Page 24 of It's Always Been You

“Ah . . . I don’t think I’m up for shopping.”

Travis mistook her hesitation for another problem. “I got you covered.”

“It’s not the money, Travis,” Caitlin said desperately. “I’ll survive a few more days with the clothes I have, and you got me enough toiletries to supply a five-star hotel room for days.”

“Thank you,” Emily piped in, obviously pleased that Caitlin approved of her bedroom. Turning to Travis, his assistant said, “You seem to forget, boss, not everyone’s like you—operating on a few hours of sleep and having no problems adjusting to time zones.”

“You’re jet-lagged,” Travis stated in resignation.

Caitlin tried to hide a smile but failed. What was he expecting? Take her on a tour? All she wanted was to sleep for days.

“Food and sleep are all I need right now.”

Something must have clicked in Travis’s brain for his expression turned grim. “Is that a side effect of—?”

“Yes,” Caitlin cut in.

“For how long?”

Caitlin didn’t answer because Emily turned curious eyes on her. Thankfully, she was saved from responding when the doorbell buzzed.

“That’s Beatrice,” Emily announced as she made her way to the door.

“Fuck,” Travis cursed.

Who is Beatrice?

Beatrice turned out to be a statuesque redhead who towered over Emily. She was probably five-ten in heels. The new arrival walked confidently into the house, comfortable with the place like she lived here. Caitlin felt a twinge of irritation that quickly morphed into outrage at Beatrice’s words.

“Do you need me to take out the trash for you?” Beatrice eyes bore into Caitlin before slicing over to Travis. Her meaning was not lost on Caitlin.

There was a gasp from Emily and what sounded like a growl from Travis.

Travis’s expression darkened to a scary degree as he stepped in front of Beatrice causing the redhead to appear to reconsider her words.

“You will apologize to Caitlin, right fucking now,” his voice vibrated with controlled rage. “Or in five seconds, you’ll find your ass parked outside.”

A hint of color crept up Beatrice’s face and her whole demeanor changed as she looked at Travis and said, “Um, I guess you don’t need my help?”

“No.” He turned to Caitlin. “Caitlin, this is Beatrice Porter.”

“Porter?”

“She’s Benjamin Porter’s daughter and a close friend of mine.” Travis narrowed his eyes at Beatrice. “Although I’m reconsidering.”

“Sorry. Travis always uses me to shield him against the attentions of women throwing themselves at him,” Beatrice explained her earlier actions. “I’m his fake girlfriend.”

“Bee—”

“I should have known Travis wouldn’t bring a one-night stand to his house—”

“Bee, this is my wife, Caitlin Kincaid,” Travis cut in.

Beatrice face registered mostly shock, some indignation, and part hurt.

“Tell me you’re kidding me.” Beatrice took a deep breath. She wasn’t looking at anyone, but she had an arm cocked at the elbow, index finger pointing up in await a secondgesture. “You disappear for a few days, abandoning one of the most lucrative security contracts I’ve negotiated for you, and get MARRIED?” She looked at Caitlin apologetically before glaring at Travis. “I’m your best friend, Travis. I didn’t know you were even dating.” To Emily she said, “You’ve got some explaining to do, sister.” Whipping her attention back to Travis. “Was Nate at the wedding?”

Caitlin was feeling the onset of a migraine. At least she thought it was a migraine. What a mess. Did Travis really think it would be easy to insert her back into his life? Was she even his wife anymore?Sarah Blake is dead.

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