“It's a hell of a note to end on, isn't it?” Maybe it was a sign that it was truly over between us.

“We'll have to try again sometime,” he said, looking at me, a little glazed from the brandy.

“I don't think so,” I said sadly.

“Why not?” He was so damn persistent, it must have been something in his computer.

“You know why.”

“Because of him.” I nodded, there was no need to say it all again. I had already said it. Before he tried to kill me with his failed quadruple. “He's not worth it.”

“I think he is.” That I was sure of.

“He doesn't deserve you.” He looked wistful as he said it.

“Neither do you.” I smiled at him. “You need a nice Klone like you, with a strong back, and a better computer.”

“Did I hurt you, Steph?”

“I'm okay.” It was going to be an odd life now without him, and I already felt nostalgic thinking about it. In spite of myself, I knew I would miss him. Who else would wear red spandex and lime green satin, not to mention the leopard G-string? There would never again be anyone else like him. Not even Peter. But even as I lay beside the naked splendor of his Klone, all I could think about was Peter.

“Why do you love him?”

“I just do. It feels right.”

“Does it?” He was watching me, as he handed me the brandy snifter, and I sipped it. It seared my throat as I took a tiny swallow. “It feels right to me too,” he said then in a whisper.

“Don't start that again,” I warned him, as I noticed that his eye was bruising. He was going to have a terrific shiner to show for the quadruple.

“Steph …” he said again. “I have a confession to make.”

“What now?” By then, nothing would have surprised me.

“I never called him.”

“Who? Peter? Were you supposed to?” He hadn't called me either. He was probably in the arms of Helena's twin in San Francisco.

“No, Paul.”

“Paul who?” I was tired, and his confession didn't sound too intriguing. The brandy must have been getting to him.

“He's still in the shop, with his head off.”

“Who is?” And then slowly, as I looked at him, the full force of what he was saying began to hit me. But it couldn't be. It wasn't possible. He would never do this. “What are you saying to me?”

“You know what I'm saying…. I'm not him … I'm me….” He looked like a little boy as he said it.

“Peter?” I said hoarsely, as though seeing him for the first time, and then I understood the crash in the midst of the quadruple flip. It wasn't Paul lying in bed with me at all. It was Peter. And I was stunned as I knew it. “Peter! You didn't … you couldn't … why would you?” I pulled away to look at him, but there was no way to tell them apart now, except for the bruises.

“I thought you were in love with Paul when I came back this time. I wanted to know for sure. I missed you so much when I was in California … it was all I could think of, and then I came back and you looked so sad. I thought you were in love with him, and didn't want to see me.”

“I thought you didn't love me.” I was still appalled by what he had just done, and nearly angry, but he was so banged up, it was hard to be as angry as I should have. “You seemed so cold … so distant….”

“I do love you. I just thought it was Paul you wanted to be with. I thought he was what you wanted.”

“So did I, once or twice,” I grinned at him sheepishly, “but I finally figured it out. He's not real to me … you are. You're much more wonderful than he is.” In spite of myself, I leaned over and kissed him, and he winced when I touched him, but he kissed me, and when he did, I knew the answer to all my questions.

“I can't do the quadruple,” Peter said regretfully, “or drink the way he does. I don't know how they programmed him. I'm going to have a hell of a hang-over tomorrow.”

“You deserve it,” I said, snuggling next to him, and pulling the covers up around us. He was shivering a little. It had been quite an evening.

“There are a lot of things I can't do like him,” Peter said, with an arm around me.

“Most things you do a lot better. I'm too old for all the acrobatics.”

“I'm too old to lose you, Steph. I love you. I don't want to lose this.” It was everything I had wanted Roger to say a thousand years before, and he hadn't. Peter was the one I had waited a lifetime for. Even if he was a little crazy.

“Where is Paul now?” I asked, curious suddenly. It was hard to believe he hadn't been with me all night … the clothes … the things he had said … the iguana … Peter had been terrifyingly convincing.

“He's in the shop, and he's going to stay there. With his head off. After Christmas, you're coming to California with me. From now on, when I travel, we'll get a sitter for the kids and you'll come with me.” He pulled me just a little closer, as I snuggled beside him, unable to believe what I was hearing. This was the dream. Everything that had come before it had been the nightmare.

“Why didn't we think of that from the beginning?”

“I thought you'd have more fun with him, and you wouldn't want to leave the kids, so I activated him for you. I thought you'd like him.”

“I did. But it just got too crazy. I'd rather get a sitter, and go with you.”

“The kids won't mind too much if you leave them?”

“They're old enough to manage without me from time to time.” And then I thought of something that worried me considerably, as I looked up at Peter. “What about the iguana?”

“Consider it a last gift from Paul.”

“Do I have to?” This was not the best news of the evening, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings, or break Sam's heart. I just didn't want to have to see the beast at breakfast, staring into my cornflakes. Maybe we could make a cage for him, or rent him his own apartment.

“You'll grow to love him,” Peter promised, blowing out the candle, and pulling me closer again as we cuddled under the covers.

“The last time you said that, you turned my life into a shambles. Or Paul did.” Just looking back at his exploits now seemed beyond belief as Peter held me.

“I plan to do that myself from now on … turn your life into a shambles. Maybe I should keep the gold lame disco pants as a souvenir,” he said softly, drifting off to sleep as I looked at him, wondering how all this had happened. I knew I would never completely understand it. I couldn't help wondering if it was all a figment of my imagination. It was hard to believe it had happened. “I love you, Steph…. I'm here now,” he whispered, and indeed he was, as he fell asleep in my arms, and I drifted off beside him. He was there, as I was. And I was his now. It all seemed so simple in the end. I thought of Paul for a millisecond as I fell asleep, and I knew that, in spite of everything, I wouldn't miss him. It was over. We didn't need him anymore. We had each other. Forever. The two of us from now on, and no more Klone. Just Peter and I.

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1998 by Danielle Steel

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. For information address: Delacorte Press, New York, New York.

The trademark Dell® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

eISBN: 978-0-307-56694-2

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Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten