No Mistaking Love

series of flashcards flicking rapidly in front of her eyes: Luke walking down the quiet village street, Luke reaching up to pull Helen off her horse, Luke running his hand down Helen's bare arm in a gesture which had shaken Kate even then with a frisson of sexual awareness.

He was standing in front of her, studying her face intently. Kate had no choice but to look back at him as coolly as she could. Close to, he seemed bigger than she remembered, as if his frame had thickened out to lean, muscled strength. Those lines around his eyes had not been there before and nor had the grooves in his cheeks. Luke might be successful now, but the last few years had not been easy ones.

`Stand up,' he ordered abruptly.

Kate raised her brows in unconscious hauteur, and he ground out, `Please!'

She stood.

Kicking the chair out of the way, Luke walk round her, studying her figure so impersonally that Kate felt herself quiver with anger.

`You'll do,' he said at last. `You've got good legs and a neat figure, but you need to smart yourself up a bit.'

`I wasn't aware that I was taking part in beauty contest!' Kate's eyes flashed dangerously again, and Luke stiffened.

He turned her to face him properly and to her chin in one strong hand, forcing it up so that she had to look mutinously into penetrating slate eyes.

`I thought I recognised you,' he said.

CHAPTER THREE

KATE couldn't move. She stared helplessly up at Luke, waiting for the jeering contempt she was sure he would feel at recognising her.

Very carefully he undid the clip holding up her hair so that the thick brown tresses uncoiled and tumbled about her face. She could feel his fingers brush against her cheek and lift her hair, and was conscious suddenly of the lean, powerful body so close to hers.

Her eyes dropped and she stared woodenly at his tie. It was dark blue silk with a discreet golden crest. Why didn't he say something? How much would he remember about the plain, awkward girl she had been? Would he remember kissing her? Would he remember the way she had responded so eagerly? It must have been so obvious that it was her first kiss.

`You were at the theatre last night.'

`At the theatre?' Kate repeated stupidly. She had been so busy thinking about the past that she had forgotten about the meeting that had triggered all the memories.

`Don't pretend you don't remember! You were the girl who was looking daggers at me in the theatre bar. I thought you looked familiar when you came in, but it was only when you gave me that look that I remembered where I'd seen you. Tell me, what did I do to earn such disapproval?'

Kate felt her breath leak out with relief. He hadn't remembered! Immediately the thought that he might have done seemed ridiculous. She stepped back to give herself time to gather her wits together, and felt the wooden desk against her thighs.

The thick hair tumbling about her face left her feeling curiously vulnerable. She pushed it behind her ears.

`I must have done something to offend you,' Luke persisted. `I couldn't mistake that fierce look. It's not at all like your usual demure expression, and you didn't look at anyone else like that. You kept that very nice smile for your friend.'

There was a steely note to his voice, and Kate swallowed. `You didn't do anything to offend me.'

`Then why the glare?'

`I…' Kate searched her mind feverishly for some kind of reason that would satisfy him. `I thought you were someone I knew,' she said at last, keeping as close to the truth as she dared.

`Is that why you were staring at me in the mirror?'

Trust him to notice that! Faint colour tinged Kate's cheekbones. `I was trying to decide whether I knew you or not.'

`And what did this unfortunate man who looks like me do to earn such a look?'

`I really don't think that's any of your business,' Kate said quellingly.

To her relief, and somewhat to her surprise, he let that go. `I suppose that's why you looked so surprised when you saw me today?'

Didn't he miss anything? `It just seemed an extraordinary coincidence to see you again.'

Luke's flat blue-grey stare held her immobile. `I'm not a great believer in coincidence,' he said.

`You're working for him?' Serena's voice rose to a shriek. `The same Luke Hardman you were telling me about last night? I thought you didn't like him?'

`You don't have to like your boss, do you?'

'It usually helps!'

`Well, I think I'll get used to him.' Kate had rushed home to telephone Serena with the news of her job. `It's too good a job to turn down, Serena.'

`Does he know who you are? Or, rather, does he know that you know who he is?'

'No. He recognised me from last night, but not before.'

`I'm surprised he didn't recognise your name,' Serena said.

`It's not that surprising. If he remembers me at all it would be as Catherine Haddington-Finch, but I'm just plain Kate Finch on my CV. I dropped the Haddington when we went to France-it was too much for the French to cope with! And Finch isn't an unusual name. There's no reason why he should make any connection.'

`You hope!'

Kate made a face at the receiver. `I'm sure he won't. I thought you'd be pleased that I've got a job at last!'

'I am, Kate. I just hope you don't regret tangling with this Luke Hardman again.'

Serena's words echoed ominously the following Monday as Kate took the lift up to the fourth floor. She hoped fervently that she was doing the right thing. Lying alone in the dark at night, she would shift uneasily, unsettled by memories of Luke and a vague sense that getting involved with him again-even on a strictly business basis-was asking for trouble.

But in the bright light of morning her reservations seemed ridiculous. Luke would never remember her; it was stupid to let one stupid incident in the past prevent her from taking on an interesting and well-paid job. Besides, Solange had come out of school for the weekend. She was still a little homesick, and missing her parents, and had been so delighted to have a familiar figure as a refuge from school that Kate's resolve to stay in England was strengthened.

She dressed with care for her first morning at work in a severely cut suit in a Prince of Wales check. It made her look formidably efficient and bolstered her confidence. She had a feeling she was going to need it.

Luke barely glanced at her as she went into the office and wished him good morning. His head vas bent over a report, and a pile of papers on his desk bore witness to the fact that he had been here for some time already. His jacket was slung over a chair and he had loosened his tie to work n shirt-sleeves, the white cotton rolled up to reveal the dark hairs on his powerful forearms.

`Morning,' he said in a brusque voice. `Glad o see you're here on time. I've got a lot to get through this morning.' He turned a page of the report and picked up a pen to make a note. `Are you ready to start?'

Kate had made a point of arriving half an hour earlier than necessary, but now she wished she hadn't. It was clear that she would have to take a stand right away if he was to avoid his taking her for granted!

`I'd like a coffee first while I sort myself out,' he said firmly. `I haven't even had time to find myself a notebook yet!'

'Oh, very well, but hurry up about it!'

Kate suppressed a sigh. It was no use expecting charm from Luke and she couldn't say that he hadn't warned her. `Would you like a coffee, as I'm making one?' she asked.