Romance of a Lifetime by Carole Mortimer Page B

just never arisen. And yet despite the love Beth had felt for her new husband, and the consideration and love he had always shown her, the physical side of their relationship hadn't brought the joy Beth had expected.
    But she had assured herself that sometimes .these things took time, needed to be treated with patience and gentleness to bring fulfilment to them both.
    Her mother's business had continued to flourish, extending to Hong Kong, the Bahamas, Italy, even that centre of chic, Paris.
    Beth was pleased for her mother, knew this was what she had always wanted. But her prolonged absences during those first few months of Beth's marriage had meant she hadn't had her mother to confide in the way she would have wished. She could hardly have blurted out, on one of her mother's fleeting weekend visits, that she found the physical side of her marriage more than a little disappointing!
    She had also found that she saw less of Martin now they were married than she had anticipated, always seeming as he did to be busy with work. Well, always was possibly an exaggeration, but, as Martin had insisted that as his wife she didn't continue to work but occupy her time as hostess of the apartment they now lived in, she had found that time weighed heavily on her hands.
    And then she had found she was pregnant, and life suddenly had a whole new meaning. Martin had been pleased by the news, her father delighted, and she had suddenly found herself cosseted and cared for by both of them, which was a wonderful experience in itself.
    Her mother had been so pleased that the marriage was turning out so well, was greatly looking forward to the birth of her first grandchild, and Beth had been able to tell by what wasn't said that until then her mother had feared for her happiness.
    Now there could be no doubting the strength of the bond between Beth and Martin, and her mother had been pleased for her.
    And maybe if Beth hadn't overheard the conversation between Martin and the woman who had been his lover for the last three And maybe if Beth hadn't overheard the conversation between Martin and the woman who had been his lover for the last three years, if the shock of overhearing that hadn't made her lose the baby, a son, she would have continued in happy ignorance for the rest of her life!
    She was supposed to have been with her mother on a shopping trip for the baby that day, but had felt slightly ill for most of the morning, and by lunchtime she had known she had to go home and lie down, assuring her mother that she would be perfectly well after a short sleep, knowing this from experience.
    She certainly hadn't expected to come home and find Martin in their bed with another woman!
    The couple in the bed couldn't have heard her entrance to the apartment, so engrossed were they in each other, the sound of their laughter filling the air.
    When Beth first let herself in she had heard that laughter with a sinking heart, believing Martin was entertaining a guest in the lounge, and hardly feeling in the mood to face anyone feeling as ill as she did, let alone a business acquaintance of Martin's.
    But to her puzzlement the lounge had been empty, the kitchen too, and she had followed the sound of the laughter to the bedroom she shared with Martin, surprised, but still totally unsuspecting, at the reason for him having taken anyone in there.
    She had believed Martin loved her—they had only been married for eighteen months, she was three months pregnant with their child; why should she have had any reason to suspect that Martin was in bed with his mistress?
    The two in the bed had been completely naked, Martin lying on his back, the woman draped across his chest, caressing the cleft in his chin as they laughed together.
    One look at Martin's face had been enough to tell Beth that he and this woman had already made love, that this was after rather than fore-play. That dark slumbering look in his eyes, that relaxed set to his mouth after he had made love; Beth