His wife…. Yes, that was what she was. But in name only….

Could she actually change this situation by having Nick make love to her? Gemini knew she would do anything to try to salvage their marriage. Anything at all…. He was so good-looking, Gemini groaned inwardly. The darkness of his hair was ruffled, the hard planes of his face softened by the muted lighting in the room, the warmth of his body seeming to reach out and enfold her.

“Gemini…?” he questioned uncertainly, his gaze narrowed on her flushed face. Flushed because she wanted Nick, wanted him so much she physically ached with it. And the way things stood between them, she knew she had little to lose! Besides, she was Nick’s wife, damn it, and if any woman was entitled to share his bed, it was her! She would not give Nick up without a fight!

CAROLE MORTIMER says, “I was born in England, the youngest of three children—I have two older brothers. I started writing in 1978, and have now written over one hundred books for Harlequin Presents®.

“I have four sons, Matthew, Joshua, Timothy and Peter, and a bearded collie called Merlyn. I’m very happily married to Peter senior. We’re best friends as well as lovers, which is probably the best recipe for a successful relationship. We live on the Isle of Man.”

To Mend a Marriage
Carole Mortimer

MILLS & BOON

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My husband,

Peter

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

EPILOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

A BABY!

On her doorstep!

This couldn’t be happening. There must be some sort of mistake. And it certainly hadn’t been made by her!

Gemini continued to look blankly at the woman standing beside the carrycot, cursing the fact it was the housekeeper’s day off. She had no doubts that Mrs James would have dealt with this situation in her usual capable manner—probably without bothering Gemini with it at all!

As it was, Gemini had been caught completely off guard when she’d opened the door herself, answering the ring of the doorbell, and found this other woman standing on her doorstep. With a baby in a carrycot she claimed she was here to deliver to Gemini!

Gemini shook her head confidently, dark shoulder-length hair swinging silkily against her cheeks. ‘I never did believe that story about the stork,’ she said dryly. ‘And I hate to disappoint you, but I think there’s been some sort of mistake—’

‘No mistake,’ the other woman assured her happily. ‘Jemima gave me detailed instructions of how to get here, and exactly who I was to leave the baby with. After seeing you, I would have been in no doubt anyway.’ The young woman laughed. ‘The two of you are identical!’

Gemini had stopped listening the moment her twin sister’s name was mentioned, although she stiffened resentfully as the last remark registered. She and Jemima might be identical in looks, but there the similarity ended!

But if her twin were behind this woman’s presence here, Gemini knew she’d better listen to what she had to say…!

She stepped back, holding the door open. ‘Perhaps you had better come inside,’ she sighed. ‘And bring—the baby with you,’ she added reluctantly, not sure if the baby were a boy or a girl—and not particularly interested either way!

‘I’m Janey Reynolds, by the way. Jessica’s nanny,’ the other woman said chattily as they walked down the thickly carpeted hallway. Janey carried the bulky carrycot in front of her, releasing its weight onto the sofa once they were in Gemini’s sitting-room, and then looked about the obviously wealthy comfort of the room with interest.

‘Gemini Stone,’ she introduced herself vaguely, staring at the carrycot as if it were an alien being. Which it was, to her. She had no children of her own. And she wasn’t particularly interested in any her sister might have produced, either!

Or perhaps this was all just someone’s idea of a joke. But it was June, not April, and she didn’t think any of her friends were crazy enough to involve a baby in any prank they pulled on her. Although she only had Janey Reynolds’ word for it that there was a baby in the carrycot; maybe it was empty, and just another part of the joke…?

‘Beautiful, isn’t she?’ Janey Reynolds prompted as Gemini leant cautiously over the side of the carrycot.

She looked like any other baby as far as Gemini was concerned: very pink, very wrinkled, with sparse dark hair—and, thankfully, at this moment her eyes were closed in sleep!

Gemini moved away from the cot as if she had been stung. There was definitely a baby in there. And if this woman were to be believed her sister was involved in its existence.

‘Am I to take it you work for my sister, Jemima?’ She looked at the younger woman with narrowed eyes.

Janey Reynolds looked to be in her early twenties, with an open, friendly face, lightly sprinkled with freckles, and reddish-blonde hair that was brushed back from that gamine face. Her slender figure was clothed in a tee shirt and fitted denims. Ideal wear for looking after a baby.

Whereas Gemini’s own clothes—a silk blouse the same cobalt blue as her eyes and black silk trousers contoured to the tall slenderness of her body had been designed by Gemini herself, to be fashionable as well as comfortable. But, being silk, they were certainly not baby-proof. ‘As Jessica’s nanny,’ Janey nodded, still smiling. ‘I would’ve thought Jemima would have mentioned that to you…?’ She frowned slightly.

As Gemini and Jemima hadn’t seen each other for well over a year now, and the baby in the carrycot looked very young indeed, there wasn’t much likelihood of that. In fact, if her sums were correct, Jemima couldn’t even have been pregnant the last time they’d met. Which begged the question—who was the baby’s father…?

‘Please, sit down,’ Gemini invited coolly, sitting down in the armchair opposite the other woman. ‘Have you worked for my sister for very long?’ she queried lightly, feeling totally in the dark here; she hadn’t even known there was a baby, let alone how old it was!

Janey shook her head. ‘Since the day she came out of the nursing-home. About six weeks,’ she supplied as Gemini still looked blank.

‘I see,’ she said slowly—not seeing anything at all.

Jemima had given birth six weeks ago…. It seemed incredible that her twin could have gone through pregnancy, and then childbirth, without Gemini knowing anything about it. Of course, the emotional connection they’d used to have as children had gone long ago, but even so Gemini thought she would have felt something!

Janey looked a little less sure of herself now. ‘Jemima has been delayed in the States for the weekend at least,’ she said slowly. ‘I would have thought she’d have called you?’

‘Called me?’ Gemini was totally at a loss now.

Not only had she not seen Jemima for over a year, the two of them hadn’t spoken to each other on the telephone, either; the rift between them was just too deep. Why on earth should Janey Reynolds assume that they might have spoken to each other now. Although the obvious answer to that was that the younger woman wasn’t aware there was a rift. Typical of Jemima!

‘About looking after Jessica for a few days until she returns,’ Janey explained with a frown. ‘You see—’

‘What!’ Gemini got up abruptly, totally aghast as what the other woman had just said. She stood as tall as any model, with the sort of slender figure that showed clothes well. Except she didn’t model clothes; she designed them. GemStone was becoming one of the leading designer labels in the world, and Gemini herself was one of the best showpieces for her own clothes: tall, elegant, with a cool beauty the press found as photogenic as each of her new collections.

But that cool beauty was definitely ruffled at the moment—when was it ever anything else when her sister was involved?

‘I’m sure you must have misunderstood Jemima,’ she told the other woman, pleasantly enough, determined not to become panicked. If she could manage to design and organise a new collection of clothes every season, she could definitely handle this—whatever this might be!

‘I don’t think so.’ Janey shook her head, still frowning. ‘As I said, Jemima has been delayed in America—’

‘I understood that bit,’ Gemini assured her coolly. ‘I simply don’t see what that delay has to do with me. You informed me that you are Jessica’s nanny—’

‘Oh, I am.’ Janey Reynolds had started to look upset now. ‘But it’s my wedding day tomorrow.’ She gave a self-conscious smile, ‘So I obviously can’t take care of Jessica until Jemima does return. Your sister assured me that it would be no problem for you to look after Jessica for a few days.’ She chewed worriedly on her bottom lip at this last disclosure.

Of course it would be no problem for Jemima if her baby were left with Gemini—it was Gemini who had the problem with it. For one thing, she knew absolutely nothing about taking care of babies, and secondly, this latest escapade was just typical of Jemima—too busy with her own life to take care of her own responsibilities!

‘Do you have a telephone number in America where Jemima might be reached?’ she prompted impatiently. ‘I’m sure if we speak to her this can all be sorted out in a matter of minutes.’ Because Gemini would insist that her sister get herself back here, delay or no delay, and take care of her own daughter!

Janey looked pained. ‘She’s following through some story or other, and she’s usually the one to call me…’

Gemini wondered just how often ‘usually’ was where her journalist sister was concerned; Jemima was dogged when it came to her work, and stopped at nothing to acquire an exclusive. Or anything else she wanted, for that matter. As Gemini knew to her cost…!

‘Just how long has my sister been in America?’ she questioned shrewdly.

‘Almost a week,’ Janey revealed reluctantly.

Unbelievable, when her baby was obviously so young. Although anything was possible with Jemima. ‘So you have no way of contacting her.’ Gemini spoke almost to herself. ‘And it’s your wedding day tomorrow, so naturally you aren’t going to be around to take care of the baby for some time…’ She looked questioningly at the nanny.

‘I’m going on a two-week honeymoon to Barbados,’ Janey replied, obviously aware by now that her presence here, with Jemima’s baby, was a complete surprise to Gemini.

Gemini should have known; only Jemima would take on for her baby a nanny who was going on holiday mere weeks after being employed!

But none of this mental berating of her sister changed the fact that there was a six-week-old baby that needed looking after—or the fact that Gemini, as her aunt, was the one expected to do it!

At twenty-nine, Gemini had never even considered having any children of her own. She was a career woman, through and through, her designs the only ‘babies’ she was interested in.

Although now it looked as if, for a few days at least, she might have to take an interest in a six-week-old baby called Jessica!

Jemima really did have the most colossal damn cheek; the rift between the two sisters had been abrupt and final, over a year ago. How on earth did Jemima have the nerve to dump her baby on Gemini now after the way she had behaved then…?

Of course, it didn’t help that she knew Nick was going to be absolutely furious about the situation.

Oh, damn Nick, and what he thought of the situation. If he were around as much this weekend as he had been the last few months he wouldn’t even know she’d ever had a baby in the house, let alone that it was Jemima’s!

She wasn’t seriously contemplating looked after Jessica herself, was she. She knew nothing about babies, not how to feed them or look after them, and at only six weeks old she was sure Jessica was going to need a lot of both. Besides, she was Jemima’s baby…!

No, the idea was utterly ridiculous. She couldn’t do it. ‘I suppose it’s too late to engage a temporary nanny for the baby until Jemima comes back…?’ she asked, frowning.

Janey grimaced. ‘At six o’clock on a Friday evening? Not much chance, I would have thought.’ She shrugged.

Then why hadn’t she brought the baby here earlier. Damn it—

Jemima…. Her sister was the one who’d instructed Janey on what she was to do, so no doubt the timing of it had been planned by Jemima too. She didn’t doubt for a moment that her irresponsible sister, in spite of the rift between the two of them, would think of it all as a big joke, would find the image of Gemini trying to cope with her very young daughter absolutely hilarious.

‘I’m really sorry about this, Miss Stone.’ Janey Reynolds had obviously realised by now that, in spite of what Jemima might or might not have told her, there was something very wrong here.

Gemini shook her head. ‘You can be assured that I am well aware that none of this—situation is of your doing.’ She sighed. ‘I think you’d better go and get the rest of Jessica’s things in from the car.’ And there was probably going to be a lot of them for a baby as young as Jessica. ‘I’m sure you must be anxious to be on your way,’ she added flatly, wondering how she was going to cope. But at the same time she knew that Jemima had left her little choice.

Considering Jemima’s dedication to her own career, Gemini couldn’t even begin to imagine what had made her sister go ahead and have this baby. Admittedly Jemima had always been the one who, when they were children, had stayed indoors and played with her dolls, while Gemini had been climbing trees with the neighbours’ sons, but it seemed as though Jessica’s birth was just a mere hiccup in Jemima’s life, a small inconvenience before she resumed following her own pursuits.

Janey hesitated on her way out to the car. ‘Jessica is due for a feed in a few minutes; would you like me to stay and show you how to make the formula up, and give her the bottle…?’

Considering this young woman must have many other things on her mind at this time, Gemini appreciated the offer. And took unashamed advantage of it. It wasn’t going to help anyone if, in her complete ignorance concerning the care of babies, she did it all wrong and made the baby ill!

It looked simple enough as she watched Janey do it—even the nappy changing didn’t seem that horrendous. And immediately after her feed and change Jessica went back to sleep. Nothing to it!

‘Er—I’ll leave you my telephone number, if you like?’ Janey seemed reluctant to go once the time came—obviously realising Gemini was a complete novice when it came to babies, and probably fearing for Jessica’s safety.

Which was more than could be said for Jemima, Gemini inwardly berated. She would take great pleasure in thinking of suitable retribution for her sister over the weekend; this had to be the worst thing Jemima had ever done to her!

Well…almost, she remembered hardily.

And as for taking care of the baby..! If Jemima thought she had landed Gemini with something she couldn’t handle, then she was going to be in for a big disappointment.

‘That’s very kind of you.’ She accepted Janey’s offer, putting her card next to the telephone. ‘But I’m sure I won’t be needing it,’ she added confidently.

Four hours later she wasn’t so sure about that. It had all looked so easy when Janey had fed and changed the baby, but actually putting that theory into practice proved much more difficult to Gemini than it had looked!

For one thing Gemini couldn’t seem to get the hang of holding the baby while trying to feed her at the same time. And then the nappy didn’t seem to want to stay on. In the end she secured it into place by the poppers on Jessica’s bodyvest.

But finally, over an hour later—much longer than it had taken Janey Reynolds!—the baby had been fed and changed and was back asleep in her carrycot, giving Gemini the chance to catch up on some of her own chores before going to bed herself.

But it seemed no sooner had she fallen asleep than she was woken up again by Jessica’s whimpering cry from the spare bedroom. And those slight whimpers grew to enormous proportions before Gemini could wake herself up enough to deal with it.

How on earth did new mothers cope with this for weeks, sometimes months at a time? Gemini wondered as she stumbled about the kitchen, trying to hold Jessica wrapped in a shawl in one arm and warm the bottle with the other hand.

Not that holding the baby stopped her crying. The noise Jessica was making now seemed to go straight through Gemini’s head, reverberating around the kitchen.

But at last the bottle was warmed and she sat down thankfully on one of the chairs around the kitchen table to give the baby her milk. Only to find Jessica didn’t want it, pushing the bottle repeatedly from her lips with her little pink tongue, and beginning that nerve-shattering wail once again!

Gemini’s nerves were already fraught from the crying—now what did she do. Her first instinct was to telephone Janey Reynolds and find out the answer to that. But a glance at the clock showed her it was one o’clock in the morning, hardly a very sociable time to be telephoning anyone!

One o’clock…?

Janey had said the baby fed approximately every four hours, and it was only three hours since Jessica’s last feed, even less than that from when she had first begun to cry.

Was Jessica sick? Did she have a temperature? What—?

‘What the hell is going on here?’

Gemini looked up with a start, staring towards the doorway, wincing as she saw her husband standing there. Just what she needed when she was so harassed, and definitely looking less than her best.

When had he arrived home? Some time ago, by the look of him; he was obviously naked beneath the black silk robe he had belted about his waist, his dark hair ruffled from sleep.

A robe was a luxury she hadn’t allowed herself when she’d hurried out of bed earlier to see to Jessica; she was wearing only pale grey silk pyjamas, and the baby had spat most of her milk down them in her distress!

So much for thinking earlier that Nick would probably never know there had ever been a baby in the house!

Gemini stood up abruptly, stilling holding the baby, whose wails seemed to have turned to hiccuping sobs now. ‘What does it look like?’ she snapped, showing her impatience with the question.

Nick blinked, green eyes narrowing in his ruggedly handsome face. ‘It looks like a baby—but I’m sure this must all be just a bad dream; we don’t have a baby!’

Considering that she and Nick had been married for more than a year now, and had occupied separate bedrooms from the beginning of their marriage, that was highly unlikely.

She and Nick had what could only be termed a business marriage, a marriage that suited both of them. At least, it had a year ago. She wasn’t so sure that was the case now. For either of them. But for different reasons…

‘That’s very astute of you, Nick,’ she drawled mockingly. ‘Although it doesn’t help in solving the problem of how to stop Jessica crying!’ she added raggedly as the baby continued to wail. ‘I wasn’t expecting you home yet,’ she added accusingly.

‘I completed my business early,’ he dismissed distractedly, striding into the kitchen with his usual ease of movement, taking the baby from her unresisting hands, frowning down into the little heart-shaped face. ‘What’s the matter, Jessica?’ he murmured soothingly to the baby. ‘We can’t help you if you—’ He stopped, frowning across at the watching Gemini. ‘Have you tried changing her nappy?’

Gemini watched in fascination as her tall, arrogant husband strolled about the kitchen carrying the slightness that was Jessica. He was one of the most handsome men Gemini had ever set eyes on, possessed of a physical magnetism that she’d been unaware of when they first married.

When had that changed?

She wasn’t really sure. She only knew that she felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction in their marriage now, a longing for something more.

‘Gemini!’ Nick prompted, impatient with receiving no response to his question of a few minutes ago.

She bristled resentfully. ‘Janey said not to change her nappy until after the feed—’

‘And I’m sure that Janey—whoever she might be!—is probably correct about the usual order of things—if it weren’t for the fact that Jessica is extremely damp!’ Nick grimaced as he pointedly peeled back the shawl the baby was wrapped in to reveal her sleepsuit was soaking wet!

Gemini felt the hot colour enter her cheeks, feeling a total sense of inadequacy where this baby was concerned. And not being in control of a situation was something she wasn’t in the least comfortable with. Especially around Nick!

She hadn’t even thought to check the baby’s nappy when she’d got Jessica up a short time ago and wrapped her in the shawl. Instead she’d been intent only on warming the bottle so that the baby would stop crying. Except that she hadn’t..! And the reason for that was now obvious.

It was even more so once Gemini had stripped off the wet clothing to find that the nappy she had had such difficulty with at the last feed had somehow moved sideways while Jessica slept. The nappy itself was almost dry, leaving Jessica’s clothes very wet. And the situation was made all the worse by the fact that all the time she was undressing the baby Nick was watching her actions with those mocking green eyes narrowed, making her feel more inadequate than ever.

She would never forgive Jemima for this!

‘Here, let me,’ Nick muttered impatiently, obviously tired of her efforts to replace the nappy and taking over the task himself, achieving an almost perfect result within seconds. Much to Gemini’s chagrin. Was there nothing that Nick wasn’t totally competent at?

‘When did you get to be such an expert on babies?’ she muttered resentfully as Nick put Jessica’s clean clothes on seemingly without effort, too. The baby was clean and dry minutes later, the crying having stopped as she began to fall back to sleep cradled in Nick’s strong, comforting arms.

‘I’m no expert, Gemini,’ Nick drawled derisively. ‘I just used a little common sense. Besides…’ He shrugged. ‘I’m ten years older than Danny; I used to enjoy helping out with him when I was a child.’

Gemini stiffened at the mention of his younger brother. By tacit agreement neither she nor Nick had talked about Danny or Jemima since the first day of their own marriage. The reason for that was simple enough; there had been nothing left to say about either of them.

And Gemini couldn’t help but be surprised at Nick mentioning Danny now…

Although it did give her the perfect opening for her next comment…! ‘Nick, Jessica is Jemima’s baby,’ she told him baldly, her gaze narrowing as she watched closely for his reaction to the announcement.

There wasn’t one. At least, not one that he allowed to be visible to Gemini. But that was typical of Nick, too. Her husband was a man who showed little emotion about anything except the mockery that seemed to be such a natural part of his nature. Although Gemini was sure that inside he had to be churning with some sort of emotion. He had to be!

Because if all their lives hadn’t been turned upside down fifteen months ago by Jemima’s selfishness, he could have been Jessica’s father…!

CHAPTER TWO

‘I SUGGEST we put the baby back to bed and you can tell me what the hell you’re talking about!’ Nick rasped now, his mouth tight.

Gemini could completely sympathise with his feelings. Fifteen months ago Nick had been her sister Jemima’s fiancé, a little fact her sister seemed to have forgotten when she’d seen someone else that she wanted! And her engagement to Nick hadn’t been the only thing Jemima had conveniently forgotten!

‘Shouldn’t I feed the baby first?’ she prompted uncertainly; after all, it was now four hours since Jessica’s last feed.

‘Hardly!’ Nick gave a pointed look at the sleeping baby.

Gemini could feel that heated colour enter her cheeks once again. Damn it, she was usually so cool and in control, especially around Nick, who was always so competent himself; it was totally unfair that she found herself in this unfamiliar role with him as a witness!

And she didn’t feel any more comfortable with the situation as the two of them placed the baby back into her carrycot and arranged the blankets over her. They looked like a pair of doting parents, for goodness’ sake—and, considering the sterile state of their marriage, that was something they would never be!

‘Time for a brandy, I think,’ Nick muttered grimly once they had settled the baby back in her cot in the spare bedroom.

‘I’ll just get my robe,’ Gemini told him lightly, ever conscious of the fact that she was only wearing the milk-stained pyjamas.

Nick gave her a mocking sideways glance. ‘I’ve seen women in less, Gemini,’ he drawled derisively.

She flicked her hair back, her chin raised haughtily. ‘Not me, you haven’t,’ she snapped.

‘True,’ he murmured mockingly. ‘But it’s a fact you are my wife…’

She knew what she was. Didn’t need any reminding. Nor did she need to be reminded of the fact that there had been other women in Nick’s life before he married her.

And since…?

She’d tried over recent months not to think too deeply about Nick’s private life. Before that it hadn’t occurred to her to think about it; it was only lately she had begun to wonder—

No! These were thoughts that took her nowhere—except to sleepless nights as she lay torturing herself with wondering whether or not Nick really was away on business, or if there could be some other reason, someone, who kept him away from home for days at a time!

It was an aspect of their marriage they hadn’t discussed when they’d decided to marry each other fourteen months ago. It hadn’t occurred to Gemini at the time to discuss it; if she’d thought about it she’d probably assumed that Nick would make his own arrangements. It was only in recent months that Gemini had found herself thinking about that side of his life too…

Because, as she knew only too well, Nick was a very attractive man, and it would be ridiculous to assume that he had remained celibate during their marriage. And it certainly hadn’t been her he was making love to…!

Damn it, she didn’t want to think about that, had no right to do so. They had married each other for their own reasons, and they weren’t reasons that allowed for interference in each other’s private lives.

Nick had poured the brandies when Gemini joined him in the sitting-room, its gas-flame fire adding a cheeriness to the room. Which was just as well, because Nick’s grim expression wasn’t in the least cheering!

‘So, true to form, Jemima has done it again—only this time she’s dumped her baby on you?’ he rasped without preamble.

‘Not exactly.’ Gemini grimaced, taking her glass of brandy to sip it gratefully; she should have guessed Nick would get straight to the point! ‘What I mean is that, yes, Jessica has been brought here, but it wasn’t by Jemima. You see—’

‘No—I don’t see,’ he cut in with icy disdain. ‘But then, where your irresponsible sister is concerned—does anybody?’

Gemini wasn’t even going to attempt to defend her twin sister. She simply couldn’t imagine two people more unalike than Jemima and herself; Jemima roamed the world in search of the latest scoop, very rarely in the same place for any length of time, whereas Gemini had lived in London all of her life, dedicatedly etching out a career for herself in the world of fashion.

No, she couldn’t say she understood her twin’s need for travel and excitement, but by the same token she was her sister…

‘Jemima is in America,’ she told Nick evenly. ‘The young lady she engaged as Jessica’s nanny is going to be married tomorrow, and so obviously she can’t look after her at the moment—’

‘Obviously,’ Nick acknowledged disgustedly.

Gemini drew in a deep, controlling breath, knowing his anger was well merited; Jemima was going to hear exactly what she thought of her when she returned. When…!

‘But the nanny has assured me that Jemima should be back on Monday,’ she added, more with hope than any degree of certainty; if Jemima didn’t have her story by then, there was no telling when she would be back!

‘And so she’s left you here holding her baby—literally?’ Nick dismissed scathingly.

She frowned. ‘Admittedly, it’s a little inconvenient—’

‘Inconvenient!’ Nick echoed, shaking his head disgustedly. ‘Considering the two of you haven’t even spoken for well over a year, I find the whole thing incredible. I won’t say unbelievable—because nothing your sister does surprises me any more!’ he added grimly.

He still cared, Gemini realised with dismay. It had been almost fifteen months since Jemima had broken her engagement to him so thoughtlessly, but it was obvious from the bitterness Nick was showing now that the insult had been far from forgotten. Or forgiven…

And why should it be—wasn’t it for that very reason that she and Nick were now married to each other…?

Nick’s romance with Jemima had happened so suddenly and so quickly, sixteen months ago, that it had only been at the dinner to celebrate their engagement that the two of them had been introduced to each other’s families. Both sets of parents were dead, and so it was left to Gemini, as Jemima’s sister, and Danny, Nick’s younger brother, to represent what little family there was left.

Gemini had been sceptical about the suddenness of the romance, believing it to be just another of Jemima’s rash—and usually disastrous!—impulses. But to her surprise Nick Drummond had turned out to be exactly the sort of man every mother would wish their daughter to meet and marry: obviously wealthy, very handsome, with an arrogance that protected all of those close to him. And, as Nick’s future wife, Jemima had definitely come into that category.

The only problem Gemini had been able to see with the match had been that if anything Nick was just too perfect, too arrogant, too much in control of himself and those around him. Jemima, on the other hand, had been ten years younger than her new fiancé, full of fun and life, eager for excitement and adventure.

But the four of them had enjoyed a pleasant dinner together. Danny Drummond was ten years younger than his brother, a professional naturalist photographer who worked freelance for several well-known magazines. He was completely different from his brother in looks, a little under six feet in height, with overlong blonde hair and laughing brown eyes.

What should have been apparent to all of them that night was that Danny was also full of fun and life, eager for excitement and adventure…

Gemini had been bowled over by him, fascinated by his stories of trekking through Africa in his search for wildlife pictures that would appeal to others as well as himself, and at the end of the evening she’d been only too happy to accept his invitation for the two of them to have dinner together the following evening.

There had followed a month in Gemini’s life the like of which she had never known before. Danny was completely unconventional; their dates had been equally so. Danny had even whisked her off to a Scottish island for the weekend on one occasion—because he’d wanted to film the birdlife there.

Gemini had been enthralled, enraptured, her own life and career put on hold every time Danny made one of his unannounced appearances. But it had all come to an abrupt end the day she had visited Danny’s apartment and found Jemima there with him…!

She looked across at Nick now, remembering all too clearly the humiliated anger they had both felt at learning that her sister and his brother had been indulging in a little relationship of their own behind their backs…

‘I should have known, damn it,’ Nick muttered to himself now.

Gemini gave him a puzzled look. ‘Should have known what?’

He looked as if he were about to explode with anger. ‘Jemima called me today—’

‘Jemima did?’ Gemini cut in angrily; the last she had heard of Jemima and Nick’s friendship they hadn’t even been talking to each other! And now it appeared Jemima was telephoning him…!

He nodded. ‘On my mobile. Apparently she tried to call the house this morning—’

‘I was out shopping,’ Gemini said dazedly. Her sister had called Nick on his mobile…! For the first time in the last year. Or had Jemima contacted him before in this way?

Nick’s mouth twisted. ‘And Mrs James was away for the day,’ he realised. ‘Jemima wanted to know if we would be at home this weekend. I assured her that we would,’ he said grimly. ‘I had no idea the reason she wanted to know was because she intended dumping her baby here!’

Well, at least Jemima’s telephone call to Nick proved that her sister wasn’t quite as irresponsible as she had thought her to be; at least she had ascertained that someone would be at home before Jessica was brought here!

But what else did it mean…? Was Jemima in the habit of calling Nick on his mobile? Despite the fact he was her husband, Gemini simply didn’t have the sort of relationship with Nick that would allow her to ask him such a question.

‘If it’s not too stupid a question—who the hell is the father?’ Nick rasped, with a return of that cold, remorseless anger that had become such a part of him fifteen months ago on learning of Jemima and Danny’s duplicity.

And the question wasn’t so unreasonable, either—because two months after Jemima had broken her engagement to Nick, because she’d supposedly been in love with Danny, she and Danny had also parted!

But it had been too late then for any second thoughts on Gemini or Nick’s part—because they had already been married to each other…

She wasn’t naturally impulsive by nature—she believed Jemima must have inherited all that part of their character at their birth—but at the time there had been no doubt in Gemini’s mind that she had fallen in love with Danny Drummond, hook, line and sinker. Only to find that he had been having an affair with Jemima almost from the very first evening they had all been introduced!

Gemini had been devastated by both Danny and Jemima’s behaviour. Nick’s reaction to his brother and fiancée’s duplicity had been much less predictable—he’d asked Gemini to marry him!

Her initial reaction to the proposal had been one of disbelief. And a questioning as to why, after being hurt so badly, she should want to marry anyone!

But even as she had asked herself that question she had known the answer all too clearly; all of her friends and business acquaintances had known of her relationship with Danny, of how for one wild, impetuous month she had put the rest of her life on hold to be with him—even GemStone had taken second place to the relationship for a while. She was going to look a complete idiot, both privately and professionally, when it became public knowledge that Danny had actually preferred her sister!

But she’d been sure Nick couldn’t be serious about the proposal, that it was just a knee-jerk reaction to Jemima’s betrayal. But he was quite serious, Nick had assured her grimly. Why shouldn’t they marry each other? They were both adults, and falling in love had proved a humiliating experience for both of them. And he was thirty-eight, he’d stated, it was time he had a wife, and Gemini, successful, self-assured, wise now to the stupidity of falling in love, would make him a very good one. And she, he’d claimed, would gain a husband who made no emotional demands on her, who was proud of her achievements and, most importantly of all, would never hurt or humiliate her in the way Danny had.

It had been this last claim, a brutal reminder of how ridiculous she was going to look to the outside world, and feeling still deeply wounded by the hurt Danny and Jemima had inflicted on her, that had made her make the last impulsive decision of her life and say yes!

Nick had kept to his word, and their marriage of fourteen months was undoubtedly a success in all that it had set out to be. Gemini was there as Nick’s partner and hostess if he should need one, and Nick was there for her in the same guise. And the existence of their marriage had completely taken away any public sting of humiliation they might have encountered after the end of their relationships with Danny and Jemima. To all intents and purposes it had looked as if the two of them had been the ones to realise they had previously made a mistake, and those mistakes had been rectified by the two of them marrying each other.

Yes, their marriage had succeeded in everything it had set out to do. Gemini had long ago recovered from the hurt Danny had so selfishly inflicted on her heart, having realised it had been a brief infatuation. It was hardly Nick’s fault if she was now fully aware—inwardly, at least!—of her magnetic attraction to the man who was now her husband.

And now Jemima, selfish, uncaring Jemima, had calmly delivered her six-week-old baby into the marriage!

Gemini shook her head now in answer to Nick’s question concerning Jessica’s father. ‘I have no idea,’ she sighed. ‘But the nanny who delivered the baby here earlier this evening didn’t mention any man being involved,’ she added with a frown.

‘Not for some months, at least,’ Nick bit out contemptuously. ‘I can’t believe I was ever stupid enough to believe I actually loved the woman!’ he added self-disgustedly before throwing the brandy to the back of his throat, seemingly unmoved as the fiery liquid hit his stomach.

Gemini winced. Not because she didn’t feel the same anger towards Jemima for this last thoughtlessness, but because she could no longer bear the thought of Nick ever having been in love with Jemima…

Quite how these possessive feelings towards her own husband had occurred Gemini wasn’t aware, but she had found in recent months that what had begun as a purely business arrangement was no longer so. At least on her part.

But Nick’s angry response to Jemima’s latest escapade seemed to imply he was still in love with her sister.

‘How can the two of you be identical to look at and yet be so unalike in temperament?’ he added with a disbelieving shake of his head.

Jemima was beautiful, warm and funny, if irresponsible. Gemini, as the eldest twin, if only by minutes, was more serious, coolly detached and self-assured, and dedicated to promoting her own fashion label.

And it was obvious which of them Nick found the most attractive!

God, how that hurt. How could she have been stupid enough to fall in love with her own husband?

Because that was exactly what she’d done. She wasn’t even sure when or how; she only knew that she had, that every time he was at home she was totally aware of him, that she found the way he looked physically attractive, that she admired the successful way he ran his business empire. In fact, she loved everything about him! And at the same time she knew that he felt no more for her now than he had when he had first proposed this sterile marriage fourteen months ago…

Gemini stood up abruptly. ‘I don’t think getting into a character assassination—’ or otherwise! ‘—is going to help the situation,’ she told Nick briskly, smoothing down the silkiness of her grey silk robe, very aware of the fact that she had cleansed her face before going to bed and so consequently wore no make-up, that her hair was probably in disarray too.

In fact, she probably looked a fright! And the one thing she had been very decided on, when accepting Nick’s proposal of marriage, was that she would always make sure to keep her end of their bargain, that she would never be less than the beautiful showpiece and perfect hostess that he wanted in his marriage.

Nick’s mouth twisted. ‘You’re probably right—talking about the flaws in Jemima’s character could take all night!’

And Gemini had no wish to talk about her sister for the rest of the night. In fact, she had no real wish to talk about her sister at all. It was bad enough that she knew Nick still felt so strongly towards Jemima, without the two of them talking about her too!

‘In that case,’ she said coolly, ‘I suggest the two of us get back to bed—’ She broke off as Nick looked across at her with dark brows raised speculatively. ‘Separately, of course,’ she bit out tersely.

‘Of course,’ he drawled derisively.

Gemini glared at him. ‘I’m tired, and not a little irritable; this certainly isn’t the time for your warped sense of humour, Nick,’ she snapped resentfully—because a part of her so wished he weren’t joking at all.

She’d been aware the whole time they were talking that Nick was naked under that black silk robe, and just the thought made her ache!

It wasn’t difficult to see that his shoulders were wide, his body leanly muscled, and she could see the dark hair that grew on his chest, and the bareness of his legs beneath the robe. Just looking at him made Gemini’s knees tremble with a need she had never known before! With anyone…

Strange, she had believed herself to be so much in love with Danny fifteen months ago. But after being Nick’s wife for over a year she couldn’t even remember what Danny looked like, let alone what it had felt like to be with him…

Nick’s was such a strong personality, and he had so much physical presence, that when he wasn’t at home the house seemed strangely empty, only coming alive again when he returned. As it had tonight…

‘Sorry.’ He grimaced now at her rebuke, running a hand through the dark thickness of his hair. ‘I— What is it?’ he prompted sharply at her indrawn breath.

How on earth could she possibly tell the man who was her husband that she longed to run her hands through the darkness of his hair, that she wanted to lie in bed next to him looking down at him, to kiss every part of him, to know the full pleasure she was sure Nick was capable of giving her; that she wanted to give him pleasure in return!

There was no way she could ever let him even see she felt that way, let alone tell him such a thing!

‘Nothing,’ she snapped abruptly. ‘I told you, I’m tired.’ She relented slightly as he raised dark brows at her unaccustomed aggression. He could hardly be blamed—or even know!—that the frustrated irritation she always felt nowadays when he was at home had returned. ‘Did you have a good business trip?’ she prompted as she moved to switch off some of the lamps prior to going to bed.

He shrugged. ‘It was the usual round of business meetings,’ he dismissed in a bored voice.

‘It can’t have been all business, Nick.’ She attempted to tease him, still deeply troubled by the way Jemima had telephoned him—and whether or not it was something that had happened before!

He looked across at her with intense green eyes, not answering her for several minutes.

And Gemini couldn’t help wondering if she had given herself away. Had her tone not been as teasing as she had meant it to be? Worse, had she sounded like a suspicious wife?

She hoped not; it was something she knew Nick would never tolerate. He never questioned her when she came back from buying trips, never showed the slightest interest in what she did on a social level while she was away from home.

Damn him!

Okay, so she wasn’t Jemima, but the two of them were identical to look at, and before she’d known the Drummond brothers there had never been any shortage of men wanting to take her out, to tell her she was beautiful, desirable. Nor since, if she were honest…

So why didn’t Nick find her attractive?

She’d asked herself that question so many times during recent months, and the only answer she had been able to come up with was that it was because she and Jemima were identical, and in Nick’s eyes maybe she was only a pale copy of her twin sister.

Now that hurt!

Because she was a person in her own right. When they were children their mother had always dressed the two girls the same, styled their dark hair the same way, so much so that they had simply become known as ‘the Stone twins’. But adulthood had brought deliberate changes, and the two women’s styles of dress were now completely different. Jemima favoured jeans and tee shirts, while Gemini’s clothes were always stylish and elegant. Jemima kept her hair cropped short for convenience’s sake; Gemini preferred a softer, shoulder-length style.

But Gemini knew she had to accept the fact that in Nick’s eyes it was the differences in their personalities that left her wanting…

‘No, not all business, Gemini,’ he finally answered her slowly, still watching her with narrowed eyes. “‘All work and no play”, and all that rubbish…’ he added derisively.

She swallowed hard, not knowing if she wanted to go on with this conversation but also knowing it was too late to stop now! ‘And in what way do you “play” while you’re away, Nick?’ She hoped she had managed to make her tone sound light and uninterested this time! Sound it—because it was far from the way she felt; her hands were clenched so tightly at her sides that her nails were sticking into the palms of her hands.

He bent to switch off the gas fire before answering her. To give him time to think of a suitable answer? One that would be acceptable to a wife? His wife?

But then she was his wife in name only, and not even that really. Her fashion label GemStone meant that most people still assumed her name was Gemini Stone, and not Drummond at all…

‘I spent a lot of time in the hotel pool,’ he finally drawled, his green gaze meeting hers challengingly.

Because he couldn’t have spent every evening in the swimming pool, and they both knew it! But to pursue this subject any further would surely be dangerous on her part; Nick would want to know the reason for her interest, and there was no way she could tell him it was jealousy of the time he spent with anyone else but her! Especially if that ‘anyone’ should turn out to be Jemima!

‘That must have been nice.’ She nodded, turning to leave.

‘Er—Gemini…?’ Nick stopped her as she reached the door.

She froze, turning slowly back to face him. Had she given herself away, after all? She could read nothing from his closed expression. ‘Yes?’ she prompted warily.

‘I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve accepted a dinner invitation for the two of us with the Crawfords tomorrow evening,’ he drawled pointedly.

The point was completely lost on her! Why should he think that would be a problem for her? She was always more than happy to go out with Nick. In fact, she looked forward to the evenings they would be out together in public; Nick was always the attentive husband on such occasions, and even though she knew it was a façade she still revelled in his protective care!

‘Jessica…?’ Nick reminded her as she continued to look blank. ‘I don’t think it would be quite the thing to take her along with us—do you?’ he added mockingly.

The baby! She’d done it again, Gemini realised; of course, they would need a babysitter for Jessica if the two of them were to go out together!

‘Perhaps Mrs James…?’ She grimaced hopefully.

‘We can ask her.’ Nick nodded. ‘Although I don’t think that was part of her job description when I employed her ten years ago!’

Gemini was sure it wasn’t. Rachel James was a woman in her late fifties, and while she used the title of Mrs she had confided in Gemini shortly after she’d come to live here as Nick’s wife, that it was a courtesy title only, useful in the profession she had chosen for herself, but that she’d never actually been married.

Which meant she’d probably never had to deal much with children, either, and in particularly not a very young baby!

‘I’ll have a talk to her in the morning,’ Gemini assured Nick dismissively. ‘But I don’t think Mrs James will mind.’

‘No,’ he acknowledged dryly. ‘I had visions of there being problems with Mrs James when you came to live here as my wife,’ he explained at Gemini’s questioning look, ‘but in fact it’s turned out to be the opposite! Mrs James always comes to you for instructions,’ he murmured ruefully. ‘Fills the house with daffodils at all times of the year because she knows they’re your favourite flower, prepares the meals she knows you like—’

‘If any of that is a problem for you, Nick, you should have said,’ Gemini put in uncomfortably; she hadn’t even realised he had noticed those slight but subtle changes in the household.

She’d only mentioned once in passing to the housekeeper that she loved daffodils, that their golden colour always made her feel in a cheerful mood—and before she knew it the house was ablaze with the beautiful blooms. Just as she had once mentioned that she preferred to eat fish and chicken to red meat—only to find that red meat all but disappeared from their dining table!

‘Oh, it isn’t a problem, Gemini,’ Nick assured her derisively. ‘I merely look on in admiration at the charm you’ve exerted over our formerly austere housekeeper.’

It wasn’t a question of charming the older woman; she merely treated Rachel James like a person. She hadn’t grown up in a household that had had employees in the house of any kind. She’d lived on her own in a flat before marrying Nick. She wasn’t accustomed to having staff in her home. Rachel had somehow sensed that in her, and had helped her all she could, forging a bond of understanding between the two women that Nick probably couldn’t understand.

Nick raised dark brows. ‘How is it you’ve never attempted to exert that charm over me…?’ he prompted huskily.

Gemini gave him a sharp look. Was he flirting with her?

For the most part, Gemini and her husband lived together quite comfortably, with a friendly politeness between them. And Nick rarely, if ever, made any sort of remark that stepped over that line of friendship, that could be taken as being in the least flirtatious. And yet this evening he’d done so more than once…

Don’t overreact, Gemini, she inwardly warned herself, her pulse beating fast, totally aware of every muscle and sinew of Nick’s near-naked body, able to smell the aftershave that was such a part of him as he stood only feet away from her.

But it was very late, that time of the night when nothing seemed quite as it usually was, and Nick probably didn’t mean anything at all by the remark he had just made. In fact, it was probably all the talk of Jemima that had prompted it!

She gave a self-deprecating smile. ‘Probably because I know I would be wasting my time!’

‘I wouldn’t be too sure of that,’ he murmured throatily.

‘I would,’ she assured him flatly, all too aware of how he felt about her sister.

‘Why don’t you try it and see?’ he encouraged softly, seeming suddenly closer now, although Gemini hadn’t been aware of him moving.

Gemini was more sure than ever that he was confusing her with Jemima. ‘You don’t really—’ She broke off as she heard the sound of Jessica’s whimpering cry coming from upstairs.

‘Saved by the bell—or in this case the baby,’ Nick drawled. ‘I think Jessica has decided it’s time for a feed, after all,’ he muttered dryly.

And Gemini, for one, didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed at the interruption!

There was something different about Nick tonight, on his return from this business trip. He was exerting a sensuality over her that she would have to be totally uninterested not to be aware of—and she was far from being that!

‘You warm a bottle and take it up to her; I’ll turn the lights off down here when I come up,’ Nick told Gemini briskly as he turned away, and that air of intimacy that had briefly been between them was totally dispelled at the return of his usual terseness.

Gemini grabbed the bottle from the kitchen and hurried up the stairs, all the time aware that Nick was still in the sitting-room, where she’d left him.

What had happened between them just now? she wondered as she fed the baby. And had it really happened between them, or had Nick briefly allowed her similarity to Jemima in looks to deceive him…?

Somehow—sadly—she had the feeling the latter was the true explanation…!

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