The Billionaire's Marriage Mission. HELEN BROOKS

exited the Mercedes, apparently not in the least put out at having his Saturday morning messed up.

      ‘Hello, there!’ His jovial voice matched his appearance. ‘What a to-do, eh?’ he said directly to Travis, adding, ‘and you must be Miss Marton? Pleased to meet you, m’dear.’

      ‘I’m sorry about this.’ As Beth shook the little man’s hand she was red with embarrassment. Not so much at having to call the estate agent out but more because she had noticed the somewhat speculative glance he had shot at Travis. John Turner had obviously put two and two together and made ten regarding her overnight stay.

      ‘Not to worry. It’s easy done, locking yourself out. My wife does it all the time. Now, let’s get you back inside, shall we?’ He swung round and opened the front door with the key in his hand, adding over his shoulder, ‘You coming to the football this afternoon, Travis? Looks like it’ll be a good match.’

      ‘Possibly.’ As John Turner stood aside for her to enter the cottage, Travis remained standing where he was.

      ‘Thank you for helping last night.’ Flustered, Beth snapped her fingers at Harvey, who had been sniffing round the garden as she added, ‘Would either of you like a coffee before you go?’

      ‘Not for me, thanks. Million and one things to do.’ The estate agent was already walking back to his car.

      Beth turned to look at Travis, convinced he would want to come in and mentally willing him to say no. And then, when he did just that, she felt a totally unreasonable dart of pique.

      ‘If you need my services again, just don those pink silk things and wave me down,’ Travis added, deadpan, before turning and beginning to walk away.

      Beth stared after him. He was going? Just like that? But then, why wouldn’t he? She had made it pretty clear she couldn’t wait to see the back of him, after all. But still…‘These clothes,’ she called after him. ‘When will you be around so I can pop them back to you after I’ve washed them?’

      He turned at the gate, surveying her through slits of brilliant grey light for a moment or two, his face expressionless. ‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said lazily. ‘Sandra has umpteen pairs of jogging bottoms and T-shirts; she won’t miss those.’

      They were his sister’s clothes? The fact that this gave her satisfaction was a warning in itself. ‘I couldn’t possibly keep them,’ she said primly. ‘I must drop them by at some point.’

      He shrugged. ‘There’s a mail box just outside the gates for any letters and parcels that get delivered when I’m up here. It’s always unlocked. Drop them in there if you must.’ His tone stated she was being unnecessarily pedantic.

      ‘Right.’ She nodded briskly, masking the umbrage she was feeling at his complete disinclination to any more contact. ‘I’ll do that.’ Harvey was whining slightly at her side and she kept her hand on his collar. The dog obviously didn’t want to see Travis leave and she wouldn’t put it past Harvey to go galloping after him if she let go. ‘Goodbye, then.’

      ‘Goodbye, Beth,’ Travis said softly. ‘It was nice meeting you.’

      The rest of the day was a definite anticlimax. It didn’t take more than half an hour to settle in to her temporary new home and, after raking out the ashes of the fire and laying a new one ready to be lit that evening, Beth took Harvey for a long walk in the woods surrounding the property.

      The May day was another warm one and after a couple of hours the path they were following dropped steeply beside a tiny stream that burrowed its way out of the hillside. Beth sat on the grassy bank as Harvey cavorted in the water, his splashing offending the birds in the trees surrounding them, who showed their displeasure by giving alarm calls and the odd bout of mad fluttering.

      In spite of Harvey’s antics it was very peaceful. Beth, her back resting against an ancient oak tree, allowed her mind to wander, and it was a full minute before she realised that all she was thinking about was Travis Black. Which was crazy—worse than crazy. She didn’t know what had got into her.

      She sat up straight, annoyed with herself. He had been kind, she had to give him that, but the whole episode was now a closed chapter, so why was she wasting one second thinking about a virtual stranger? And a much too attractive stranger at that. Travis was the sort of man who ought to have ‘Danger to Women’ stamped across his forehead in big red letters.

      Harvey decided to come and shake himself at her side in the next moment, which effectively cut Beth’s musings short, but for the rest of the walk she made sure Travis was kept firmly on the perimeter of her thoughts. It was a battle, but she managed it.

      A golden twilight was scenting the air when Beth finally pushed open the gate of Herb Cottage much later that day. She was exhausted, but pleasantly so. Harvey was making it clear he felt his paws had been walked off and that he was ready for his dinner as he plodded after her.

      She saw the big bunch of flowers lying on the doorstep almost immediately, her pulse quickening as she walked up the garden path. The pale pink rosebuds, freesias and baby’s breath were wrapped in cellophane and tied with a pink ribbon. The small card read, ‘A little housewarming present’. It was signed simply ‘Travis’.

      She stared at the firm black scrawl, her heart thumping. He had bought her flowers. It was the last thing she’d expected after their somewhat terse parting. Why had he done that?

      She opened the door, clicking the latch down once she was in the cottage so there couldn’t be a repeat of last night’s performance. Walking into the tiny kitchen, she lay the flowers on the draining board, continuing to stare at them until Harvey’s whine reminded her he was waiting for his meal.

      Once the dog was fed, she dug out a vase from the bits and pieces in the cupboard under the sink and placed the flowers in water. They were gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.

      They didn’t mean anything; he was probably just being kind. She nodded at the thought. Which was fine. People were allowed to be kind without any ulterior motives, after all. These flowers didn’t mean he was interested in her. She frowned at the sweetly scented blooms as she carried the vase through to the sitting room. But his doing this was a…complication.

      She plonked the vase down on the old-fashioned dresser and went to fix herself a quick meal of salad and cold meat. She ate her supper on a tray in the sitting room, staring at the flowers, Harvey sitting to attention at her feet as he eyed her last piece of home-cured ham hopefully.

      The flowers didn’t mean she would necessarily see anything of Travis Black again, she told herself later as she washed the dishes before getting ready for bed. From what he’d told her, he was a busy man and time was at a premium. And, as she didn’t want to see him again, that suited her perfectly.

      Nevertheless, in the short time before she drifted off to sleep, she couldn’t help anticipating the next day and whether there would be a knock at the door. And she didn’t like the way her pulse quickened at the possibility either.

      There was no knock at the door, not on the following day or the subsequent ones. Travis had obviously returned to Bristol after his weekend at his bolt-hole. Beth told herself she was immensely relieved that a difficult episode had finished on a good note, and she was, in a way. She didn’t want to see Travis again—she didn’t want to get mixed up with any man again—so she couldn’t quite understand why she found him popping into her mind at odd moments.

      She washed and ironed the T-shirt and jogging bottoms and packaged them up with a note thanking him for his hospitality and the gift of the flowers, depositing the parcel in the post box he’d spoken of on Saturday morning. Once that was done she felt a little better about everything. She had kept the note polite and friendly but faintly dismissive, covertly indicating she didn’t expect their paths to cross again.

      As one peaceful May day after another passed, Beth found herself eating and sleeping better than she had in years. This was partly due to the peace and quiet, but also because the days were sunny and warm and she and Harvey could tramp the countryside