No Mistaking Love

CHAPTER SIX

THE terminal was crowded, and Kate didn't see Luke until he appeared suddenly beside the check-in desk. He looked about him impatiently, glancing at his watch and obviously wondering where she was.

It gave Kate a moment to school her features to cool unconcern before she stepped forward to attract his notice.

She had spent a restless night, trying to get Luke's kiss out of her mind, but every time she closed her eyes the scene was replayed with the same vivid thrill of memory: his hands, his mouth, the hard, exciting strength of his body close to hers.

Alone in the darkness, she had found it easy to tell herself that she had merely been caught by surprise. Why else would she have leant into him like that? Why else would her lips have yielded to the warm persuasion of his mouth? Why else would she have kissed him back?

Luke should never have kissed her, Kate had decided, finding it easier to be angry with him than to remember her own abandoned response. The most charitable explanation was that it had been a whim on his part, quite meaningless. Kate was determined to treat it the same way. It would be far less embarrassing for them both if she just ignored the whole issue.

But now, with the stomach-clenching jolt of her heart at the sudden sight of him, with the fire leaping along her pulse, it didn't seem quite so easy.

No sign of her inner turmoil showed in Kate's face as she wished Luke a cool good morning.

Luke's eyes were shuttered as he returned her greeting curtly, and to Kate's relief he was disinclined for conversation as they checked in and went through Passport Control into the departure lounge. He looked grumpy, and Kate was glad to take refuge behind an air of brisk efficiency.

She was wearing one of the outfits Luke had picked out, a soft tan skirt with a loosely structured jacket and an ivory silk shirt. The casual elegance suited her understated looks, but Luke didn't comment. He had taken some papers out of his briefcase and was studying them with a grim face, effectively ignoring her.

Kate eyed him covertly. His brows were drawn together, his mouth set in an inflexible line. He looked so hard and forbidding that if it hadn't been for the way her pulse was beating it would have been hard to believe that this was the same man who had kissed her last night.

Did he even remember? Kate wouldn't have put it past him to have put it completely out of his mind as soon as she'd been out of sight. Their first kiss hadn't meant anything to him; why should their second? Unconsciously wistful, Kate's eyes deepened to the colour of honey, and she glanced at him again. If Luke did remember kissing her he had obviously decided to ignore it now.

Well, that suited her!

`I suppose you're waiting for me to apologise for kissing you last night,' Luke said abruptly, without looking up from his notes.

Kate, just relaxing into the comfortable certainty that the whole embarrassing episode could safely be forgotten, looked at his bent head with resentment. She should have remembered that it wasn't possible to relax with Luke. He had an uncanny ability to catch her at a disadvantage.

`There's no need to apologise,' she said, proud of her cool manner, but unable to look at him directly. Instead she glanced with studied casualness over at the passengers milling around the duty-free shop. `I didn't take it seriously.'

He looked up at that. She didn't see him, but she could feel his sharp eyes upon her.

`Oh? And how did you take it?'

Why couldn't he just accept the let-out she had given him? Kate thought crossly. It was just like him to be difficult about the whole thing!

`You clearly weren't thinking about what you were doing.'

`How do you work that one out?'

There was the merest suspicion of amusement in his voice and Kate's eyes flickered back to him suspiciously, but he was looking down at his papers again. All she could see were the angular lines of nose and cheek as he scribbled notes.

Her pride rebelling at her being cross-examined by Luke in this embarrassing way while he had half a mind on a quite different subject, Kate spoke more waspishly than she had intended.

`I'd have thought it was obvious. In your book, girl plus dinner plus darkness equals kiss. Unfortunately, you left the fact that I'm your secretary out of the equation.'

`I think I must have forgotten that, under that glamorous new image of yours, a disapproving Kate still lurks,' Luke said with some dryness, making a final note and then slipping his pen into his jacket pocket.

`It's not my new image. It's yours,' Kate pointed out sulkily.

`Oh, I don't know,' Luke said judiciously. He put his papers back into his briefcase and snapped it shut. `All I did was spot the beautiful, rather sexy woman you could be if only you'd let yourself.'

Kate felt herself grow suddenly hot. She would have given anything to have been able to say something cutting in reply, but could only stare fiercely at the book-stall while she fought down a blush. She wished he wouldn't say things like that. He was so much easier to deal with when he was being downright unpleasant.

`I don't want to be beautiful and sexy,' she said desperately. `I'm not like that.'

`You were like that when I kissed you last night.'

`You caught me unawares,' Kate defended herself. She drew a deep breath and forced herself to look straight into Luke's slate-grey eyes. `You were the one who went on about how grateful you were that our relationship was strictly business, so I'd be grateful if you'd remember that in future. Since we have to work together, it seems only sensible.'

`Very sensible,' Luke mocked. `I wouldn't expect a sensible secretary like you, Kate, to suggest anything else!' He glanced up at the flight monitor and, much to Kate's relief, got to his feet, putting an end to the discussion. `Come on, the flight's boarding now.'

Paris was veiled in a typically pale blue-grey light as they took a taxi into the centre from the airport. They were staying at the Paris Oasis on the rue du Faubourg-St-Honore, the standard-bearer of Philippe Robard's chain of hotels, and Kate was impressed by its understated elegance.

She looked about the magnificent lobby as Luke signed them in with his usual brusque efficiency. If this was Philippe Robard's standard then Luke had been right to insist on a change of image for her!

Luke gave no sign of appreciating the luxurious surroundings. He allowed Kate a bare five minutes to comb her hair before whisking her off to their meeting with Philippe Robard.

`Now, remember,' he said as they waited for the doorman to find them a taxi, `you're to be pleasant and charming. I don't want to hear you lecturing Robard about his manners!'

`I wouldn't dream of it,' Kate said loftily.

`Oh, wouldn't you?' Luke snorted. `Just smile and be nice, that's all I ask. Let's have a look at you…' He turned her to face him and subjected her to a critical inspection, from the gleaming hair to the smart new tan shoes. The soft lines of the skirt and jacket gave her an easy elegance, and the warm colours flattered her fine skin and reflected the tawny brown of her eyes.

Kate waited for him to find something to criticise, but he turned abruptly away as the taxi drew up. `You look all right,' was all he said.

Philippe Robard was a slight man of about sixty with an aloof, patrician face. He greeted them courteously and introduced his son, Xavier, who gazed at Kate with frank admiration as he shook her hand. He was darkly handsome with olive skin and caressing eyes, and Kate could feel Luke stiffen with disapproval. Next to the two stylish Frenchmen, he looked massive and granite-hard.

After the initial exchange of courtesies they soon got down to business. It was a tough meeting, and it was clear that Philippe Robard was quite as shrewd a negotiator as Luke. They spoke in French, which meant that Luke could understand and put across the simple facts, but he left Kate to translate the more complex ideas.

Winning a contract like this was not going to be easy, Kate realised as she explained how LPM worked to Philippe and Xavier. Mindful of what Luke had said, she made a special effort to smile and be charming, until even Philippe's stern features relaxed. Xavier was clearly even more impressed. He kept his warm brown eyes on her face, and smiled charmingly back at her.

Kate was very conscious of Luke sitting beside her. There was a coiled tension about him as he leant forward to show Philippe and Xavier photographs of the better-known projects LPM had completed, and she wondered just how much winning this contract meant to him. He was arguing persuasively, but she knew him well enough by now to be able to tell that he was keeping a simmering anger in check. Kate was mystified. She couldn't imagine what he had to be angry about. The meeting was going well, better even than they had hoped.

Xavier caught her eye and smiled as Luke sat back in his chair, and she smiled politely back. Privately she thought he should be studying Luke's figures instead of hers, but Luke had insisted that she be nice, so she had better not spoil things now. Still wondering about Luke, she glanced at him, only to encounter such a blazing look that her eyes widened in surprise.

Philippe chose that moment to rise. `I regret that I have another appointment now,' he said in heavily accented English, `but perhaps we may continue this very interesting discussion this evening?'

`Of course.' Luke got to his feet too. `I hope that you will both be my guests for dinner?' His glance included Xavier, but without much enthusiasm.

`Miss Finch will be there too?' Xavier asked, with another flashing smile at Kate. `Naturally,' Luke said curtly.

`In that case, it will be a real pleasure!'

Outside, the street was crowded with shoppers. Luke set off down the pavement, barely waiting to see if Kate was following. His face was set in forbidding lines, his jaw thrust forward angrily.

`The meeting seemed to go quite well,' Kate ventured, hurrying to keep up.

`We haven't got the contract yet,' he pointed out grumpily.

`Well, no, but I think they were impressed.'

`Oh, they were impressed all right, but I suspect it was more by those big smiles of yours than by anything I might have had to say! I'm not denying that I want this contract badly, but there's no need to offer yourself on a plate for it!'

Kate's jaw dropped, and she stopped dead in the middle of the pavement. `What on earth do you mean?'

'Oh, come on, Kate! All those coquettish looks at Xavier, those little sidelong smiles. I must say, I never suspected you had quite such a talent for flirting!'

`Flirting?' It was so unfair that it took Kate a few moments to get her words out. `I was only being pleasant, as you asked-though ordered might be a more accurate word!'

`There's a difference between being pleasant and laying it on with a trowel!'

Kate's eyes were ablaze with gold as she stalked down the pavement. `Aren't you ever satisfied? You went on and on and on about how I had to be charming, so I was. I smiled and was nice, just as you ordered, and now you turn round and accuse me of flirting! I suppose if I hadn't smiled I'd have been deliberately jeopardising your chances?'

`You didn't do all that much for them, sitting there making eyes at that creep Xavier, either!' Luke snapped, striding along beside her. `God only knows what Robard thought!'

`What should he think? That you had a pleasant and efficient secretary to act as your interpreter, that's all!'

`Yes, one who did her best to distract his son from the details of the proposals! I wouldn't be surprised if Robard thought I'd asked you to do it deliberately because I didn't think the proposal would stand up to much scrutiny. You and Xavier spent so much time smiling at each other that he didn't have a chance to look at the details!'

`He smiled at me, I smiled back! What was I supposed to do, put a bag over my head?'

The tension that had simmered between them all day had flared into anger out of all proportion to what had happened. Kate was beside herself with fury. She had done exactly as Luke had asked, and what thanks did she get? He was totally unreasonable; anyone would think he was jealous, the way he was carrying on! If she had any guts she would tell him just what he could do with his job and get the first train back to Dijon. Let him win his precious contract without her!

Storming onwards, Kate stepped off the pavement without thinking, only to find herself hauled back by an iron hand as a battered Renault shot past with a squeal of tyres, a blast of horn and a rude gesture out of the window.

`For God's sake, look where you're going!' Luke shouted at her. `You could have been killed!'

Kate struggled to free her arm, but Luke kept a firm hold of it as he looked pointedly each way to check that nothing was coming and then marched her across the road.

`Let go of me!'

`You might at least thank me for saving your life!'

'Quite frankly, I don't feel like thanking you for anything at the moment.' Kate managed to shake her arm free at last. `In fact, I don't feel like talking to you at all until you're more reasonable.' She turned towards a side-street. `I'll see you back at the hotel.'

`You're here on business, not pleasure, Kate,' Luke said dangerously. `That means you don't just flounce off on your own without asking!'

`I'm your secretary, not your slave. I'm entitled to some free time.'

A muscle worked in Luke's jaw. `Oh, very well, if you must! There's no point in trying to do any work when you're in this kind of mood. Just make sure you're not late, and come back in a better temper!'

He was a fine one to talk about temper, Kate thought savagely as she stalked off. Muttering to herself about Luke, she hardly noticed where she was going until she found herself unexpectedly on boulevard Haussmann. Determined not to go back to the hotel until the last minute, she went into one of the large department stores that lined the street.

She emerged some time later, clutching a large carrier-bag, a defiant glint in her eyes. If Luke thought that she was set on flirting she would show him just what she could do when she tried!

It was dark by the time she got back to the hotel, and the shop windows along the rue du Faubourg-St-Honore glittered invitingly, each more opulently chic than the last. Kate slowed her steps as she passed, oblivious to the crowds hurrying past her on their way home, her French blood approving the sheer sophistication and style of the displays.

There was no sign of Luke as she collected her key at reception and made her way to her room, but hardly had she put the key in the lock than Luke's door opened, so abruptly that she could almost have suspected that he had been listening out for her.

`About time you turned up! What have you been doing all this time?' he demanded, putting paid to any hope that he might have calmed down enough to apologise.

`Shopping,' Kate said shortly.

`How like a woman! One night away from home, and she has to go to the shops.' Luke glowered and ran his hand through his dark hair. He had evidently been working. His shirt-sleeves were rolled up and his loosened tie hung untidily. `I hope you're going to be ready in time.'

Kate clenched her teeth. `Have I ever been late for anything?'

`No, but there's no telling what you might do in the mood you're in!'

`I am not in a mood!'

Unexpectedly Luke grinned. `Oh, yes, you are! I can always tell when you're angry. Those quiet brown eyes of yours fleck with gold and your chin comes up-just the way it is now.'

Kate decided that that wasn't worth answering. `I shall be ready on time, just as I always am,' she said coldly. `What time would you like to leave?'

'We arranged to meet them at the restaurant, didn't we? We'd better make sure we're there first. I'll give you a knock at seven-or won't that be enough time for you to get ready?'

There was a malicious glint in his eyes and, although Kate knew that she would have to hurry quite unnecessarily, she would have died rather than ask him to give her a few more minutes.

`Seven o'clock will be fine.'

Kate showered quickly and then sat down in front of the mirror in a towelling robe, her wet hair wrapped in a towel. She had been lured to one of the cosmetic counters in the department store, where an immaculately made-up girl had shown her how to transform herself into a woman so sophisticated and alluring that she was almost unrecognisable.

It was as well she still had her French chequebook, Kate thought as she laid the collection of eye-shadows, blushers, foundation and mascara out in front of her. It had been an expensive whim, and it wasn't as if the cosmetics had been her only expense!

She almost lost her nerve when she sat back and looked at the final effect. Her eyes looked huge and sultry, her mouth provocative with its bold outline of red lipstick. The blushers and highlighters had been used more subtly, but no less effectively.

She looked stunning.

She would never be able to carry it off, Kate realised in panic, but it was ten to seven, and there was no time to take it all off and start again. Hurriedly drying her hair, she stepped into the dress she had bought and smoothed it down in front of the mirror.

She had never worn a dress like it. It was black, with short sleeves and a plain round collar that somehow made the slash at the cleavage all the more dramatic. Kate leant forward experimentally and winced. It hadn't seemed quite that revealing in the shop. She would have to sit bolt upright all evening!

Kate studied her reflection with a sense of shock. The dress stopped just above her knees, and the high-heeled shoes merely emphasised the length of her slim legs. She had never looked like this before, with that bright challenging look in her eyes and the wanton provocation of face and figure.

There was a sharp rap on the door and Luke's voice called, `Ready?' impatiently.

A small smile curved Kate's mouth as her doubts suddenly disappeared. Even if Luke sacked her, he would remember her this time!

She picked up her bag and jacket and opened the door just as Luke raised his hand to knock again.

For a long moment he just stared at her, and then his hand fell slowly to his side.

`I'm ready,' said Kate brightly, stepping past him and pulling the door closed behind her.

Luke's eyes dropped to her legs, and then travelled accusingly upwards to her face. `I didn't buy you that dress!'

`This old thing? No, I brought it with me. I thought it might come in handy.'

`Did you, indeed?' he said grimly. `And what about all those clothes I bought you?'

'They're very nice, of course, but I'm allowed to wear some of my own clothes, surely?'

`I'd have preferred it if you'd worn something a little more… suitable. This is a business dinner we're going to, not a nightclub. Perhaps you could remember that?' Luke's face was a mask of disapproval. This was the man who must have seen Helen in far more risqué outfits!

Kate was unrepentant. She felt heady with a sense of her own power tonight. `Don't be so stuffy, Luke. No one could possibly object to a black dress for dinner.'

`It depends on how you wear it! And why are you all made up like that?' Luke asked grumpily 3.s they walked down to the lift. `I suppose all this effort is for Xavier's benefit? Don't tell him you've fallen for that pseudo-French charm!'

'I'm half-French myself-remember?-and I can assure you that there's nothing pseudo whatsoever about his charm,' Kate said sweetly, mowing it would annoy him. `You could learn a lot from him!'

The lift doors whispered open and she swept inside, followed by a scowling Luke. The lift was lined with mirrors and their reflections multiplied around them. Kate risked a peek at Luke. He looked dark and dangerous in his formal suit.

He glanced at her and she looked quickly away, tilting her chin unconsciously.

`I must say, this is a new side to you, Kate,' he said. `I'd never expected you were the kind of girl to own a dress like that.'

`There's a lot you don't know about me.'

`So it seems. How often do you wear it?'

'Oh, quite a lot.'

`Seems funny that you haven't got round to taking off the price tag, in that case,' Luke said sardonically, reaching over to pull the tag out of the neckline behind her.

The nape of her neck shivered where his fingers brushed against it, and colour stained her cheeks as she pulled herself away to tear off the tag resentfully. If he had given her a little more time she would have noticed it herself.

On Xavier's recommendation, she had booked a restaurant in the rue de Buci, a narrow street on the Left Bank. It was already crowded when they arrived, the waiters with their long white aprons threading their way skilfully between the tables.

Kate was in a feisty mood, and kept up a flow of gay conversation while they waited for Philippe and Xavier to arrive, in spite of a distinct lack of encouragement from Luke. When they appeared she greeted them warmly, and was gratified by their admiring attention.

Business was soon disposed of and the discussion became more general. Kate sparkled and flirted outrageously with Xavier while she watched Luke out of the corner of her eyes. He was making a heroic effort to look as if he was enjoying himself, but a muscle worked steadily in his jaw.

Later she could remember little about the meal. She remembered Xavier's caressing eyes resting on her cleavage as she leant forward to pick up her glass, and Philippe's aloof face, warm with amusement. There was a moment of strange lucidity when she caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror, and she remembered thinking that it was like looking at a stranger with flushed cheeks, reckless glittering eyes and over-bright smile. There must be more of her mother in her than she had thought!

She remembered Luke, too. His hands gesturing as he talked to Philippe. The swift smile that didn't include her. The angle of his head as he spoke to the waiter. And once, when she looked up, she found herself staring straight into his implacable slate-hard eyes, unable to look away until he turned away indifferently, leaving her to gulp at her wine and feel suddenly hot.

Xavier, delighted with his vivacious companion, was all for taking Kate on to a nightclub afterwards, but, before she could open her mouth to refuse, a boot-faced Luke was doing it for her.

`Kind of you,' he said curtly, `but I'm going to need Kate to do some work for me first thing tomorrow morning.'

Xavier looked as if he was about to protest, but Philippe was nodding. `Yes, we should all go home.' He held out his hand to Luke. `I have a meeting with my directors tomorrow at nine. Come to my office at eleven and I will let you have a decision then.'