To Mend A Marriage

‘I thought you were going to say with females.’ He dryly explained the reason for his humour.

‘And just how would I know that?’ Gemini came back waspishly, stung by the reference to other women.

Nick tilted his head questioningly to one side as he looked across at her, the intensity of that gaze making Gemini feel suddenly uncomfortable.

She’d said too much again! She seemed to have been doing rather a lot of that the last twenty-four hours, too. But the arrival of Jessica into their well-ordered existence seemed to have broken down those barriers of politeness that had separated them. Besides, it was very difficult to maintain a polite front when dressed only in revealing silk pyjamas—especially when Nick had already remarked that she looked sexy in them!

She stood up, pushing her chair back noisily. ‘I think I’ll go back upstairs and get dressed—’

‘Gemini.’ Nick softly cut across her rushed words of departure. ‘If you ever want to change the terms of our marriage, you only have to say the words…’

She stood stricken to the spot, staring down at him. What words? He didn’t seriously expect her to just blurt out that when she wasn’t feverishly working, to keep her mind and body busy, she thought of little else but being in Nick’s arms, of the two of them making love together?

If he did, then she really had said too much! And the last thing she wanted from Nick was his sympathy—or, even worse, that he should decide second best, in Jemima’s twin, was better than nothing!

Gemini deliberately adopted a derisive expression. ‘Really, Nick, if I ever feel the need of a man in that way there are dozens of available ones out there who would do just as well—and who’d cause far less complication!’ she told him tauntingly.

His mouth tightened grimly, his eyes taking on a cold brilliance as he looked at her through a frown. ‘I wouldn’t recommend you try it, Gemini,’ he warned softly.

She stiffened resentfully at his tone, drawing herself up to her full height of five feet eight inches in her bare feet. ‘Would that be because you’ve already tried it yourself?’ she challenged caustically.

‘I—’ His lips clamped together angrily as the housekeeper bustled into the room with a fresh pot of coffee. Nick continued to hold Gemini’s gaze for several seconds more before allowing her to turn and look at Mrs James.

But those few seconds had been long enough for Gemini to know there had been more than advice in Nick’s words; he had meant them as a warning.

But why? Their marriage was a polite fa?ade at best, and at worst it had been a mistake, for both of them. At the time she’d accepted Nick’s proposal she hadn’t really thought further than saving their faces; over a year later she could see that they couldn’t live the rest of their lives together in this same way…

‘I thought I heard you, Mrs Drummond!’ Rachel James greeted her warmly, putting down the pot of fresh coffee. ‘What can I get you for breakfast this morning?’

The thought of any food, let alone the hearty breakfast their Scottish housekeeper thought Gemini ought to eat every morning in order to ‘keep up her strength’, made her feel ill after this most recent disturbing conversation with Nick!

‘I’ll probably have some toast later,’ she said, smiling to dissipate the other woman’s disappointment in her reply. ‘I really do have to go upstairs and get dressed. You—’ The baby, probably sensing that Nick was no longer as relaxed as he had been, began to stir in his arms, giving a little whimper of protest at having her sleep disturbed.

‘Away with you and get yourself dressed,’ Mrs James dismissed, taking the baby from Nick’s arms. ‘I’ll take care of this little darling until you come down. We may as well get used to each other if I’m to look after her this evening while the two of you are out,’ she assured them lightly, beginning to talk softly to Jessica as she left the room with her in her arms.

Gemini glanced awkwardly at Nick, knowing by his grim expression that he was still thinking about their last conversation. Well, so was she, and she hadn’t liked the tone of his voice at all. She never questioned his private life—much as she might like to!—and she found his warning about hers more than a little arrogant. ‘I see you’ve already spoken to Mrs James about this evening?’ she said coolly, wondering how, with the tension that seemed to have sprung up between them, they were going to spend the evening in each other’s company at all!

He nodded tersely. ‘Apparently she loves children,’ he bit out. ‘She says she can’t wait for us to have some of our own!’ he added scornfully.

As the housekeeper, Rachel James must be well aware of the fact that they occupied separate bedrooms. Unless the older woman presumed that was only after they had made love…!

Gemini could imagine nothing worse than having her husband visit her in her bed and then return to his own room to go to sleep! She would rather leave the arrangement exactly as it was!

Her mouth twisted mockingly. ‘Perhaps someone should tell her that isn’t even a remote possibility!’ she taunted.

Nick stood up abruptly, that very suddenness of movement meaning that his height and breadth seemed to dominate the room. ‘You’ll tell her no such thing!’ he rasped furiously, his expression so ferocious Gemini took a step backwards, coming up against the partly open door.

She swallowed hard. ‘I wasn’t necessarily referring to me,’ she told him irritably.

‘Well, I certainly don’t go around telling people my wife doesn’t share my bed—or vice versa!’ His green eyes blazed with fury.

Because not too many people would believe it, Gemini was sure. They were both fit and healthy, and obviously found the opposite sex attractive. Nick was a very handsome man, and she’d been told that she was beautiful; who would ever believe they’d lived together as husband and wife for over a year and never made love with each other?

She gave a weary sigh. ‘We seem to have got off on the wrong foot this morning, Nick; I think we should start today all over again.’ She shook her head. ‘We’re both tired from a disturbed night’s sleep—’

‘For the wrong reason—unfortunately!’ he snapped scathingly, moving past her out of the doorway, brushing lightly against her before going out into the hallway and ascending the stairs two at a time on his way to his bedroom.

Gemini watched him go, a perplexed frown marring her creamy brow. What had happened to that easy, if polite friendship that had once existed between them? Because it was no longer there. It had been replaced by… She wasn’t sure what it had been replaced by, but it wasn’t comfortable, whatever it was.

As proved by the arousal of her nipples beneath the silk of her pyjama top! Nick had barely touched her on his way out of the room, and yet she had responded instantly to that brief touch, and still ached even now.

Tears sprang up into her eyes as she acknowledged that the situation between herself and Nick was becoming unbearable. And it had become so with the arrival of Jemima’s baby…!

Damn Jemima!

‘Mrs James can manage,’ Nick drawled mockingly beside her in the car later that evening as they drove to have dinner with the Crawfords.

Gemini turned to him blankly, having been lost in thought. She’d been distracted all day, if she were honest, looking for ways to return her relationship with Nick to being something she could at least feel comfortable with. Not that she’d come up with any answers, but she had decided her silence might at least not provoke the situation.

‘Jessica,’ Nick prompted impatiently at Gemini’s blank expression. ‘Mrs James seems more than capable of managing with her this evening,’ he repeated tersely.

‘I’m sure she’ll be fine.’ Gemini nodded confidently.

The housekeeper had been wonderful today, spending every moment she had free either talking to the baby or feeding and changing her. And Gemini had to admit that with two other adults in the house who obviously knew what they were doing she didn’t feel so nervous about caring for Jessica herself now.

‘My sister hasn’t bothered to telephone yet, though, has she?’ she added hardly.

And considering that Janey Reynolds, with all that she must have had to do on her wedding day, had still found the time to call in for a few minutes on her way to the hairdresser’s, made the lack of even a telephone call from Jemima even more noticeable!

It really was too bad of Jemima not to have at least made sure the baby had been safely delivered to her. But that was typical Jemima; she expected everyone else to fall in with what she arranged, never dreaming for a moment that someone wouldn’t do it. The thing was, she was usually right…

Nick stared grimly ahead. ‘I thought we had agreed not to discuss your sister,’ he bit out harshly.

They hadn’t agreed any such thing, but if she wanted this evening to be anywhere near a success perhaps it would be better if they didn’t! Besides, whether Jemima telephoned or not, it wouldn’t make any difference to the fact Jessica would be staying with them until her mother returned.

‘Sorry,’ she mumbled dismissively. ‘You’re looking very nice this evening,’ she added lightly.

‘You’ve seen me in a dinner suit dozens of times before,’ Nick returned shortly, glancing at her with narrowed eyes.

So she had, but the fact that he looked devastatingly attractive in a black dinner suit and snowy white shirt had become more and more apparent to her in recent months! As had everything else about this man who was her husband…

He was tall and slender, with not an ounce of superfluous flesh on his body, but at the same time muscularly powerful. And his harshly hewn features—piercing green eyes, aquiline nose, sculptured lips, squarely determined jaw—were all mesmerisingly attractive.

Nick didn’t just have an air of being arrogantly confident, he actually was, and women—all women, it seemed—reacted to that combination of self-confidence and good looks. Including Gemini!

Why hadn’t she been aware of all these things before she married him? If she had been she might not have accepted his proposal! But the truth of the matter was at the time Nick had been Jemima’s fiancе, and so of no romantic interest to Gemini. And, of course, there had been Danny…

After being with Nick over a year, and having come to know and appreciate his quiet strength and success, she couldn’t understand how she’d ever found his reprehensible younger brother of any interest whatsoever.