the shorts exposing surprisingly tanned legs. And she looked incredible to his hungry eyes.
God, he wanted to touch her again.
But he had to consider her feelings.
‘You’ve been to see the doctor?’ he said, his nerves tightening. ‘Why? Is something wrong?’
She gave him a disbelieving look. ‘Hello? I’m pregnant. In case you’ve forgotten.’
‘Yeah, right. Like I’m going to forget something like that.’ Luke spoke tersely. ‘But you’re okay?’
‘I’m fine.’ He noticed she’d put the width of the breakfast bar between them as he was soothing the retriever. ‘Do you want a drink? I