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'I'll help you look,' Luke offered, but the sad little smile and murmured thanks Jemma gave him in return infuriated him still further. His gimlet gaze sweeping around the floor, he quickly spotted the locket and casually moved to step on it. 'Oops, I appear to have found it.' He bent down and picked up the very much dented locket. 'Sorry about that, Jemma.' And he dropped the mangled locket in her outstretched hand. He wasn't proud of his actions, but anything was permissible in love and war. He stiffened. Love? Where the hell had that come from? Love was not a word in his vocabulary… 'I need to shower and change,' he said abruptly, tugging at his tie and feeling very hot under the collar. I'll buy you another locket.'
Jemma glanced down at the locket in her hand and curled her fist around it. It was her last link with Alan, she thought with a bittersweet sadness. Well, not quite the last link—she still had the house, and she refused to feel guilty about deceiving Luke. 'Thanks, but that won't be necessary,' she said coolly, lifting her head and looking straight at him, but he avoided her gaze.
'As you like.' His broad shoulders lifted in a shrug and Jemma had the oddest notion he had deliberately broken her locket. 'I'd like a coffee, but don't bother with anything to eat—I have a bit of work to do in the study. We can go out to dinner later on.' As she watched he removed
his jacket, then started on his shirt buttons.
He infuriated her! She hadn't intended cooking for him anyway. She opened her mouth to tell him as much, but then stopped. She hadn't really thought about the practicalities of living with Luke, but now she was forced to. In three days they would be husband and wife, and unless she wanted her life to become a living hell she had to ignore the reasons why he was marrying her and try to have a civilised relationship with him. She curled the locket in the palm of her hand… The end of an era…
'Okay, I'll get you that coffee,' she murmured. In her fragile state, Jemma didn't need to see him strip naked, and she darted out of the room to the kitchen.
Later, seated at an intimate table for two in an exclusive restaurant, lingering over a cup of coffee after an excellent meal, Jemma allowed herself a smile.
'What's amusing you?' Luke asked, taking a sip of brandy from a balloon glass.
'I was just thinking it's ironic that this is the same restaurant I was going to bring my father to for his birthday, and instead I got you. In a few days' time we'll be married, and yet this is the first time we have actually been out together. Doesn't it bother you that you know nothing about me, Luke?’
The meal had been wonderful, and to her surprise Jemma had discovered Luke was an intelligent and witty companion—when he wasn't trying to get her into bed.
'Not in the slightest.' He put down his glass and put his hand over hers resting on the table. ‘I know all I need to know. You're a very beautiful and sexy woman.'
'I didn't mean sex.' She tried to pull her hand away, but his fingers linked with hers and prevented her.
'Let me finish. I know we are compatible in that area.' He freed her hand and, leaning forward, reached to tilt her chin with one finger, his silver eyes holding hers. 'There's a powerful chemistry between us—you can't deny it. You melt when I touch you, and it's the same for me. That's a big plus in any marriage, and as for the rest, we have a lifetime to get to know each other.' Heat scorched Jemma's cheeks. The sexual tension was back in full force, and she heaved an inward sigh of relief when Luke sat back and was silent for a moment. Then he continued, 'But I also know you and I both want the same thing—to have a child or two and be a family, and at the same time make the families we already have happy.'
'And you think that's enough?'
'It's a lot more than most people in this day and age aspire to,' he said rather cynically. 'A growing percentage of people have a child with no more thought than they would give to buying a new coat, and they cast off their responsibilities with the same ease as shedding a coat.' He leant forward again. 'But let me reassure you, Jemma. Although I travel a great deal, once we have a child my schedule will be rearranged. I won't be an absent parent.'
Surprise at his comment kept her silent, not sure she wanted to be reassured about his possible increased presence in her life. He rose to his feet and dropped a bundle of notes on the table. 'Come on, let's go,' Luke instructed and walked around to her side, and held out his hand to her. Jemma took it…
The next morning Jemma woke up in Luke's bed, muscles aching in places she'd never known she had. There was no sign of Luke, and, leaping out of bed, she shot into the shower. Thanking her lucky stars that she had brought some clothes over yesterday, even if it had been in a fit of temper, she pulled on a pair of oatmeal-coloured trousers and teamed them with a matching silk blouse. She brushed her hair and tied it back with multi-coloured scarf, slipping her feet into soft suede mules. It took all the will-power she possessed to leave the bedroom.
The apartment appeared to be deserted. Jemma made herself a cup of coffee in the stainless steel kitchen and wandered back into the living area, not sure what to do. Leaving it as it was seemed a good option, she mused, just as Luke appeared, looking spectacular in a dark grey business suit, a paler grey shirt and silk tie. She had trouble tearing her gaze away, and had to battle down the blush that threatened.
'I was about to wake you, but you're dressed; good. My lawyer will be here in fifteen minutes so you can sign the pre-nup, and that's it.' Jemma was still digesting this comment when he walked across and smiled brilliantly down at her. 'Everything is ready for the wedding, honey.'
He dropped a kiss on her brow. 'And if you haven't put your house up for sale yet, I can get my people to do it for you.'
He was so relaxed, so matter-of-fact. A night of passionate sex obviously had no more effect on him other than to put a satisfied smile on his face. Jemma realised she needed to learn quickly to do the same.
'No, that won't be necessary. I have it all in hand.' She didn't like to lie, but she was at a loss for anything else to say. She had made her bed and now she had to lie in it. After last night, lying in that particular bed wasn't going to be a hardship, but as for the rest of her life…
Luke's lawyer was super-efficient and insisted on reading out the whole of the pre-nuptial agreement to them. Basically, they both kept what they owned, but Jemma got nothing if they parted in the first three years of marriage—which wasn't surprising, considering Luke would be paying into Vanity Flair for the next three years. Afterwards, Luke left with the lawyer, telling her he would be back at six, leaving Jemma to finally go home.
* * *
Free of Luke's powerful presence for the first time in hours, Jemma glanced around the crowd of people in disbelief. They had been married in the gardens of Luke's house in Greece a few short hours before, and if this was what Luke called a simple party then she would hate to be around when he threw a big one.
Her father had given her away, with at least two hundred people present. Wearing a designer gown in ivory satin with a boned bodice, and nothing much else apart from a thong at Jan's insistence—because anything more would spoil the line of the slim-fitting skirt—Jemma had sat at Luke's side through a magnificent banquet set out on the vast terrace that ran the width of the house. After what had seemed like interminable speeches the music had started. Luke had led her out into the middle of the terrace and they had started the dancing.
Jemma let her glance rest for a moment on her new husband. Luke had been pulled into the middle of the floor by a group of men and they had all shed their jackets and ties and were dancing some traditional Greek dance together. The music and laughter were loud and their movements were very sexy, making her head spin. Hastily she looked away. Spotting a huge potted vine, she crossed to gently touch the leaves before walking around the plant to one of the huge marble columns that supported the upper balcony. She leant against it. She felt hot, and the shade plus the cool marble at her back were a welcome relief from the fierce heat.
She had done it… she was married… and everyone was happy. Theo certainly was. A brief smile spread across her tense features. Luke's grandfather's delight on seeing her when she had arrived yesterday, and his gentle charm, had done much to relieve her nervous tension at the thought of marrying Luke.
She had been given her own room last night, in deference to her wedding day and Theo's sensibilities as to what was correct—much to Luke's disgust. But Jemma had been glad of the breathing space, having spent the two nights before in Luke's bed. It was a lot harder than she had thought to match Luke's sophisticated attitude to sex.
Early this morning, much to her surprise, Theo had walked into her bedroom bearing a coffee tray. They had drunk coffee and he had told her that Luke was basically a good man and that he was sure his grandson loved her. But he'd also said he knew Luke could be overpowering in the pursuit of what he wanted, and that if Jemma had any doubts about marrying him she should say so now and Theo would understand.
