Carole Mortimer - The Unwilling Mistress

‘No, thanks,’ he cut in briskly. ‘I would rather find my own way around.’

She nodded. ‘But please feel free to call back and speak to either Mr Carter or Miss Jones if you find this particular rental unsuitable for your needs.’

Giving Will the clear impression that she already knew it wasn’t going to be!

Which only incited him into wanting to take that satisfied little smile off her beautiful face! ‘March, would you have dinner with me this evening?’

He almost laughed at the sudden stunned look on her face. Almost. Because even as he made the invitation he knew that he really did want her to have dinner with him…!

She was prickly and outspoken, absolutely nothing like a receptionist greeting the general public should be, but at the same time he liked her outspokenness, that sparkle in her eyes, and her beauty was indisputable.

She seemed to gather her scattered wits together with effort, straightening in her chair even as she began to shake her head. ‘I don’t think so, thank you, Mr Davenport,’ she refused tautly, those dark lashed grey-green eyes sparkling with indignation now.

He quirked blond brows. ‘No taking pity on a stranger in the area?’

Her mouth twisted derisively. ‘Being a stranger here, you may not have heard, Mr Davenport, but we had a stalker in the area until he was caught quite recently.’

As it happened, Will had heard—although he wasn’t quite sure he liked her implication!

‘As I recall, the man was a local,’ he reminded dryly.

‘Yes, he was,’ she confirmed abruptly, her cheeks pale now. ‘But that’s all the more reason to be doubly wary of strangers.’

He gave an acknowledging inclination of his head. ‘Maybe I’ll come back tomorrow and ask again—I won’t be a stranger then!’

March gave the ghost of a smile. ‘You can try,’ she challenged.

But he would be wasting his time, her words clearly implied. Pity. He would have liked to get to know her better.

‘Thanks, anyway, March.’ He stood up to leave. ‘I’m expected at one-thirty, you said?’

‘Lunchtime,’ she confirmed dryly.

Good, that would give him time to complete the other business he had in town. Although, so far, that was proving more difficult than he had imagined.

He turned back to March. ‘I don’t suppose—no,’ he answered his own question, shaking his head ruefully. ‘Sorry.’ He grimaced at her enquiring look. ‘I’m making enquiries about a friend of mine who was staying at the hotel until a few days ago, but as he was another stranger, I don’t suppose you would know anything about him, either!’

March eyed him mockingly. ‘I don’t suppose I would.’

Will grinned. ‘Never at a loss for words, are you?’ he said admiringly.

‘Only when invited out to dinner by a complete stranger,’ she mocked her own momentary lack of composure a few minutes ago when he’d made the invitation.

He chuckled softly. ‘It isn’t too late to change your mind about that…?’

‘I’ll pass, thanks,’ she returned smilingly, her attention distracted behind him at that moment as the bell rang over the door to announce a new arrival.

‘Thanks for this, March.’ Will held up the piece of paper with the address on it. ‘You can have my parking space now, if you want it,’ he added goadingly.

March gave him a look from beneath deliberately frowning brows. ‘I believe that was my parking space, Mr Davenport—and I won’t bother now, if you don’t mind.’ She laughed in spite of herself.

Will nodded politely to the man and woman who had just entered, deciding from their business suits, and general air of ownership, that they were probably the Mr Carter and Miss Jones that March kept referring to.

He glanced back inside before driving away, raising a hand in parting to March as he saw she was looking out of the window at him, too. Still with that self-satisfied smile curving her lips, the little minx.

Pity she had turned down his dinner invitation. Although, perhaps with the controversial circumstances of his being in the area, it was probably better not to involve her.

From what he had already been told, he was going to have enough trouble with certain members of the community, without becoming personally involved with another one of them.

As Max appeared to have done…

MARCH wasn’t in the least surprised to see the powerful red sports car still parked in the yard when she arrived at the farm that afternoon shortly before two. In fact, she had counted on it!

Will Davenport, with his good looks and air of sophistication—his lack of apology for taking her parking spot!—had totally rubbed her up the wrong way this morning. Well, the boot was on the other foot now—as he was shortly going to realize.

Wednesday was half-day at the agency, a fact she had been very aware of when she’d made the appointment for Will Davenport to view this rented accommodation at one-thirty.

‘You really didn’t have to bother to come all the way out here, you know,’ Will Davenport’s unmistakable voice drawled from behind March as she turned to get her bag from the back of the car. ‘I did tell you I would be able to manage for myself,’ he added with confident dismissal.

March slowly straightened before turning to give him a mocking smile. ‘And have you?’ she taunted.

‘Of course.’ Will stepped aside so that the person standing behind him was now visible. ‘Apart from signing on the dotted line, I believe May and I have settled everything.’ He grinned his satisfaction.

March turned to the young woman who now stood beside Will. ‘I don’t think we have a dotted line for Will to sign on, do we, May?’ she prompted lightly.

Her sister smiled. ‘Not that I’m aware of, no,’ she drawled, at the same time now giving March a quizzical look.

May, as the eldest of the three sisters, had always been the more level-headed one too; it didn’t need two guesses to know that she was not going to be pleased with March for the little trick she had played on Will Davenport today.

Never mind; it had been worth it—just to see the puzzled expression as his gaze moved frowningly between the two sisters!

‘“We”?’ he finally prompted slowly, his expression wary now.

March gave a satisfied grin. ‘I didn’t come here to check up on you, Mr Davenport—I happen to live here!’ she took great delight in telling him.

To say he looked stunned by this disclosure had to be an understatement; he looked as if someone had just punched him between the eyes!

Yes, he looked stunned—and something else, March realized as his expression instantly became guarded. She had thought, from the little she had seen of him, that once Will got over the surprise at learning that it was her family farm she had sent him to, he would laugh about the situation. But obviously she had misjudged his sense of humour, because he certainly didn’t look as if he felt much like laughing.

‘It was only a joke, Mr Davenport,’ she told him ruefully. ‘Not a very clever one at that,’ she allowed dryly.

‘After all, we do have the studio for rent, and you did say you were looking for somewhere in the area…’ She trailed off as she could tell that, far from seeing the funny side of the situation, he was now frowning darkly.

‘The two of you are sisters,’ he realized woodenly.

‘I don’t think you get any Brownie points for guessing that!’ March grinned as she moved to stand next to May, the likeness between the two women more than obvious, both tall and dark-haired, their features similar, only the eyes a different colour, May’s a clear emerald-green.

Will Davenport didn’t return her smile. In fact, he seemed momentarily at a loss for words.