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The words reverberated in her head, her surroundingsto the perimeter of her consciousness Love She put her hand to her heart, which was thu her feel ill She loved hi her in the face for a while but she just hadn't had the courage to ac¬knowledge it But she did—she loved Travis Black

She ju to Harvey, who came at once, clearly more than ready for home and his dinner She didn't want to love Travis, she couldn't love him With love came all sorts of complications she could do without

She walked the rest of the way ho of a surprise when the cottage caht

Travis didn't want her to fall in love with him any more than she wanted it, she told herself feverishly a little while later as she fixed Harvey's dinner Oh, he wanted her friend¬ship and trust, and not least her body, he hademotionally and physically so an affair between them wouldn't leave a bad taste in the mouth when it finally ended But that was vastly different froht years away, in fact

She set Harvey's bowl on the floor and the big dog iood imitation of a vacuu rate

Travis had told her early on in their relationship that he had loved and lost the love of his life, had spelt it out in no uncer¬tain ter her that his commitment to another wo so muddled and confused herself—butabout it now, she was sure it had been

After putting Harvey's bowl in the deep stone sink, Beth made herself a cup of coffee and carried it out into the tiny back garden, which was now dark and still The scent of roses and white lilies froht giving a little light but obscuring any im¬perfections so that all that remained was perfume and perfect quiet She could have been the only person in the whole world

As Harvey dropped himself at her feet, Beth sat on the bench, the wood still retaining the day's heat, and sipped at the fragrant coffee How had this love crept up on her? she asked herself weakly When had sexual attraction and fasci¬nation changed into soer on a specific point, but changed it had Perhaps it had been a steady drip drip over the last weeks as he had worked hi soTravis ?

Gould you love so them? She frowned in the shadows Surely love and trust were insepara¬ble companions?

Why question the obvious? herproof of it She loved hihtened her to death and the feeling she'd had for Keith was a pale reflection in comparison, but she didn't trust him He was a man—a fiercely attractive, powerful, successful ers to have woe, a nine to five, potential fa to set hiht have been a chance she could lower her defences enough to risk letting him in

But Travis was light years away froe The party this weekend had been indicative of how things were All the men wanted to be like him and all the woht he was drop dead gorgeous and ht of howtheir lashes at him

What was this wo the coffee cup so tightly she was in Anger of snapping the china handle and forced herself to relax her grip How could any woman walk away from a man like Travis? Especially if he loved her? She bit down hard on her lip before drinking the rest of the coffee and then contin¬uing to sit in darkness The norave her was absent, however

It was the ringing of herwhich die had left in the kitchen which brought her to her feet a few lanced at her watch Eleven o'clock Bit late for Catherine Her heart began o thud Travis had begun the habit of ringing her last thing lately, once or twice a week Up until now she had refused to acknowledge she'd begun to be disappointed on the nights he didn't call

'Hello, Beth' His voice was deep and warm 'I haven't woken you, have I? I know it's a little late to call'