‘Big help you are.’ Keira sighed as she walked down the hallway of her bungalow, for once not seeing its attractive appointments.

The cottage had been smaller when her only aunt had owned it, and it had been Keira’s haven since her divorce. Aunt Aggie had left it to her and, with the money she’d received when the small magazine she’d been a partner in had been bought out by Cassidy-Ford Publishing, she’d extended and modernised the well situated house.

As you walked in the door the two bedrooms, one on either side, led off the hall, followed by a bathroom, a small study and the living-room on the left and the pantry, the kitchen and dining-room on the right. Out back Keira had added a wooden veranda, with a fullsized spa pool on the right, all screened for privacy by natural pine woodwork. The deck overlooked the tangle of trees and natural scrub behind the house.

But this morning she’d been too wrapped up in her tortured thoughts to give the house a glance. And she’d barely heard the knock on her door.

‘Your carriage awaits, madame.’ Daniel stepped inside the open door as Keira walked towards him. He wore faded jeans and a T-shirt that, although equally well-worn, reeked of some obviously expensive designer label. ‘I like your place,’ he added as he looked past her.

‘Yes, well, let’s go, Daniel. Before I decide to listen to my instincts and change my mind about going.’ Keira turned to pick up her suitcase but he gallantly took it from her.

‘Now don’t tell me you don’t like sports cars,’ Daniel exclaimed as Keira hung back when he swung open the door of the red Mazda MX5.

‘The car’s fine. I’m just a little worried about the sport who’s going to get behind the wheel.’

Daniel grinned and then sobered. ‘No worries there, Keira. I can assure you I’m a careful and considerate driver.’

And as they pulled up in the gateway of Daniel’s home over an hour later and waited for the electronically controlled gates to swing open, Keira could only admire Daniel’s driving skill. She glanced sideways at him. He was really an extraordinarily mature young man for his age. His family should be proud of him.