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She couldn't honestly say there was but she wasn't going to give hi k 'I'm not prepared to discuss this any further'

'That's an answer in itself and it proves I'ance 'And you should be counting yourself lucky From the little you've told me, your ex was an out-and-out jerk who isn't fit to draw breath Let someone else put up hat he dishes out; you don't have to any more You're free of him, free to make a new life'

'That doesn't help Anna and their children,' she said self righteously in an atteuilty It didn't work She hadn't really expected it to

'It's up to her if she goes or stays She had a choice, sa trapped because of the kids,' he added, when Beth opened her rain of common sense would see they'd be far better off without a serial adul¬terer for a father ill most likely mess their minds up as badly as he seems to have messed up their mother's'

She stared at him 'I don't think I've ever met such an opinionated man as you,' she said with as much disdain as she could muster 'You really do take the biscuit'

All she had in ansas a grin 'Considering the conver¬sation we've just had, I'll count myself fortunate that's theup behind Michael and Catherine to let an old lady hat looked like dozens of little poodles on pink and blue leads cross the road They took ages, absolutely ages

He turned his head to face her and Beth ed face alight with a self-disparaging hu

Dynalance deepened and held She found she couldn't look away and she couldn't fatho and alive, her body tingling And Travis wasn't s any more She couldn't put a name to the expression on his face

How long the moment lasted she wasn't sure—it could have been seconds or hours given the way she was feeling— but then as the road ahead cleared he turned his head and broke the hold and the powerful car leapt forward

Beth sat absolutely still and quiet, every cell of her body reeling What had just happened? she asked herself silently She didn't know Whatever, it was the equivalent of being run over by a steamroller

She discovered she had been holding her breath and forced herself to regulate her breathing and relax the hands which, unbeknown to her, had curled themselves into fists

Dynaerous as dyna too close to fireworks! She groaned inwardly But, re¬gardless of how physically attracted she was to him—and that was all this was, physical attraction—he didn't fancy her, so that was all right She was safe It took two to tango

She continued to breathe evenly and deeply and within a few h she was sitting straight she felt as li as shy as if they had just made love Shyer

Please, God, don't let hihout the rest of the journey Not when he's made it absolutely clear I could be a mannequin in a clothes shop as far as he's concerned She didn't apologise for the exaggeration, feeling it justified in the circumstances She would die if he knew, she really would, and she still had another five or so h he only visited his second hoain, she'd be a nervous wreck if she had to think about avoiding hi to see if he was around

As Travis followed Michael and Catherine into the car park of what looked to be a very nice country hotel some time later Beth realised they'd arrived She didn't know if she was relieved or not Although it would be good to remove herself from the intimacy of the car and join Catherine and Michael, she orried how her sister would behave throughout the evening Catherine seeether just because he had helped her that first night

'You're tense Don't be' As Travis brought the car to a halt he reached out and placed a hand over hers, which were again clenched tightly in her lap 'I know the score, OK? You intend to stay very firmly in that ivory tower you've built about yourself and repel invaders And that's fine if that's what you want' He paused ‘Is it what you want, Beth?'

Beth glanced at the dark face She didn't knohat she wanted In fact, she'd never felt more muddled in her life And it was all his fault Hi theories on this and that She wished she had never met Travis Black