To Mend A Marriage. Carole Mortimer

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