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She hoped her nose wasn't shiny but ten to one it was. It also felt a little sunburnt and was probably glowing like a beacon. She tried to ignore the effect his smoky voice had on her nerve-endings as she said, 'Nevertheless I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't happened by. It was a ridiculous position to be in. I'm not normally a fluttery type of female.'
Travis didn't reply to this. What he did say was, 'And you're feeling better now?'
'Better?' She stared at him warily. 'I don't understand.'
'You said you'd taken the cottage for a while because you had been ill,' he reminded her gently. 'I wondered if you were feeling it was doing you good.'
'Oh, I'm fine now,' she said firmly. 'Back to normal.'
'Overwork, was it?' The black eyebrows were enquiring.
She hadn't expected him to push the point and it took her aback so she didn't answer immediately. It was when she saw his eyes narrow that she forced herself to say, 'Partly, yes,' in as cool a voice as she could manage without being offen¬sive. There was absolutely no way she was going to discuss her past with Travis Black. No way. With this in mind, she added, 'It was peace and quiet I wanted and this cottage provides it. No having to be up at the crack of dawn to fight my way through London traffic, no deadlines, no arguing with builders or trying to appease clients, no people. I don't have to see a soul here and that's the way I like it.' Big hint there. Take it.
The slight quirk to the firm mouth told her her covert message had been received and understood. He was a tres¬passer, an unwelcome intruder into her small world. Beth refused to feel guilty. She hadn't asked him to come here today. She had asked for his help that night three weeks ago but she'd had no option then, and she had thanked him for his assistance more than once. She decided not to follow this train of thought because it was making the refusal to feel guilty harder to maintain and she needed to be strong around this man.
'At least you've provided a spark of excitement hereabouts,' Travis said drily. 'You're the talk of the village. Did you know that? Everyone's consumed by curiosity, apparently.'
Beth showed her alarm. 'Why is anyone interested in me?'
'A beautiful mystery woman who takes a cottage in the middle of nowhere and lives the life of a recluse. Why do you think?' he said softly. 'All the hallmarks of a good book.'
Beth stared at the dark craggy face. He was enjoying this, enjoying needling her, she thought, watching him as he swal¬lowed the last of his wine. She was blowed if she was going to offer him another glass. She adopted the face and posture which always worked with difficult builders or clients and said crisply, 'I'm sorry people haven't got anything better to talk about. They must lead very boring lives round here.'
It was like water off a duck's back to Travis. He looked down at his shoes, considering her words. It was an inoppor¬tune time to notice just how thick his eyelashes were or how his open shirt collar showed the dark shadow of body hair.
He looked up, smiling slightly as he said, 'Don't be sorry, Beth. Allow them their little stories and fantasies. I'm sure the truth is far duller than anything they've come up with.'
Cheeky hound. Now her stare turned into a glare and it was a moment or two before she warned herself not to show any emotion. Straightening her face and stitching a smile where the frown had been, she said nonchalantly, 'Guaranteed, for sure.'
A shrill beeping from the direction of the kitchen filtered through, telling her the timer on the oven was announcing her meal was cooked. Travis cocked his head. 'Do you need to see to something?' he asked mildly.
'It's fine. Just my evening meal,' she said dismissively, hoping he'd take the hint and leave, especially as she hadn't offered to refill his glass.
Instead he said, 'I thought I could smell something deli¬cious. What are you having?' He sniffed the air.
'A casserole.' And when the black brows continued to silently question, she added, 'Pork with parsnip and apple.' At least she hoped that was what it tasted like.
He all but smacked his lips. 'Sounds good.' And still he sat there as though he had a perfect right to.
Beth found herself mentally squirming, remembering how he'd taken her and Harvey in and made them so welcome. But this was different, she told herself silently. It was. Totally dif¬ferent. And the fact that she had cooked enough for two days, meaning to have the rest tomorrow, was nothing to do with it. She drained her glass and stood up, which was a relief in itself. The edge of the tub had been distinctly uncomfortable to perch on. Still Travis made no effort to leave.
The silence was now screaming and, acknowledging he'd won, she said flatly, 'Have you eaten yet?'
'Me?' he said with an air of pliant meekness which didn't wash at all with Beth. 'No, I haven't, as it happens. It was a devil of a journey, traffic jams all the way, and I just wanted to get here.'
