Back To Luke

“Jayne? What did Andrew do when you told him?”

“He wasn’t happy with me at all. He thought I should go back to California and fight this.”

“Could you do that?”

“No. They have my drawings, the specs from the contractors and the builders, and information from everyone else involved in the gallery’s construction. They don’t want any more of my input.” She shook her head. “So I won’t be going back to New York, either. The office closes for the month of May while everyone takes vacation. I usually go to my condo in Florida and sketch out some preliminary drawings for new projects before we get to them formally. I’ll head down there to do that, but I wanted to see you and Jess first.”

“You’ll do no such thing. You’ll stay here with me.” She gestured to Luke, who’d taken a break.

Following Eleanor’s gaze, Jayne watched him pull a bandanna out of his shorts pocket and wipe his brow, then take a swig of bottled water. Her attention riveted on his throat and she remembered with vivid clarity putting her mouth there.

“You can help me with my gardens, so Luke and Jess won’t have to do that, too.”

“It could take weeks to get a final verdict. I can’t impose on you that long, Eleanor.”

“At least wait until Jess gets back to make a decision.”

She’d known this was going to be tricky before she came to town. Jess hadn’t told his mother about Naomi’s dislike of Jayne or the breach his wife’s feelings had caused in Jayne’s relationship with Jess. As far as Eleanor knew, Jayne had been too busy to visit Riverdale. Now, if she refused to stay, it wouldn’t make sense to the older woman. Or to Luke. Jess had also kept Naomi’s suspicions from him—at least he had in the past.

Oh, who was Jayne kidding? She wanted to stay. She’d made the conscious decision to come to Riverdale despite the consequences. “I guess I could do that.”

“Then it’s settled. You’ll stay until at least next Saturday.”

After petting the dog, which had jumped up on her lap, then setting the animal on the ground, Eleanor stood. “Now go get Luke. It’s time for lunch.”

“He’ll eat with us?” The thought make her heart rate speed up.

Eleanor chuckled. “After he cleans up in the laundry room.”

When Eleanor went into the house, Jayne rose and reluctantly made her way down the steps and through the flower beds toward the gazebo. Surrounded by their colorful blossoms and scent, with the sun on her face, Jayne experienced a sense of peace. She stopped and took a minute to steep herself in the rare emotion of contentment.

“I feel that way, too, when I’m here.”

She hadn’t realized she was a few feet away from Luke. “What are you talking about?”

“The gardens. They calm me. Your expression says they do the same to you.”

Not wanting to encourage any connection with him, she turned her attention toward the gazebo. Unable to help herself, she ran her hand over the curved railing. “This is lovely. I especially like that the structure is cohesive with the house.”

“I’m glad to have your approval.” His tone was sarcastic.

Stiffening, she spoke curtly. “Eleanor said to tell you it’s time for lunch.”

He bit out, “I’m not fit for company.”

“That’s what I thought.” She ignored his raised brow. “But she said you can clean up in the laundry room. You’re sprung for the day, I guess.” I hope.

“Maybe.” He climbed down the ladder.

When Jayne turned to leave, he grabbed her by the arm and yanked her around. At the clasp of his strong fingers on her again, she startled. And damn it, she liked the feel of them. “How long are you hanging around?” he asked.

“Eleanor invited me to stay with her until Jess gets back.”

“You can’t do that.”

“I can do whatever I want.”

“Don’t you care about how you’ve hurt everybody here?”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Stop playing innocent, like you did in New York. I never would have gotten you that contract with Madison Conglomerates if I’d known you’d slept with Jess.” His expression turned hard. “And I never would have had a fling with you.” His eyes narrowed. “It took me a while to figure out that was why you didn’t want anyone back here to know we were involved.”

“That had nothing to do with keeping our relationship quiet.” Her voice rose with anger ignited by his accusation. “I like my privacy, is all. And I never slept with Jess.”

“That’s not what Naomi thinks. Hell, I still can’t believe neither you nor Jess told me about her feelings.”

“Because they weren’t warranted.”

“Or because Jess knew I wouldn’t put in a good word with Granger Madison to get a junior associate from Prentice Architects a job on building those luxury condos.”

“It was a job I did very well.”

Crossing his arms over his bare chest, he glared at her. “Still, you ran away when there was a scandal at Prentice.”

“I finished my part on the condos for Madison Conglomerates. I didn’t like the direction Prentice Architects was taking, so I left when I got a better offer in California.”

“Is that what you’re telling yourself?”

“It’s the truth.”

“You ran, Jayne. Like you’ve been running all your life.” He shook his head. “And you didn’t even have the decency to talk to me about leaving. You didn’t even say goodbye to me!”

Well, that was true. She’d never told him she’d taken a job in California because he would have—could have—kept her in New York. Luke was a fighter, had always been one, and she knew intuitively he would have fought to keep her with him. When things had calmed down, that fact made her incredibly sad. Yet she’d never contacted him again.

“In any case, Prentice Architects was exonerated. I read it in their follow-up correspondence.”

“So you could have stayed.”

“I told you that wasn’t why I left.”

His expression softened a bit. “Look, Jayne, I know that what happened in college to you and Jess affected you. But you shouldn’t have run away at the threat of scandal.”

Damn it, why had Jayne confided in him about the Cornell incident? “The two had nothing to do with each other.”

From the porch they heard Eleanor call out, “Jayne, Luke, are you coming?”

Looking annoyed, Luke held up his hand. “If you stay in town, don’t hurt Jess and his family again, or you’ll answer to me.”