‘That must be Alex’s parents’ boat.’ Gemma pointed to a small wooden landing-stage against which a luxurious-looking cabin cruiser was moored.
‘I must say I quite envy them that,’ Stephen confessed. ‘I’d really like a boat. The thought of being able to get right away where no one can reach you sounds like heaven to me.’
‘Doesn’t Mr Van Haelfen have a boat?’ asked Gemma.
Stephen nodded. ‘Yes, but his is a yacht—he keeps it down at Hamble and regularly sails on the Solent.’
‘Does he talk about his family?’ asked Gemma curiously. ‘I’ve been on the cardiac unit all this time but I have to say I know hardly anything about him.’
‘That’s because he’s a very private man,’ Stephen replied. ‘He keeps his professional and his private lives completely separate. From the little I have heard, he seems to have a very happy home life. He and his wife have three grown-up children, two of whom are married with children of their own.’
‘Sounds idyllic,’ said Gemma with a little sigh.
‘Absolutely,’ Stephen agreed.
‘Surprising to hear you say that.’ They had stopped now right on the tow-path and were looking across at the distant bank through a slight veil of mist that had descended along with the twilight. ‘If I remember rightly, the idea of settling down to family life was the last thing on your agenda.’
Stephen’s sigh was barely audible. ‘Yes,’ he agreed at last, ‘I dare say it was, certainly at one time, but in those days I had other things on my mind. My career was in its early stages and I needed to build it up…but circumstances change.’
‘So are you saying that now you would feel differently?’ This was dangerous ground, Gemma knew that, but suddenly she was curious and felt she had to know how Stephen felt.
‘Maybe.’ He looked down at her. ‘If all the conditions were right, and by that I mean if the person was right and if the chemistry was working.’
‘Oh, yes, the chemistry has to be working…’ Gemma agreed. Lifting her head, she gazed up into the wide night sky with its endless expanse of stars.
‘The chemistry was right between you and me,’ said Stephen softly.
‘But that was then,’ Gemma began. ‘It may not be right now…’
‘Maybe we should find out.’ Taking a step towards her, Stephen took her face between his hands and, burying his fingers in her hair, gazed deeply into her eyes.
She should have stopped him, she knew that because this was madness, but something within her seemed to render her powerless and instead she allowed herself to enjoy the touch of his fingers and the very nearness of him,
‘We were so good together, Gemma,’ he murmured. ‘We were so in tune. Your need for me always matched mine for you…I wanted you then and I want you now…’
A second later his mouth covered hers and she gave herself up to the thrill of being kissed by him again while at the same time being only too aware of the growing state of arousal for them both as they entered once familiar waters and old longings and passions were instantly revived.
She should have stopped him but she couldn’t, and as the kiss deepened and his hands caressed her waist, her hips and her thighs there was no knowing where it would have ended if it hadn’t been for the sound of voices and laughter on the tow-path behind them.
‘Damn!’ Stephen groaned, and swore softly under his breath as Gemma drew quickly away.
Somehow, by standing back in the shadows, they managed to avoid the couple that passed them by without seeing them, but the moment of tenderness between them had gone, lost for ever.
‘Come on,’ said Gemma, trying to regain her composure. ‘Let’s go back to the house. Kim will be wondering where I am.’
‘Kim?’ There was a definite note of reluctance in his voice as they turned and began walking back up the pathway.
‘Yes.’ Gemma kept her eyes on the ground. ‘She brought me here tonight and she’ll be taking me home.’
‘Surely you won’t be going home yet?’ Stephen protested.
‘Maybe not directly, but neither of us wants to be late.’ She could hardly tell him the reason she didn’t want to be late was because her daughter—their daughter—would be awake at the crack of dawn, demanding a drink and singing her entire repertoire of nursery rhymes. And then quite suddenly and unexpectedly she longed to tell him about Daisy, about her sweet baby ways, about the softness of her skin, about the toys she loved and about everything he’d missed from the moment she’d been born.
But, of course, she did nothing of the sort and by this time they had reached the lawns again and the house was once more in view. Now, however, the silence between them was slightly uncomfortable and Gemma found herself desperately searching for something else to say.
She needn’t have worried for as they finally approached the house it was Stephen who broke the silence. ‘Gemma,’ he said, ‘about just now…’
‘It’s all right,’ she replied quickly.
‘No,’ he said firmly. ‘It isn’t all right. I don’t want to just leave it like that. I think we need to talk.’
‘I don’t think there’s anything left to talk about.’
‘I think you’re wrong, Gemma,’ he murmured softly. ‘We have much to talk about, but maybe this isn’t the time or the place.’
‘No,’ she said wildly, ‘it isn’t.’
‘So perhaps some other time.’ They had reached the steps to the terrace now and as they began to climb them Alex suddenly appeared at the top.
‘Oh, there you are.’ She looked at Stephen. ‘I thought you’d gone home. I haven’t had a dance yet.’ Ignoring Gemma, she took Stephen’s hand and drew him away onto the patio.
Feeling suddenly rather flat, Gemma wandered back into the house where eventually she found Kim sitting in a corner on her own.
‘Are you all right?’ asked Gemma, looking keenly at her friend.
‘I feel a bit queasy actually,’ Kim replied with a grimace.
‘In that case, why don’t we call it a night?’
‘You don’t want to go yet, do you?’ Kim narrowed her eyes and squinted up at her.
‘Actually, yes, I wouldn’t mind at all.’ Gemma heard herself say, and somewhat surprisingly she found that she meant it. Suddenly all she wanted was to go, get back to Daisy, to her mother and the safety of home.
‘In that case…’ Leaving the sentence unfinished, Kim struggled to her feet. ‘I suppose we should thank Alex—do you know where she is?’
‘On the patio, I think,’ Gemma replied. ‘The last I saw of her she was dancing…’ Together they made their way outside. By this time the crowd had thinned out considerably with other people presumably having already gone. There were only three couples dancing. On closer scrutiny, none of them were Alex and Stephen. ‘Oh, she isn’t here.’ Gemma looked round, peering into the darkness of the garden beyond the patio, but there was no sign of their hostess. Mia was sitting on the wall, talking to David.
‘Mia,’ said Kim, ‘any idea where Alex is?’
‘No, sorry.’ Mia shook her head. ‘Are you two going?’
‘Yes, we are,’ Kim replied. ‘When you see Alex again would you say goodbye for us?’
Gemma and Kim made their way out of the house and into the lane where they collapsed into Kim’s car.
‘Well, I can’t say I’m sorry to get away,’ said Kim as she started the engine and secured her seat belt.
‘You should have said if you weren’t feeling too well,’ said Gemma in concern. ‘We could have gone earlier.’
‘It didn’t matter.’ Kim shrugged. ‘Besides, I didn’t know where you were. You seemed to disappear there for a while.’
‘Did I?’ Gemma deliberately sounded vague but Kim didn’t want to let it drop.
‘Yes, you weren’t in the garden, you weren’t dancing and you didn’t seem to be in the house either. Where did you get to?’
‘I, er…I went for a walk,’ Gemma muttered, unable to evade the iss
ue any further.
‘A walk?’ There was no mistaking the surprise in Kim’s tone. ‘On your own?’
‘No, actually, not on my own,’ Gemma admitted. ‘I strolled down to the river with Stephen…Stephen Preston.’
‘Oh, yes?’ There was definite interest in Kim’s voice now.
‘It was no big deal.’ Gemma shrugged, she hoped in a nonchalant fashion, only too aware that her pulse had started to race once again at the mere thought of what had occurred between herself and Stephen on that walk.
‘You and Stephen Preston, eh?’ Kim stared at her in the darkness inside the car. ‘Well, well, fancy. I saw you dancing with him earlier, but then…’ She paused. ‘I was forgetting, you two are old friends, aren’t you?’
‘We certainly knew each other in the past.’ Gemma chose her words with care.
‘So you took the opportunity of this party for a little bit of catching up, is that it?’ Kim threw her a sidelong glance as they pulled out of the lane.
‘Something like that, yes.’ Gemma nodded, hoping that would be the end of the matter.
Kim however obviously had other ideas. ‘So you walked off down to the river?’ she said.
‘Yes. Alex’s parents moor their boat down here. We had a look at it. Stephen likes boats.’
‘Very romantic, I’m sure,’ observed Kim dryly. ‘A riverside stroll on a warm summer’s night.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ Gemma spoke more sharply than she’d intended, probably because Kim’s comments had been closer to the truth than she knew. ‘There was nothing romantic about it at all.’
‘Even so, I don’t suppose it pleased Alex too much.’
‘What?’ Gemma turned her head and looked at her friend.
‘You and Stephen going off together like that into the night.’
‘What did it have to do with Alex?’ Gemma frowned in the darkness, wondering if there was something she’d missed.
‘Well, she fancies him something rotten,’ said Kim. ‘Didn’t you know?’ she added almost as a surprised afterthought.
‘No.’ Slowly Gemma shook her head. ‘No, I didn’t know.’
‘Oh, yes,’ Kim went on as they left the quietness of the side streets and joined the faster late night traffic on the main road. ‘She went to all sorts of lengths to make sure he would come to this party tonight.’
‘Really?’ Gemma swallowed as the image of Alex seizing Stephen by the hand and bearing him off to the patio to dance came into her mind, only to be immediately replaced by the somehow even more disturbing fact of their absence when she and Kim had gone to say goodnight.
‘Yes.’ Obviously Kim had gotten into her stride now. ‘Apparently Alex nearly flipped when she found out he’d gone off on some course and she wasn’t able to remind him. In the end she was so desperate she asked Personnel to pass on a message to him and leave it on his voice mail.’
Gemma remained silent, staring out of the side window of the car. She wasn’t sure how she felt about these revelations of Kim’s. In the past Alex had had quite a reputation with the various doctors that came onto the unit, but until then it had never bothered Gemma.
Did it bother her now? She frowned again. It shouldn’t. After all, even if Alex and Stephen became an item, it shouldn’t worry her. Stephen meant nothing to her now and, really, it wasn’t any of her business whom he chose to be with.
So, if that was the case, why did she now feel faintly depressed when only a short while ago, if anyone had asked her, she would have said she’d enjoyed her evening?
‘What do you think, Gemma? Gem?’
She jumped as she realised that Kim had been talking to her, but so lost had she become in her own thoughts that she hadn’t heard a word her friend had been saying. ‘I’m sorry, Kim,’ she said apologetically. ‘I was thinking about something else. What were you saying?’
‘I said that I’d almost made up my mind to tell my mother about the baby,’ Kim replied patiently.
‘Oh, I’m so glad—’ Gemma began.
‘No,’ Kim interrupted her, ‘you weren’t listening. I then said I’ve changed my mind.’
‘Oh?’ Gemma threw her a concerned glance. ‘What are you going to do?’ she asked.
‘I’ve decided to tell Dean first instead,’ said Kim simply.
‘Oh, Kim, I’m so pleased,’ said Gemma. ‘I’m sure that’s the right thing to do just as I’m sure that Dean will be delighted when you tell him. It’ll be wedding bells next—you see.’
‘Whoa! Please, one thing at a time,’ protested Kim with a laugh. By this time they’d reached Gemma’s road, and as Kim drew up outside the house she switched off the engine and turned to look at Gemma. ‘Your turn will come, Gemma, I know it will,’ she said quietly.
‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ Gemma replied lightly.
‘Yes, it will. Some gorgeous man will come along one day and sweep you off your feet.’
‘You’re forgetting something, Kim. Daisy and I come as a package.’
‘I know,’ said Kim. ‘But if a man loves you he couldn’t fail to love Daisy. She’s absolutely adorable…anyway, There’s always Stephen Preston.’
‘What about Stephen Preston?’ Gemma threw Kim a startled glance.
‘Well, the two of you going off for romantic walks together. I’d say that if you play your cards right there, Gem, you could be in with a chance.’
‘Oh, yes?’ Deliberately Gemma allowed sarcasm to enter her tone. ‘And what about Alex?’
‘Oh, to hell with Alex,’ sniffed Kim. ‘She’s had her pick of the crop for far too long. It’s about time someone else got a look in, and you have to admit, Gemma, our new registrar really is rather gorgeous.’
‘Is he?’ said Gemma airily. ‘I hadn’t really noticed, but maybe that’s because I already knew him.’
‘So just how well did you know him?’ asked Kim curiously.
Gemma shrugged then, striving once again to keep her voice as casual as possible, she said, ‘He was a doctor at my last hospital, that’s all.’
‘Did you meet socially?’ demanded Kim.
‘Yes, at the social club and parties and things…you know how it is. Anyway, Kim…’ Gemma sighed. ‘I’d better get indoors and you’d better get on home to bed.’ Once again Gemma was tempted to tell Kim the truth but something stopped her. Kim was a good friend but no one else knew that Stephen was Daisy’s father and, much as it would be nice to be able to confide in someone, Gemma still felt that life would be easier if no one knew. Opening the car door, she looked back at Kim through the open window. ‘Thanks for taking me, Kim,’ she said. ‘And good luck with telling Dean.’
‘I’ll let you know how it goes. ’ Night, Gemma.’
‘Goodnight, Kim.’ She watched as Kim drove away then she turned and went into the house. Her mother had left a table lamp burning in the hall for her. After locking the front door behind her, she switched off the light and climbed the stairs.
Daisy was fast asleep and after a quick visit to the bathroom Gemma undressed and climbed into bed.
She was tired and thought she would fall asleep straight away, but somehow sleep eluded her and she found herself replaying the events of the evening over and over again in her mind.
It had been a surprise to see Stephen at the party but deep down she knew that at the moment their eyes had met she’d felt a frisson of excitement and in spite of everything she’d been glad he’d been there. Dancing with him, when he’d held her so close, had revived old, half-forgotten memories, and walking with him and talking had stirred other emotions, but it had been the kiss they had shared that had really been responsible for the feeling of turmoil she’d had ever since.
For that one kiss had awakened all the old desire and longings and at the same time had stirred a passion deep inside her that Gemma had never known with any man other than Stephen. It was a passion she had despaired of ever knowing again, a passion she’d believed to be dead, along with the love they’d once shar
ed. But it was still there—that kiss had proved that.
But if that was so, what in the world was she to do about it? With a groan she turned over and thumped her pillow. Stephen had indicated that they needed to talk, and from his point of view she could see why. He wanted answers. Answers as to why she hadn’t replied to his letter and answers as to why she’d simply allowed their love to die. Answers she was unable to give.
When at last she did fall into an exhausted but fitful sleep it was to dream of Stephen and of how it had been when they’d been together. She dreamt they were making love—it was all wonderful then some disaster happened. She had no idea what it was, she only knew it was something to do with Daisy and that it came along out of the blue and tore them apart for ever. She was reaching out to Stephen and crying when she awoke with a start.
She lay, wide-eyed, with her heart thumping. What had been the disaster? What had happened? Slowly, realisation that it had only been a dream stole over her, and as her breathing became steadier she turned her head and looked towards the window. It was almost light outside and the birds were singing in the sycamore tree outside her bedroom window. Even as she lay there she heard a sound in the room next to hers.
‘Mummy…Mummy…want a drink…’
Gemma sat up and swung her legs to the floor and a moment later she padded into the adjoining bedroom. Daisy was sitting up in bed, her toys all around her, and as Gemma came into the room she lifted her arms.
The dream that still clouded her mind had somehow involved Daisy, and as Gemma picked her up she hugged the little girl tightly as if she couldn’t bear to let her go.
CHAPTER SEVEN
SISTER MILES looked up from the desk in the nurses’ station as Gemma returned from the ward with the drugs trolley. ‘Gemma,’ she said, ‘Dorothy Caton is very anxious about her angioplasty. Will you go and talk her through it, please, before Dr Preston comes to see her?’
‘Yes, of course.’ Gemma nodded as she locked the drugs cabinet then turned to go back onto the ward. She felt desperately tired in spite of the fact that the previous day had been her day off. After sleeping so badly on the night of the party, she’d thought she would sleep like a log the following night, but nature had decreed otherwise for after the long and abnormal spell of hot weather huge thunderstorms had raged over London throughout the night, making sleep impossible. The up side was that the air that day was much cooler, with a light, fresh breeze instead of the muggy, sticky conditions of late.
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