‘No,’ he corrected. ‘Jordan is with Mia, look.’ He swung her gently round and sure enough there they were only a few feet away, wrapped around each other, very much the loved up couple.
‘So what was all that about the other afternoon in The Smugglers? Why were you …? You called her, didn’t you?’ she said, suddenly realising what he’d done. ‘You asked her to come down, to make it look as if …’
‘I’d got over you, yes. I wanted to see your reaction. The truth is I haven’t, Cat. I doubt I ever will. And I don’t think you have either, have you? We need to talk …’ he added quietly.
‘What’s done is done and all the talking in the world won’t change a thing,’ she said, focussing on the whiteness of his shirt, knowing if their eyes met she’d be lost. Already her pulse was beginning to accelerate, the warmth of his fingers across her back sending those familiar shivers along her spine. ‘Look, you asked me to dance. I don’t want … need this conversation.’ She took a deep breath. ‘In fact, I think it might be best if you took me back to my table.’
Luke pulled her gently to a halt. Taking her hand, he walked her to the edge of the dance floor. ‘I never had you down as a coward,’ he said, spinning her around to face him. ‘I’m really disappointed. The Cat Trevelyan I knew was always fair minded. She weighed up all the evidence before making her decision. You saw what Tanya wanted you to see and you believed her just like that.’ He snapped his fingers. ‘Okay, I admit I did a stupid thing not telling you about Bali. And as I said, I should have made you listen, but the fact is you were so angry that evening I decided it was pointless trying to reason with you. So I gave us both somespace and came to see you the next day. What I didn’t expect was to find you gone.’
Cat hung her head. So much of what he’d said was true. She’d done exactly as Em had, a knee-jerk reaction, packing her bags and leaving without giving him a chance to explain. But he had no idea how hurt she was at the time. Tanya had been so plausible and she knew if she’d stayed, her life would have been made a misery. Because Tanya was the kind of woman who would have found it amusing to constantly remind her she’d been second best.
‘I’m sorry.’ She raised her eyes to his and found herself instantly trapped in their grey depths. ‘You’re right. I was unfair. Can we find somewhere to talk? I need to be back by ten though, that’s when Em is due to cut the cake.’
‘Sure.’ He nodded, and she saw the trace of a smile surface. ‘Lead the way.’
Chapter Thirty-Two
The most private place Cat could think of was the small arbour at the far end of the grounds beyond the rose garden. Not many people, other than family and staff, knew about it and it provided them with the seclusion they needed.
She sat silently, listening as Luke began to explain the events that had followed his release from Truro Police Station. She could see now how Tanya, determined to hang onto him, had cleverly planted the seeds of doubt in her mind as they sat chatting at the bar that evening.
‘Your brother told me to forget you, to get on with my own life. But there was no life without you. If Em hadn’t come banging on my door, I don’t know what I’d have done. I had a temporary job lined up on the trawlers but she persuaded me to look for something more permanent away from the sea. Luckily, Cadan Boscawen was looking for someone who was good with engines. I’ve been there ever since. Waiting for you to come home.’
‘Oh, Luke.’ Listening to him and watching the sadness in his beautiful eyes Cat found her hard protective shell beginning to crack. Her need to comfort him the way she used to took over as she pulled him into her arms. The truth, for indeed that is what he had most certainly told her, made her ache for wasted days and lost moments, but most of all for the fool she had been. Even after all that had happened he was still here, never giving up hope that one day she would come home.
She was about to tell him how sorry she was but, before she had a chance to move, Luke meshed his fingers in her hair and brought his lips to hers. Feeling the pressure of his mouth moving softly over hers caused every nerve ending in her body to come alive. How much she had missed his touch; his loving. Ashe deepened the kiss she closed her eyes and gave into the heady sensations she thought she would never experience again with this man.
Eventually he broke away from her and smiled. ‘You’ll never know how I’ve missed your kiss, Cat Trevelyan.’
‘Me too, missed yours, I mean,’ she said, resting the tips of her fingers against his face.
‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Sure.’
His expression became serious and she wondered what was coming next.
‘Are you with Raphael now?’
‘No, he’s a work colleague and a very good friend.’
‘Is there anyone else? Some tall dark Italian you’re involved with?’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘And how do things stand between you and Mia?’
‘Mia is a friend, too, and as I told you, she’s with Jordan.’
‘If that’s true,’ she said, suppressing a grin, ‘what kind of madness prompted her to hook up with someone like him?’
Luke’s mouth quirked up in a smile. ‘Jordan’s very different now. After Evie was arrested he changed. He saw what he was and what that had done to both himself and other people. He buckled down to work and got promoted. I introduced him to Mia last Christmas at a party. They’ve been together about nine months. He lives with her in the flat above the boatyard offices,’ he said, reaching out to push a stray curl behind her ear. ‘Now back to us. Another question. As there is no Tanya and you’re not with anyone else,’ he leaned forward and gently touched her forehead with his, ‘what is stopping you coming back home to me?’
Cat paused for a moment, aware there was only one answer she could give. ‘Nothing, I guess,’ she whispered. ‘Nothing at all.’
They returned to the party hand in hand, something noticed by several of the guests who gave them both meaningful smiles. At the bar, Luke bought Cat a large glass of Pinot Grigio and they chatted for a while before he took her out to dance again, wrapping his arms around her and holding her as if she was the most precious thing in the world.
As she breathed in his familiar woody cologne, Cat realised things had finally come full circle. Of course, now she had to break the news to Étienne about her change of plan. She was committed to seeing through the organisation of the gala opening of Étienne’s new hotel in the Dolomites, so should be free to fly home by late October. The music came to an end and Ruan stepped up beside the DJ and took over the mic.
‘And now, ladies and gentlemen,’ he said as the dimmed lights became brighter, ‘we have come to a very important moment in the evening.’ With a theatrical flourish he extended a hand towards the entrance. ‘The birthday cake.’
