The Man From her Wayward Past

by Susan Stephens

  The Luke? Does that mean the Enforcer will be playing less polo? If Luke’s still on Nero’s team and playing against us, that can only be a good thing—no? Kruz.

  Ruiz—No one pushed the boundaries more than you, so I wouldn’t want you thinking it might be amusing to tell the man I love about the time I had to be hosed down from the roof after an argument with Nacho. Or the day I reported him to the police for confiscating my gum.

  Sorry, Luce—you can guess where Ruiz is. Do you need the services of an agony aunt, or is that just me? Oops. Forgot. I am an agony aunt.

  Love you, Luce. Whatever you want is what I want for you. And if I can do anything for you at any time you only have to ask. Xoxoxo

  OKAY, so admittedly some of those responses weren’t exactly what she had hoped for. It seemed the world went on turning and the only thing that had changed was how she and Luke felt about each other. Polo men were difficult, she thought, glancing at him.

  Had anyone said this would be easy?

  As their love affair progressed things moved fast towards the forthcoming party and the high-profile polo match on the beach. To draw the crowds Luke had arranged for several top international polo players to attend. He would head one team, while Lucia’s notorious brother Nacho would head the other. Luke’s parents were also expected to attend. The Fearsome Forsters, as Lucia had used to think of them when she was a child. Daddy Forster was a self-confessed stiff-backed son of old money, while Luke’s mother was so posh she’d make a queen look common.

  Wanting to make sure she had everything covered, Lucia had called a meeting in the cosy kitchen for a final chat-through.

  ‘I’ll leave you two to get on with things,’ Margaret said when the meeting was over. She sensed love in the air, and Margaret’s blue eyes were sparkling with suppressed excitement.

  It seemed all her ghosts had been laid to rest, Lucia reflected as Luke reached for her hand. She had no worries about her brothers coming to Cornwall to spirit her back to Argentina, where she’d resume Cinderella duties at the ranch. Luke would never put up with it, and she had moved way past that.

  Margaret stopped by the door on her way out of the room. ‘There goes the old caravan,’ she said, reminding them that Luke had arranged for brand-new lodges to be raised on proper foundations in the holiday park. ‘I have fond memories of that caravan,’ she mused as it trundled past the window.

  Lucia hardly dared raise her eyes to Luke’s.

  If she had one worry now it was the thought of Luke’s parents attending the party. Mr and Mrs Forster idolised their only son, and Lucia couldn’t imagine that anyone would ever be good enough in their eyes for Luke.

  As if sensing her concern, Luke put his arm around her shoulders. ‘Stop worrying,’ he said. ‘You’ve got everything covered. It’s going to be fine.’

  Was it? Then why was she feeling a niggle of unease?

  Later that day Luke was in the stables while Lucia was standing with Grace outside the guest house, waiting for the Argentinian polo circus to arrive. Grace was still working at the club, but now Lucia had left she felt guilty at leaving her friend behind. She hoped they could always be friends, and she’d thought this would be a great opportunity for Grace to meet the rest of Lucia’s family, about whom Grace had heard so much.

  ‘This is something no woman should miss,’ Lucia confided wryly as the first vehicles driven by her brothers and their entourage crested the brow of the hill.

  ‘You’re not kidding!’ Grace exclaimed as the parade of vehicles came closer. ‘Who is that incredible-looking man?’

  ‘Which one?’ Lucia intoned in a mock-weary tone. She was used to fending off questions about her brothers.

  ‘That big one with the wild black hair and tattoos.’

  ‘I’m afraid you’re going to have to be a little more specific …’

  ‘And an earring. Oh, my goodness,’ Grace breathed, clutching her chest. ‘He’s totally sex on legs.’

  ‘I’m afraid I’m no closer,’ Lucia admitted. ‘I have four brothers, all with dark hair and tattoos, and at least a couple of them wear earrings. Brigands are in vogue this year, I’m told,’ she added dryly.

  ‘The one leaning out of the window of that black tank on wheels.’ Grace clutched her arm. ‘Lucia—he’s looking at me like he can see right through my clothes.’

  ‘Nacho, you wretch!’ Lucia exclaimed as the beast of an SUV slowed to a halt beside them. ‘Do you have nothing better to do than terrorise my friends?’

  ‘Just looking,’ Nacho said without apology but with a wolfish smile. ‘Nice friend …’ And with one last appraisal Nacho pushed the sunglasses back up his nose and closed the window.

  If only everything in life could go so as smoothly as this, Lucia thought later, hoping those would never be classed as ‘famous last words’ as she spotted Grace and Nacho chatting to each other in the yard.

  Nacho towered over Grace, who was quite tall herself, and Lucia’s typically taciturn brother seemed unusually animated today. With a smile she hurried on to make sure everything was ready inside the guest house for Luke’s parents.

  The Forsters arrived about an hour later, with an entourage of their own, and Lucia was hugely relieved when both Luke’s father and mother declared themselves charmed by the guest house.

  Well, that was two discerning families satisfied, she concluded, as Nacho added his praise to theirs.

  ‘The Sundowner is even better than I remember,’ Luke’s mother was assuring Margaret. ‘Always so quaint. And now so of the moment …’

  Margaret looked blankly at Lucia.

  ‘Thank you,’ Lucia said brightly, stepping in.

  ‘And Margaret tells me you were the driving force behind the restoration of the guest house?’ Luke’s mother commented, sizing Lucia up.

  It was some time since they’d seen each other, Lucia reassured herself as she explained that putting the Sundowner back on the map had been a team effort. ‘We all played our part,’ she said pleasantly.

  ‘With Luke’s money …’

  A million responses flashed through Lucia’s head, but she countered the comment with a welcoming smile. ‘Can I show you to your room, Mrs Forster? I’m sure you must be tired after your journey and keen to freshen up?’

  Round one to the wild Acosta, Luke’s amused eyes reassured Lucia. They both knew that at one time Lucia might have retaliated rather differently to his mother’s not so veiled observation that Lucia might have been a pleasant enough fellow guest at the Sundowner all those years back, but that she was under suspicion in her new role as Luke’s business partner.

  ‘Lucia and Luke working together …’ Luke’s father murmured, hanging back to share an amused and kindly smile with Lucia. ‘Do you two have anything else to tell me?’

  ‘Like that we’ve stopped fighting?’ Lucia suggested.

  ‘I was thinking of something more interesting than that.’

  ‘I’m sure you’ll love the suite I’ve chosen for you,’ Lucia said quickly. ‘It has a marvellous view of the sea.’

  ‘And you, my dear, are more diplomatic than you were as a child.’

  Lucia flashed a glance at Luke on her way out of the room. She knew she would never fit the mould and be stamped ‘Approved’ when Luke’s father barely approved of his own son, and Luke’s mother didn’t approve of anyone. But what Luke thought was the only thing that mattered, Lucia reassured herself as Luke’s hand brushed her arm in a brief show of support as she left the room.

  He had arranged everything to the second, so that nothing went wrong. He had the ring in his pocket and he was going to wait until the party on the beach was in full swing and no one would notice if he had a very special private moment with Lucia. The match had created an incredible buzz, which was still reverberating through the crowd. The night was warm, the moon was shining, and a top band was setting the mood with sexy South American music.

  Now all he needed was Lucia, who had gone to change out of her work c
lothes so she could enjoy the party.

  Margaret was going to mount the stage first to thank everyone for coming. Luke would speak next.

  Once that was done he would find Lucia. Guessing romance had never figured very highly in Lucia’s life—mainly because of her fear that her brothers would laugh at her—he wanted to do something special for her. Something that didn’t involve her brothers looking over her shoulder.

  Grace had helped her to choose a dress for the party, which had involved a lengthy shopping trip to the nearest town.

  ‘Instead of hiding your voluptuous figure, you should celebrate it,’ Grace had pronounced.

  So instead of a dress with a yoke and enough material in the skirt for a second marquee, Lucia was wearing a red off-the-shoulder number that clung lovingly to every curve.

  ‘You look sensational,’ Grace breathed in awe when Lucia had finished her make-up. ‘Your hair’s glorious.’

  ‘Luke’s never seen me dressed in anything but dungarees, jeans or a suit,’ she said, craning her neck to examine her rear view. Or naked, she silently amended.

  ‘You look fabulous,’ Grace assured her. ‘You only have to see the way Luke looks at you to know that he thinks so too.’

  ‘I just hope his mother doesn’t think I look too tarty.’

  ‘The only problem you’ve got is that his father’s tongue will be dragging on the floor.’ Grace stopped as they both glanced out of Lucia’s bedroom window to see Lucia’s brothers sauntering into the courtyard.

  ‘When you grow up with that bunch it’s enough to give anyone an inferiority complex,’ Lucia explained wryly as Grace groaned softly at the sight of Nacho spearheading the group.

  Lucia laughed. ‘It’s time to pick your tongue off the floor, I think.’

  ‘You’re right,’ Grace agreed, turning away from the window. ‘We’ve got a party to go to.’

  If only she hadn’t overheard that conversation between Luke’s parents as she passed their room she might have been able to face the evening with all the new-found confidence that restoring the guest house and being with Luke had given her. Well … it certainly explained the sense of doom that had been dogging her, Lucia accepted as Grace hurried on ahead.

  ‘If only she weren’t one of those wretched Acostas, Donald,’ Luke’s mother had been saying. ‘They’re such a wild bunch. It’s hard enough coming to terms with the fact that Luke and Lucia are working together on this tiny project, but to have Luke tell you that he has fallen in love with her …’

  There had been a pause here, doubtless for a shocked expression.

  ‘Why couldn’t Luke pick a nice, refined girl from the country club?’

  Yes. Why couldn’t he? Lucia had wondered, not waiting to hear Luke’s father’s reply.

  From the reflection she caught sight of in the mirror as she passed the door to the Forsters’ suite now, Luke’s mother was, as always, immaculately groomed, while Lucia felt more of a mess than ever. She’d styled her hair hastily, and it was already falling down. She worried again that her dress was too sexy—it certainly wasn’t something she could imagine any of the girls from the country club wearing. For a moment she felt sick at the thought of seeing Luke again.

  ‘Lucia.’

  She glanced up to see Luke’s father coming down the stairs. ‘You go ahead,’ she told Grace. Lucia was managing the guest house now. She could hardly turn and flee at the first sign of trouble. ‘Is there anything you need?’ she asked Luke’s father with concern.

  ‘The suite is perfection—just a word or two, if you have the time …?’

  ‘I’ve always got time for you,’ Lucia said, remembering that the formidable Forster papa had been a good friend of her equally formidable father.

  ‘I just wanted you to know, Lucia, how pleased I am.’

  ‘I’m so glad you like the room—’

  ‘I’m just trying to say, in my clumsy way,’ Luke’s father interrupted, ‘how pleased I am that you have brought Luke out of himself, reminding him of a time when he was truly happy. By doing that you have stopped him becoming obsessive about business. At least that’s what I think—and what Margaret tells me. She says she’s never seen either of you so happy.’

  ‘Working together has been surprisingly good,’ Lucia admitted carefully.

  ‘There’s more to life than work, Lucia,’ Luke’s father said gently, ‘as I’m always telling my son. Margaret says you have been through the mill, but now you’re smiling again.’

  ‘It has helped being here,’ she admitted.

  ‘You can’t shy away from your feelings here—even if they hurt like hell,’ Donald Forster observed shrewdly.

  Luke’s father must be hurting too, Lucia realised as she watched his face grow sad. ‘I know you and my father were very close.’

  ‘He was one of my dearest friends,’ Luke’s father confirmed. ‘And it isn’t easy for a man to make a friend. But it must have been hard for you to begin with, coming back here, Lucia?’

  ‘Cathartic too,’ she admitted.

  ‘For me also,’ Donald Forster admitted quietly. ‘Anyway,’ he said, bringing her back to the present, ‘I know we Forsters must seem a bit lofty sometimes, but I just wanted you to know that I’m glad you and Luke have found each other again. There is a sort of symmetry to it, don’t you think?’

  Was that a declaration of acceptance? Lucia wondered. Or had Donald Forster heard her hurrying past the open door to his suite earlier? Something in those kindly eyes said he had. But would Luke’s mother ever be reconciled when Lucia was patently not the kind of daughter-in-law she had in mind?

  She was wrong for Luke, and wrong for his family, and the last thing Lucia wanted was to buy her happiness at the expense of anyone else’s.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Get a non-polo playing man

  It seems fate has other ideas.

  I might be forgiven for wondering if there is any other type of man. Even Luke’s father was mounted on one of the quieter ponies for a brief canter round the field. And Luke has always been The Only Man. Even at age fourteen, when I first wrote the list, I only added ‘non-polo-playing’ because Luke had less and less time for me. As polo took over his life Luke could only be bothered to shoot me threatening looks and gallop on. Threatening what? I used to wonder. Well, now I know. Oh, boy, do I know …

  So that ‘non-polo-playing man’ will just have to find some other girl to woo, because I’m hooked on tail shots, tackle and flying hooves.

  THE party had started without a hitch and was still going strong. He was so proud of Lucia. All she had needed was a chance to shine in her own right, away from the glare of her four domineering brothers. Even Lucia’s sister-in-law Maxie, who was a bona fide party-planner, had made a point of coming up to him to say what a fabulous party Lucia had arranged.

  His glance swept the beach, and then the lasers flashing on a stage where a rock band was in full swing. All age-groups were represented beneath banners proclaiming, ‘THE SUNDOWNER’S BACK!’ and Margaret was in the centre of the dance floor, dancing with the local farmer.

  Luke patted the ring box in his pocket, just to check. Tonight was the pinnacle of the lifetime he had spent loving Lucia. He turned to see her picking her way down the cliff path with her shoes in her hand.

  ‘Luke.’

  She felt limp with fatigue when he took her in his arms. ‘You must be tired,’ he murmured, stroking her hair. ‘Must you stay much longer?’

  ‘Until the last person goes,’ she said, lifting her chin.

  ‘Has something upset you?’ He was surprised by the detached note in her voice.

  ‘Someone,’ she said, moving back.

  ‘Who?’ he demanded frowning.

  ‘Me,’ she said, already heading for the rock pool.

  Kneeling down by the edge of the water, she seemed oblivious to the fact that her pretty party dress was soaking up the brine. Swirling her fingers across the smooth surface, she shattered the ribbon of moonlight
shimmering on the cool surface. ‘What have you told your father about us?’

  ‘That I love you and want us to be together when this project is finished.’

  ‘And your mother? What does she think about it?’

  ‘What does my mother have to do with it?’ He frowned.

  ‘Quite a lot, I would think,’ she said, still refusing to look at him.

  Doubt coursed through him. ‘Don’t you want us to be together?’

  ‘Are you really serious about it, Luke?’

  ‘Of course. Why shouldn’t I be?’ His frown deepened.

  ‘I would have thought that was obvious.’

  ‘Well, not to me it isn’t. I only know that I love you and want to be with you.’

  ‘You must know what your mother thinks of my family.’

  He swore softly under his breath. ‘I know my mother’s secretly thrilled to be here,’ he argued. ‘Danger is forbidden at the country club, which makes it irresistible. Whatever she might say for effect, just being here is a great feather in my mother’s cap—’

  ‘Rubbing shoulders with my four dangerous brothers?’ Lucia interrupted.

  ‘With your very glamorous and intriguing brothers,’ Luke corrected her. ‘That’s how my mother will see it, I’m sure. And, more importantly, how her friends at the country club will see it. They’ll be green with envy, and she will revel in that fact—’

  ‘And me?’

  ‘You’re the only woman I want, Lucia.’

  ‘You’re sure you wouldn’t rather have some chic blonde from the country club?’

  Dragging her into his arms, Luke cupped her face so she was forced to look at him. ‘How can you have doubts when I adore you?’

  ‘Because I overheard your mother saying something to your father …’

  She said this in her usual frank way, but her eyes were swimming with tears of hurt, and his heart went out to her for all the things he had taken for granted and which Lucia, growing up in a family ruled by her brothers, had never known.