Free HER MIRACLE TWINS by MARGARET BARKER Page A

took a deep breath. ‘I suppose the rest of the world will regard us as abnormal but if we can ignore the gossip, that will be half the battle. With regard to my background, both my parents were only children.’
    He paused and cleared his throat. ‘I was also an only child. I was three years old when my parents died. They’d left me with my grandparents when they’d gone off to the Alps for their annual skiing holiday. They were both swept away in an avalanche.’
    ‘What a dreadful thing to happen. And you were only three.’
    He nodded. ‘I became aware that my parents had been away from home for longer than usual and started to ask questions about when they were coming back. It’s difficult for a three-year-old to understand what an accident is. I missed them, but gradually I stopped asking questions and simply accepted that my grandparents had taken their place.’
    She could hear that his voice was full of sadness. A sudden image of him as a lonely child flashed into her mind and she felt sorry for him. And now as an adult he still had no family of his own. She was glad she was going to help him. Yes, that was why sometimes she couldn’t understand her own emotions when she was with him. It was nothing to do with the fact that he was handsome, charming and charismatic. None of that came into the equation.
    She glanced across at him and saw that there was still an air of sadness which had lingered since he told her about losing his parents.
    Michel stood up and escaped into the kitchen as if he didn’t want to be seen displaying his emotions.
    When he returned he was carrying more nibbles. Cheese straws this time.
    She saw the dampness on his cheek as he went past her and once more she felt sorry for the poor little orphan he’d been and was glad that he’d had grandparents to care for him.
    ‘And you?’ he enquired, when he was settled once more beside her. ‘I remember you said your mother had brought you up by herself.’
    ‘Yes. My father died of cancer. There was a tumour in his oesophagus that was too far advanced to be removed. He was there at my seventh birthday party. I remember wondering why he didn’t eat any of the birthday cake my mother had made. A few weeks later he died.’
    He put his hand on hers. Neither of them spoke.
    ‘Maybe this is why we’re both so committed to becoming parents,’ he said gently. ‘We both feel we’ve missed out in some way. To have two parents must be a wonderful experience when you’re growing up.’
    ‘We’ll have to make sure we give our baby a lot of loving care.’ She looked at the man sitting beside her. He would make a wonderful father.
    ‘Come on, let’s carry on this conversation in the kitchen,’ he said, holding out his hand to help her to her feet.
    She felt it was a very special moment as they stood together, looking into each other’s eyes. She held her breath as he leaned forward to kiss her on the lips. As quickly as their lips met the kiss ended. Both of them knew this wasn’t part of the contract. It was as if they were agreeing to the start of their journey together.
    His arm was resting lightly on her waist as he took her into the kitchen
    ‘So, which of these many packages would you like me to unpack?’
    They both surveyed the kitchen table. ‘I really fancy watching you whip up an omelette,’ she said. ‘I’ll make a salad and that’s the main course sorted.’
    ‘And all this?’
    ‘You’ve got an enormous fridge-freezer over there, which we’ll put to good use.’ She was already rinsing the salad ingredients, then mixed a French dressing.
    ‘Got any mustard?’
    ‘No idea. If I have, it will be in that cupboard.’
    She found some and added it to her dressing.
    ‘I’m amazed!’ she told him as she watched him cracking eggs into a bowl. ‘You look like a real chef.’
    He laughed. ‘Don’t be deceived. This is the only dish I can make. You can serve it up at any point in the day, breakfast, lunch, supper.