groaned, opening it and rescuing her coat that was now liberally coated with mud along the hem.
After a second definitive slam that made the driver wince, she slumped back in the seat and, eyes closed, exhaled a heavy sigh.
âThe station, please.â
The past half an hour had all been slightly surreal.
She still wasnât totally sure if he had even been serious. If it had been his idea of a joke. People just didnât go around asking other people to pretend they were engaged. Though she was learning fast that Mathieu Demetrios was not exactly a man who felt obliged to follow the rules. In fact he seemed most comfortable making them up as he went along.
And he had a way of making the most outrageous suggestion sound almost normal. She sighed and straightened up. Pulling a compact from her bag, she flicked it open.
âIf youâd stayed around a minute longer,â she told her reflection, âyouâd have ended up agreeing with him.â She rolled her eyes and laughed at her joke. Then frowned because her laughter had a slightly hollow ring to itâalso the driver was looking worried.
She hadnât been tempted, not for a second.
Turning her frowning glare on the dour grey stone façade of the house as they drew away, she reached inside her bag for her mobile. The sooner a line was drawn under her Scottish misadventure, the better.
Her twin picked up straight away.
âIs this a good time?â
âRose, of course, I was just thinking about you. How are things in bonny Scotland?â
Rose didnât waste time wrapping it up. âTerrible. Iâm coming home. As you and Nick are in New York until March, would it be all right if I stayed at your place for a couple of weeks?â
There was a pause that grew longer.
âThis is where you say I told you so closely followed by I canât wait to see you .â
âOf course I canât wait to see youâ¦â
âBut?â
âBut the thing is, I was going to call you, but Nick said I should leave well enough alone andâ¦the thing is, Rose, Stevenâs wife is divorcing him.â
Roseâs eyes opened wide.
She screwed up her face as she made an effort to visualise his face. Should a person have to make an effort to see the face of the person they had decided was the unrequited love of their life?
Even when she had formed a mental image to go with the name his eyes kept switching from blue to silver-grey and another mouth, one that was both sensual and cruel, kept superimposing itself over his.
âAre you still there, Rose?â
Rose gave her head a little shake and forced a smile even though there was nobody there to see it. âYesâ¦so Steven is getting a divorce?â
Which made him available and ought to make her deliriously happy.
Only she wasnât, which probably meant that Rebecca had been right all along and whatever she had felt for Steven Latimer hadnât been love. And had , she realised with dawning shock, was the key word. Whatever it was she had felt for Steven was simply not there.
Which made her shallow and superficialâeven worse than that, he was getting divorced because of her and she could barely remember what the poor man looked like.
âSteven is divorcing his wife?â This is all my fault.
âNo, Rose, sheâs divorcing him.â
The hand with the phone in it fell into her lap as she sighed. âThank God for that.â Feeling light-headed with relief, she lifted the phone back to her ear.
âRoseâ¦Rose! Did you hear what I said?â
âNo, sorry, I lost the signal,â she lied cheerfully.
âGod, does that mean I have to tell you again?â
âTell me what again?â Rose asked, her curiosity roused.
âStevenâs wife is divorcing him because she found out that heâs been having an affair.â
âNoâ¦no, there was no affair, you were right, Iââ
âNot with you,
After a second definitive slam that made the driver wince, she slumped back in the seat and, eyes closed, exhaled a heavy sigh.
âThe station, please.â
The past half an hour had all been slightly surreal.
She still wasnât totally sure if he had even been serious. If it had been his idea of a joke. People just didnât go around asking other people to pretend they were engaged. Though she was learning fast that Mathieu Demetrios was not exactly a man who felt obliged to follow the rules. In fact he seemed most comfortable making them up as he went along.
And he had a way of making the most outrageous suggestion sound almost normal. She sighed and straightened up. Pulling a compact from her bag, she flicked it open.
âIf youâd stayed around a minute longer,â she told her reflection, âyouâd have ended up agreeing with him.â She rolled her eyes and laughed at her joke. Then frowned because her laughter had a slightly hollow ring to itâalso the driver was looking worried.
She hadnât been tempted, not for a second.
Turning her frowning glare on the dour grey stone façade of the house as they drew away, she reached inside her bag for her mobile. The sooner a line was drawn under her Scottish misadventure, the better.
Her twin picked up straight away.
âIs this a good time?â
âRose, of course, I was just thinking about you. How are things in bonny Scotland?â
Rose didnât waste time wrapping it up. âTerrible. Iâm coming home. As you and Nick are in New York until March, would it be all right if I stayed at your place for a couple of weeks?â
There was a pause that grew longer.
âThis is where you say I told you so closely followed by I canât wait to see you .â
âOf course I canât wait to see youâ¦â
âBut?â
âBut the thing is, I was going to call you, but Nick said I should leave well enough alone andâ¦the thing is, Rose, Stevenâs wife is divorcing him.â
Roseâs eyes opened wide.
She screwed up her face as she made an effort to visualise his face. Should a person have to make an effort to see the face of the person they had decided was the unrequited love of their life?
Even when she had formed a mental image to go with the name his eyes kept switching from blue to silver-grey and another mouth, one that was both sensual and cruel, kept superimposing itself over his.
âAre you still there, Rose?â
Rose gave her head a little shake and forced a smile even though there was nobody there to see it. âYesâ¦so Steven is getting a divorce?â
Which made him available and ought to make her deliriously happy.
Only she wasnât, which probably meant that Rebecca had been right all along and whatever she had felt for Steven Latimer hadnât been love. And had , she realised with dawning shock, was the key word. Whatever it was she had felt for Steven was simply not there.
Which made her shallow and superficialâeven worse than that, he was getting divorced because of her and she could barely remember what the poor man looked like.
âSteven is divorcing his wife?â This is all my fault.
âNo, Rose, sheâs divorcing him.â
The hand with the phone in it fell into her lap as she sighed. âThank God for that.â Feeling light-headed with relief, she lifted the phone back to her ear.
âRoseâ¦Rose! Did you hear what I said?â
âNo, sorry, I lost the signal,â she lied cheerfully.
âGod, does that mean I have to tell you again?â
âTell me what again?â Rose asked, her curiosity roused.
âStevenâs wife is divorcing him because she found out that heâs been having an affair.â
âNoâ¦no, there was no affair, you were right, Iââ
âNot with you,
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