Marrying A Millionaire. Laura Martin

It sticks like hell.’ He walked around to the passenger side of the Land Rover and tugged open the door. ‘Another thing I keep meaning to have seen to,’ he commented, with a rueful smile. ‘There’s a whole list of things.’ He picked Robbie up and swung him onto the passenger seat, then stood aside to allow Cathy to clamber up. ‘You know how it is.’

      ‘Oh, don’t I just!’ Cathy remarked forcibly. She released a sigh, thinking about the effort she had to put in just to save a pound here and a penny there. ‘Isn’t money the most annoying thing in the world?’ She smiled. ‘Particularly when you haven’t got any! How do you manage?’ she added. ‘Giving up one of your days a week here is pretty generous.’

      ‘Oh, I get by. I’ve got a fair amount of time on my hands, so—’

      ‘You’re unemployed?’

      A slight frown creased Daniel’s forehead and Cathy blushed scarlet. ‘Sorry! I didn’t mean to pry—’ She shook her head, mentally cursing her runaway mouth.

      ‘Unemployed?’ She saw the look of puzzlement and then his brow cleared. ‘No. No, I’m not.’ He smiled. ‘Although some might say…No, I paint.’ He inserted the key into the ignition and started the engine. ‘Or at least that’s the general idea.’

      ‘Walls? Windowsills?’ Cathy queried.

      Daniel’s mouth twisted into a smile. ‘Watercolours,’ he replied. ‘And oils.’

      ‘You’re a proper artist?’ Cathy’s mouth widened into a smile. ‘Oh, that’s marvellous!’ she added enthusiastically. ‘What sort of things?’

      ‘People, places—anything that takes my fancy.’ Daniel began to manoeuvre the vehicle out of the school car park.

      ‘And do you manage to make a living out of it?’ Cathy asked. She saw Daniel frown a little and immediately regretted her question. ‘Sorry!’ she said quickly. ‘Don’t answer that. I ask all the wrong questions! It’s just nice, that’s all, to talk to someone who understands what it’s like not to have very much money. Most of the occupants of Langforde,’ she added, glancing at the impressive stone-bricked country houses which lined the green, ‘don’t seem to be particularly troubled in that area.’

      ‘No, you’re right. This is a fairly wealthy village,’ Daniel murmured. ‘Lots of captains of industry seem to retire here.’

      ‘Do you sell many of your paintings?’

      ‘A certain amount. It fluctuates. More often than not I’m loath to part with any of them. I really should devote more time to it if I’m to make any real headway.’

      ‘I feel that way about my bits and pieces,’ Cathy murmured. ‘I haven’t thrown myself into it wholeheartedly as yet, but I want to at some point in the future.’

      ‘Bits and pieces?’ His attractive mouth curved. ‘Sounds intriguing.’

      ‘Oh, it’s not…Well, at least…’ Cathy found herself blushing under Daniel’s interested gaze. ‘I…I make things.’

      ‘What kind of things?’

      She didn’t usually talk about her craftwork. ‘Oh, things for the garden: bird boxes and plant holders, labels, signs, that kind of thing. Nothing really remarkable.’

      ‘And you sell them?’

      ‘When I get the chance. At the moment it really is just a few pounds every now and then.’ Cathy hesitated. ‘That’s what upset me so much when I was talking to Miss Stubbs. She made me feel…inadequate.’ Cathy looked down at the unlovely overalls she was wearing. ‘Do you find people look down at you because you haven’t got much money?’

      ‘No…’ Daniel’s dark brows drew together in a deep frown. ‘No, I can’t say I do.’

      Now this was one hell of a dilemma! Where had she got the idea that he had no money? He glanced around the interior of the Land Rover; it needed cleaning out, as usual, and the clothes he was wearing…they were clean but, as was often the case, not exactly the smartest garments in his wardrobe.

      ‘I expected to feel a little out of place, of course,’ Cathy continued. ‘This is a picture-postcard village and obviously there are a great many people with money who live here, but even so—’

      ‘You really mustn’t let what Miss Stubbs said upset you,’ Daniel asserted. ‘Forget it. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.’ He negotiated the Land Rover around a tight bend in the road and debated whether to put Cathy straight about his situation. He glanced sideways. She looked so…earnest, so fragile. There was a vulnerability, too, beneath the smiling exterior. He decided to keep quiet, for the moment at least. Somehow it didn’t seem appropriate to tell her of his wealth, the fact that he could have afforded to spend every day of the week doing unpaid work of one kind or another, whereas she…Daniel frowned and shook his head.

      ‘What’s the matter?’

      ‘Sorry?’ He turned to look at her. Dark eyes surveyed the pale skin and delicately shaped mouth, and he knew in that moment that he would do everything in his power to nurture this new relationship.

      ‘You look preoccupied and you shook your head. I just thought something might be wrong.’

      ‘No, everything’s fine.’ Daniel glanced across at her and smiled reassuringly. ‘So! How is everything? The cottage coming together?’

      ‘Yes, it’s coming along just fine. As you can see I’ve abandoned everything to try and get it organised as quickly as possible.’

      Daniel frowned slightly. ‘Abandoned…?’

      ‘Myself.’ Cathy pulled a face. ‘I felt such a scruff talking to Miss Stubbs. I feel a scruff now,’ she admitted selfconsciously. ‘I rushed out of the house…I’ve probably got paint all over my face.’