I must get back to work. But I’ll drive you home first.’
‘Absolutely not. I’ll walk back.’ Kate looked up at him anxiously as they reached the car. ‘You probably think I had the most awful nerve, lying in wait for you like that.’
He’d smiled down into the dark eyes fastened on his as though his answer was a matter of life and death. ‘I couldn’t believe my luck,’ he assured her huskily, and clenched his hands to stop them reaching for her. ‘Are you free this evening?’
Later that night, after a session in the cinema more like hours of foreplay to Jack, he parked in a lane on the way back to Kate’s home, ready to explode if he didn’t kiss her, and almost before he could switch off the engine she was in his arms and his mouth was on hers. They devoured each other greedily, kissing and caressing until neither could breathe and the inside of the car was like a sauna.
‘You’re killing me,’ groaned Jack. ‘But I’ll die a happy man—almost.’
Kate rubbed her cheek against his, threading her fingers through his thick black hair. ‘What would it take to make you really happy?’
‘Honestly?’
‘Honestly!’
He cupped her face in fierce hands. ‘To get you naked, kiss every inch of you and make love until we’re both brainless.’
Shivering in delight at the thought, Kate licked the tip of her tongue round her parted lips and Jack growled and began kissing her again. At last he thrust her away with unsteady hands and fastened her seat belt.
‘Does your sister know you’re out with me?’ he demanded.
‘Of course,’ she said breathlessly, and slanted a sparkling look at him. ‘Elizabeth is looking forward to meeting you.’
Jack swallowed. ‘Really?’
‘Don’t panic.’ She gave a wicked chuckle. ‘She only wants you to finish her extension quickly!’
From the first they saw as much of each other as Jack’s workload allowed, and he made a point of visiting the Sutton house regularly once work was underway to make sure the extension was completed in good time. His aim was to impress Kate’s family with his firm’s work, and at the same time convince them that Jack Logan was a suitable husband for her. To his relief Elizabeth and Robert approved of both, and gave their blessing when he eventually asked permission to marry Kate.
Looking on her consent as a mere formality, Jack had proposed, supremely confident that Kate was so much in love with him she would forget her ambitions about a job in London.
What a fool! He flung out of bed to stand at his window, staring savagely at the night sky. Kate had been thrilled to wear his mother’s engagement ring, and deliriously happy to make plans for a wedding.
‘In the meantime,’ she told him eagerly, ‘you can apply for jobs in London. You could start with the construction company you worked for before—’
‘Hey! Hold on, Kate,’ he interrupted, frowning. ‘I have no intention of working in London.’
‘But Jack,’ she said, taken aback, ‘you’ll have to when I get a job there.’
‘Look, sweetheart,’ he said, trying hard to be reasonable, ‘Dad and I have big plans for Logan and Son. Even if I wanted to, which I most definitely do not, I couldn’t desert him now, just when things are really starting to take off.’
Kate stared at him in blank dismay. ‘But you’ve always known what I wanted to do.’
Jack held on to his temper with difficulty. ‘I thought you wanted to marry me.’
‘I do want to marry you! But I want a career in London at the same time. We could both have one, Jack.’ She looked at him in pleading. ‘I’m sure your father wouldn’t hold you back if he knew how you feel.’
‘You mean how you feel,’ Jack told her shortly, then took her by the shoulders before laying it on the line. ‘Listen, Kate, I couldn’t stand being a little cog in some big company’s machine. I want to build up my own outfit, not just for my father’s sake, but for mine. I intend to run my own show one day. If you love me, stay and help me.’
But Kate was already sliding the ring from her finger, tears pouring down her face as she held it out. ‘I do love you—I’m crazy about you. But you’d better hang on to the ring for a while because I really need to do something with my life before I settle down here for good. I’m not ready for that yet,Jack.’