I finally made my book cover for Secret Heart. I picked this photo because it shows how Ashleigh and Luke met.

I’m also going to upload Chapter 5 of Secret Heart – just for the heck of it and because I can.

Secret Heart will be online at Amazon Kindle Books by the end of the week, and I’m excited to see how it might go with a new marketing strategy.

Be sure to pick up a Kindle Fire, 6 inch, glare-free with WiFi if you want to read Secret Heart in full.

 

 

Chapter 5

 

About a half an hour later, someone knocked on the door. Ashleigh glanced out the living room window before answering. There sat Luke’s Jeep. Apparently, she’d been so deep in thought that she hadn’t even heard him drive up. Drawing in a deep breath to still her excitement, she reached for the knob with her left hand. Pain stabbed through her arm at the movement. How could she have forgotten what he’d done? More importantly, how could she continue to daydream of being in his arms when he was a virtual stranger?

Pulling back the door with her right hand, she questioned him flatly. “Now what?”

He smiled as he passed her carrying a half-filled grocery bag. “I was hoping we could start the morning over, but it sounds like that’s out of the question.”

“What’s that?” she asked, following him to the table where he set the sack.

“I robbed my kitchen while the cook was out.” Luke removed the cap on a small jar of pills then passed her the container. “Take one of these while I get the water.”

“I don’t take drugs.”

“It’s not a drug; it’s a medication.” He got a glass of water, returned to her side, and placed it in her hand. “Besides, Dave told me to make sure you take them regularly. I’ll even come back and stuff one down that pretty throat every four hours if you force me to.”

Swallowing the pill with water, she watched as he pushed a button on his watch. “Now what are you doing?”

“Setting my alarm. I’m coming back to make sure you take the next dosage, and I get lost in my work all the time. But first, I’m fixing you breakfast.”

“Don’t bother. I don’t feel very well.”

“It’s probably the pain. I’ll just put the food away and leave you in peace.” Chatting amicably, Luke carried the bag to the counter. “Your job is to relax and keep your arm elevated. If you sit against the arm of the couch, you can lay your arm across the back. Casts can get pretty heavy, even for somebody my size. Next to the itching that sets in that’s worse than the actual break.”

When he completed his task, he sat on the edge of the sofa and toyed with her hair. After a heavy sigh of discontent, he asked, “Do you think you’ll be all right until I get back?”

“Yes.”

“I will be back, you know,” he insisted. “I promised to take care of you, and I’ll keep that promise whether you like it or not.”

“I know.”

“Do you understand that I didn’t mean to hurt you?”

Unable to speak through her emotions, Ashleigh nodded once. Why couldn’t Luke be as much of a jerk as he had been last night? Why did he have to be sweet and caring and considerate? Those attributes made him quite likable, and that made her want to get to know him better.

Luke smiled, revealing the deep dimples that melted her resolve every time. “And do you understand that I’ll never hurt you again? No, before you answer, let me rephrase that. Do you believe I’ll never hurt you again?”

“I don’t know why I should,” she admitted, “but, yes, I believe it.”

A relieved expression came to his eyes, and he released a sigh. “Thank God.”

 

With his hand resting on her cheek, he absently rubbed her soft lips with his thumb. Oh, how he wished he had the courage to kiss her. Other women would have posed no problem, but he sensed Ashleigh was special, unlike any woman he’d ever met. Besides, because of what he’d done, the best way to earn her trust was by moving slowly, drawing her emotionally closer in the process. Until he did that, he had to be content performing this small gesture every time he felt the urge to kiss her.

Rising, he hurried to the door, stammering. “Man, I’ve got to get out of here. I’ve … uh … got work to do.”

“Luke?” He stopped in the doorway and spun to face her before she added, “Thank you for helping.”

With a bow accompanied by a sweeping arm, he winked at her and backed out the door. “I’m at your service, milady—anytime you need me. See you in about four hours.”

***

When Rex returned to the television station after covering a story, he learned that a man with a British accent was waiting for him in the cafeteria. Putting his camera away, he raced to the lunchroom where he expected to find Ashleigh’s father, but the older Ashleigh Prescott wasn’t there. Curious, Rex approached the only stranger present. “You looking for me?”

“Are you Rex Cornelius?” the redheaded man responded.

“That’s right.” Taking a seat across from him, Rex examined the neatly dressed man carefully. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

“You aren’t very polite to a visitor from a foreign country.”

“I don’t appreciate being taken away from my work by a stranger,” Rex explained flatly.

“My name is Harry McKnight, and I’m a private investigator from London. I’m trying to locate Lady Ashleigh Prescott. I was told she’s your cousin.”

“That’s right. What do you want with her?”

“Surely you know she disappeared.”

“Of course.”

“Do you know that Lady Ashleigh and Sir William Weatherly are getting married next month?”

“I ought to. I’m in the wedding.”

“Have you seen or heard from her since her disappearance?”

Rex studied McKnight. “Who are you working for?”

“That’s confidential.”

“You’d better confide in me then, McKnight, because I won’t answer another question unless you do.”

“My client is Sir Weatherly, but Lady Ashleigh’s parents and sister are also anxious to find her.”

“I’ve already talked to my relatives, and Mom talks to Aunt Lynnea every day just in case Ashleigh contacts us. Now stop bothering me.”

“There’s evidence that she may have been kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?” Rex exclaimed. “What kind of evidence?”

“She left the country of her own accord, but her luggage was never claimed in New York. That points to kidnap given her status. I’m taking a chance that she might have gotten free and come to you as long as she was in the country.”

What an odd way to word his statement! Why had he said as long as she was in the country instead of for help? Deciding to let the comment pass, Rex questioned him. “Then you tracked her here?”

“No, but …”

“If you didn’t track her here and if her luggage is still at the airport, why are you here?”

“I told you. I hoped she’d escaped.”

“Why do you think she was kidnapped in the first place? Did you get a ransom note? Or were there clues?”

“No, nothing,” McKnight admitted.

“Then maybe she was just trying to get away from the man. Maybe she changed her mind or got cold feet, or maybe she just needed some time alone to think.”

“She’s been missing for nearly a month. Don’t you even care?”

“I know how the hell long she’s been missing!” Rex proclaimed irately. “She’s part of my family. If she does come here, I’ll call Aunt Lynnea. If not, I don’t know what to do. I can’t get any time off right now, and even if I could, I don’t know what good it would do. Besides, she knows where I am if she wants me. Now I have to get back to work. The news doesn’t stop just because my cousin is missing.”

“Your cousin is the news, Cornelius,” McKnight said bitterly.

Rex hurried from the room and sought out Paul to recount his conversation with McKnight. He had to get his best friend to relay the information to Ashleigh.

“I’m glad you got with me,” Paul said, leading Rex into an empty editing room and closing the door behind them. “We’ve got to talk.”

“What is it?” Rex asked.

“Luke came home yesterday and found your cousin in the cabin.”

“When?”

“Last night.” Paul’s expression turned suspicious, which alerted Rex to be careful. “Right before he rushed Ashleigh to the hospital.”

But Rex couldn’t contain the frantic response that escaped from him. “The hospital? Oh, my God. What happened? Is she okay?”

“I thought so. Ashleigh and Lenore are the same person. Why didn’t you tell me the truth when I asked you about that story? Here I’ve been calling her Lenore, and it isn’t even her name. Even Luke saw through it. Why the hell did you lie?”

Knowing he had no choice now that Paul had tricked him into a confession, Rex decided to confide in his friend. “Ashleigh’s in some kind of trouble in England, and she didn’t want me to tell you. Now tell me what happened.”

“Luke accidentally broke her arm. He’s taking over her care now, too.”

“Then have him give her a message. She didn’t tell anybody she was leaving England, and I just talked to some detective her ex-fiancé hired to track her down.”

“What kind of trouble is she in?”

“Damned if I know,” Rex replied in exasperation. “All she’d say was that it’s serious. It must be, too, or she wouldn’t be in hiding. It’s just not like Ashleigh to run away from something. She usually stands up for herself and her beliefs ‘til the bitter end. Will you relay the message?”

“I can’t guarantee he’ll deliver it. From the way he was acting last night, he’ll keep news like that to himself so he can keep Ashleigh, too. Dave and I think Luke finally found the woman who’ll tame him once and for all.”

“That won’t be Ashleigh. He’s not her type.” Unsure he should ask the question, Rex paused but couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked, “How much does he know about her?”

“Probably nothing, because she sure wasn’t talking last night. Tell me more about this trouble she’s in.”

“I don’t know more. Are you going to tell Luke or not?”

“I’ll tell him, but don’t count on him relaying your message. I’ve never seen him act like that with a woman.”

***

After three unsuccessful calls to Luke, Paul answered his phone to hear Luke’s voice on the other end. When Paul passed on Rex’s information, Luke’s chest felt as though it would explode from disappointment.

“What do you mean her ex-fiancé hired a detective to find her?” he demanded. “She must have told somebody where she was going.”

“According to Rex,” Paul replied, “she didn’t—not her family, and definitely not her ex.”

“Then she obviously doesn’t want anything more to do with him, so I don’t see any sense in bringing up the situation and upsetting her.”

“He must not feel that way, Luke. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be looking for her.”

Luke shuddered at the thought. He’d just met Ashleigh, and he wasn’t about to give her up so soon. He hadn’t even had time to prove that she could trust him. “Why should I tell her when she obviously doesn’t want to marry him anymore?”

“She could have changed her mind, Luke. Just give her the message. Rex thinks she should know.”

“Oh, all right.”

But even as he put down the handset, Luke knew he could never tell Ashleigh that her fiancé wanted her back. If she had changed her mind, she would undoubtedly head straight home for a reunion. Then he would never find out why she created this new emotion in him—one that had been hidden somewhere deep in his soul.

But wasn’t that being deceptive? Wasn’t that showing Ashleigh that she couldn’t trust him when he was trying so hard to gain it? Yes, but that was a chance he was willing to take. At least, he wasn’t flat-out lying to her. Doing that would definitely send her out of his life.

As he considered whether or not to deliver the message, he leaned across his desk to answer the jangling telephone.

“Hi, Luke,” came the woman’s voice on the other end. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Hello, Barb,” he replied.

As Barb spoke to him, he envisioned the beautiful brunette, her hair curled seductively around her face and shoulders—unlike Ashleigh’s relatively straight locks. Barb was twenty-nine to his thirty-five, which was a reasonable age difference. How old was Ashleigh, anyway? No more than twenty-four, he guessed—maybe too great a difference in her estimation. Barb always wore immaculately applied makeup to enhance her beauty. Ashleigh used no cosmetics at all and left her healthy, flawless complexion exposed. Although Barb was undeniably beautiful, he dreamed only of the lovely Ashleigh while Barb spoke into his ear.

“Would you please answer me, Luke?” she asked impatiently, bringing him back to the present. “I don’t have all day, and I need to know when you’re going to pick me up for dinner.”

Since meeting Ashleigh, he had forgotten about the dinner date he’d made. In fact, he’d forgotten about Barb. He had to cancel the date so he could spend the night caring for Ashleigh like he’d promised. Telling Barb their relationship was over would just have to wait.

“I’m sorry, Barb, but I can’t make it tonight after all. It’s a madhouse here. I don’t even want to commit myself to a rain check. I’ll call you within a week. Bye.”

***

“And you believed the man?” William demanded.

“As a matter of fact, I did,” McKnight replied. “Mr. Cornelius was furious with me, but I believed him.”

“Who else did you talk to?”

“Nobody. The news report I had broadcast on the telly didn’t get any response.”

“This is ridiculous. Don’t you know that Cornelius wouldn’t admit to seeing her unless she agreed to it? I gave you a clue as to where to find her, and you couldn’t even follow through properly. This is the worst time for me to leave London, but I don’t have a choice. I have to get Ashleigh back. I’ll be there as soon as I can. In the meantime, you check everything with wheels to see if she got there. Show that photo to everybody you see, too. Somebody should recognize her.”

***

Ashleigh opened her eyes with a start then glanced at her watch. To her amazement, she’d been asleep for almost three hours. She hated medicine that left her senseless. She still had the pain, but she was too out of it to care. It was an awful feeling.

Determined to do something to stay awake, she went into the bathroom for her shampoo. If she weren’t so doped up on medicine, she would take a long bath, but she was afraid she would fall asleep in the tub and drown.

“Then again,” she said as she smiled mischievously at the tub, “Luke might find me and do a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to revive me. Then, being the grateful woman that I am, I’d have to thank him appropriately. And since I wouldn’t have any clothes on, anyway, …”

Ashleigh slapped her hand over her mouth when she heard her words. What was she thinking! She’d never let physical attraction to a man cloud her judgment before. Of course, she’d never seen a man as perfectly built as Luke before, either—not in person, anyway, and not shirtless.

With a dejected sigh, she grabbed her shampoo and wandered to the kitchen. She really needed to try harder to stifle her newfound urgent desires. Granted, she’d had desires before, but they were never all-consuming like those she had for Luke.

Turning on the hot water, she held her finger under the hard stream until it got hot before she turned on the cold and adjusted the temperature. When she was satisfied, she put her head under the faucet to wet down her hair. Finally, she flipped up the shampoo cap and upended it over the back of her head.

If she wanted to be fair, she should tell Luke to stay away from her. Not only would it be easier for her to forget him, it would be a lot safer for him. If she let him get involved with her, he might be in as much trouble as she was.

Shampoo running down her neck and cheeks brought her back to reality. Quickly setting the bottle back on the counter, she glanced at it. She’d poured about a quarter of the contents over her hair. She would never get it all out! Furious with herself, she shouted, “You idiot!”

 

Luke’s gaze shot to the house as he finished dismounting Ramses. Not bothering to tie his mount to the porch rail, he bolted into the house, calling to her frantically.

Ashleigh jerked upward and hit her head on the faucet, splattering water everywhere. “Ow!”

Dashing to the kitchenette, Luke stopped short as she stood erect with her hand on the back of her head and turned toward him. Water and white soap drained down her face and neck onto her T-shirt. A grin came to his lips when he saw how comical she looked but disappeared when he returned his gaze to her eyes, which were narrowed with fury.

“Are you trying to kill me?” she asked angrily. “First it was last night, and now this.”

Luke stifled his laugh as he approached her. She was clearly in no mood for levity, so he had to hold his retort. “Actually, I thought you were in trouble when you screamed like that. I was hoping to rescue you.”

“Well, do me a favor,” she snapped as she bent back over the sink. “The next time you want to play knight-in-shining-armor try not to scare the life out of me. That’s the second time you’ve done it, and I’d prefer not to see if three’s a charm.”

Unable to resist, Luke laughed. “Whatever you say, milady. How about if I wash your hair for you to make amends? At least, I’ll be able to see that the gallon of shampoo you dumped on your head gets out of your hair.”

“That sounds safe enough,” she agreed as he approached her from behind, staring at her jeans-clad derriere.

He averted his gaze to her hair as soon as he stood beside her. If he didn’t get this over with, he would have to seduce her to satisfy his growing excitement.

His fingers slid into her hair languidly and began to massage the shampoo into a luxurious lather. The strong yet gentle movement elicited a moan of pleasure from Ashleigh, and Luke smiled. She wasn’t the only person who liked this. The smooth, soft locks that his fingers worked through created a new kind of sensual excitement within him. He didn’t want to stop, but he knew he must. More than making love with her, he wanted to gain her trust.

“Okay, milady,” he said, almost afraid to speak. “Time to rinse.”

“Already?” she complained. “I was actually enjoying that.”

“Me, too, but I’d prefer that you keep the hair on your head and not wash it all away.” His watch beeped three times, and he knew the time without looking. “Besides, I’ve been washing for about ten minutes now.”

Laying his wet, soapy hand between her shoulder blades, he pushed her down gently. He hadn’t noticed before because he’d been so caught up in what he was doing, but now he realized that she wore no bra. Thank God, the shirt was dark so he wouldn’t be able to see anything through it. He wasn’t sure he would be able to restrain his passions if he could.

“Isn’t the soap out yet?” she asked impatiently. “I’m getting stiff in this position.”

Startled, Luke jerked away and glanced around for the towel. Seeing none, he said, “I don’t know where your mind was when you started this little project, but it’s a good thing I came when I did.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked.

“You forgot your towel. If you’ll excuse me, milady, I’ll very quietly play your knight again.”

 

While Ashleigh waited, Luke strode into the bathroom. He was being so nice, so much of a gentleman. He was even being a bit entertaining. If he kept acting like this, she could easily lose her ability to keep her distance.

“I’m back,” he announced cheerfully.

Ashleigh was so deep in thought that she started at the sound of his voice, bumping her head again. Laughing, he helped her wrap the towel around her head but waited until she stood before him to speak.

“That one was your fault, milady. I warned you …” His gaze drifted to her shirt. This time she didn’t need to follow his gaze to know what he saw. Her nipples were hard against the cold, damp cloth of her shirt. She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. Then he shot his look back to her face and said, “It’s time to take another pill, Ashleigh. Then I have some more work to do before I come back to fix your dinner.”

“Must I take one, Luke? They make me awfully groggy.”

“Does your arm hurt?”

“Of course, but it isn’t so bad that I can’t bear it.”

“Then you’re going to take another one. Look at it this way, Ashleigh. If it hurts now, while you still have some medication in your system, how do you think it will feel if you don’t take your medicine?”

Ashleigh sighed in resignation. “I suppose you’re right. I should take it, but I hope you meant what you said about cooking dinner, because that medicine makes me terribly drowsy.”

“Oh, I meant it, all right” he said, getting her a pill. As he handed it to her, he added, “But do us both a favor. Change your shirt and put on a bra. If you don’t, I can’t promise that I’ll be able to stay a gentleman.”

With those words, he strode to the door and left. Stunned, Ashleigh waited until the door closed before she looked down at herself. The cold material hugged her breasts and showed off her hardened buds.

Suddenly embarrassed, she took the pill then hurried into the bedroom to change her shirt.