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Sneaky bastard No one had et her so churned up sinceWell, Mia adet her so churned up since Saain, she was better at banking her sexual urges than she&039;d once been She&039;d had lovers over the years, but they&039;d been few and far between As time had passed, she discovered that while she enjoyed the casual flirtation, she very rarely felt satisfied or content after having a man in her bed

So, she&039;d stopped at flirtations

It was so she considered a practical rather than an eht have channeled into that area of physicality had gone, instead, into her craft There was no doubt in her mind that she was a better witch for the period of self-imposed celibacy There was no reason whatsoever why she couldn&039;t apply the same habit now Since Sam hadn&039;t been in her bed for ical choice In any case, she was much too busy to worry about Sah on any of thatforeplay

"You didn&039;t have to coed the cafe tables

"I wanted to co toet the chair for that"

"No, you won&039;t No lifting Period" As she set the chairs herself, Mia kicked the one Ripley was slouched in "You could get off your ass and help"

"Hey, you don&039;t payout here so I don&039;t have to hang out at ho on I hope to hell Mac doesn&039;t blow sorill," Nell reminded her "Charcoal doesn&039;t explode"

"You don&039;t know uy"

"Between the three of therill soers on their own deck flashed in Nell&039;s mind And made her shudder "But God help your poor kitchen"

"Least of s stretched out, and watched in aement

"Now that one there?" She jerked her thuot plenty of worries See the line she gets between her eyebrows? Means she&039;s feeling bitchy"

"I don&039;t have a line betweenit out "Nor ahtly stressed, perhaps"

"Which is why the barbecue&039;s such a good idea" Nell walked over to the display table and began to toy with a design for the featured author&039;s book "You&039;ll relax, have an evening with friends, and be clearheaded for toht of it"

"He&039;s always thinking," Mia concluded, but Ripley and Nell could hear the underlying edge to her statement

"So, how did you like the concert on the beach the other night?" Ripley asked her

"It was fine"

"And the ht sail after the fireworks on the Fourth?"

"Dandy"

"See?" Ripley nodded toward Nell "Told you she was feeling bitchy"

"I a bitchy" Mia set down a chair with an ill-teht?"

"Nope, I&039; for a beer," Ripley replied, and sauntered into the cafe kitchen to help herself

"It&039;s going to be a wonderful event, Mia" Ready to soothe, Nell continued to stack books "It&039;ll be beautiful when you get the flowers in here tomorrow And the refreshments are completely under control Wait until you see the cake"

"I&039;m not worried about the flowers, or the refresh up, you&039;ll feel better"

"I&039;m not worried about the customers, or not any more than I should be" Mia dropped into a chair

"For once, Ripley is right I a bitchy"

"Is that a confession?" Ripley asked as she caed her hands through her hair "He&039;s using sex Or rather using the lack of sex to keepwalks He sends flowers every couple of days"

"But no sex?"

Mia leveled a look at Ripley "There&039;s considerable foreplay," Mia snapped "Then he duet flowers He calls every day And twice I&039;ve gone hoift at the front door A pot of roseon When we&039;re out, he&039;s absolutely char"

"The bastard!" Ripley slaood for hi sex," Mia complained

"No, he&039;s not" With a dreamy smile, Nell brushed a hand over Mia&039;s hair "Sex has nothing to do with it He&039;s using ro you"

"He is not"

"Flowers, candlelight, long walks, thoughtful little gifts" Nell ticked the list off on her fingers "Time and attention That spells courtship to e a nuo And that courtship didn&039;t include flowers and little gifts"

"Maybe he&039;s trying to make up for that"

"He doesn&039;t have toup for anything" Jittery, she got to her feet, walked over to shut the terrace doors "He doesn&039;t want the traditional package any more than I do Now He just wants"

And that was the trouble, Mia realized She had no clear idea what he wanted this tiot you scared," Ripley said quietly

"He doesn&039;t He absolutely does not"

"He never scared you before You always had your course plotted"

"It&039;s still plotted I knohat I&039;ed" Even as she said it, she felt a sly chill whisper over her skin

"Mia" There was both sympathy and patience in Nell&039;s voice "Are you still in love with hiain? That I&039;d risk that not knowing the cost?" Steadier now, Mia crossed over to finish the display "I know ift Love, for ain And I have to survive to fulfill ht that once I rong When the time comes, the circle will hold"

At the house on the bluff, three rill with the same intense fascination as the caveood," Zack commented, and nodded at Saood old Yankee kno We didn&039;t need any hocus-pocus crap"

"Good old Yankee kno," Sahter fluid"

"I can&039;t help it if his grill&039;s defective"

"This is a brand-new grill," Mac protested "This is its virgin run"

"Which is why it needs the hot flame Has to be cured" Zack tipped back his beer Mac looked on sadly as the inside of his shiny red grill blackened "If this sucker oddaave it a little boot with his foot "Speaking of Rip, where the hell are they?"

"They&039;re on their way," Sam replied as Zack frowned at hi where Mia is Since Mister Science here clued us in on those readings around her house, I&039;ve been keeping tuned to her"

"She finds out, she&039;ll kick your ass," Zack pointed out

"She won&039;t find out She doesn&039;t see clearly when it coetting Mia to do anything she doesn&039;t want"

"How are things, you know, going between you?"

Sam studied Mac as he drank "Is that personal or professional interest?"

"I guess you could say it&039;s both"

"Fair enough I like the way things are going Can&039;t say IShe&039;s a hell of a lot more co -to know all the twists and turns"

Zack scratched his chin "You&039;re not going to start talking aboutyour inner couple or any of that shit, are you?"

"Shhhere they cohts on the shell road "Let&039;s act like

we knoe&039;re doing"

Lucy, who&039;d been sprawled over the deck, leaped to attention and flen the steps inches ahead of Mulder

"Pretty wos and soood deal"

The steaks were charred, the potatoes slightly underdone, but appetites were keen enough They ate on the deck, by the strong glow of candles and the backwash of light fro room, where music pumped out of the stereo

When Salass, she shook her head, laid her hand over the bowl "No, I&039; And I need a clear ive you a hand with the setup"

"No need Most of it&039;s done, and we have plenty of tiht pre-sold copies of the hardcover, with orders still co in, and nearly thatto be very busy toine she&039;ll"

Mia trailed off as she caught the look on Nell&039;s face Her body tensed, and she rose half out of her chair

"Nell"

"The baby moved" The expression of shock and astonish inside hed, pressed a hand to her belly "So quick and strong Zack" She grabbed his hand, pressed it against her "Our baby moved"

"Do you need to lie down?"

"No" She leaped up, tugged his hand "I need to dance"

"You need to dance"

"Yes! Dance with me" She threw her arms around his neck "We&039;ll dance with Jonah"

"We don&039;t know it&039;s a boy" Swamped with love, Zack wrapped his arht "Might just as easily be a girl Then it&039;s Rebecca"

"Uh-oh They&039;re getting sappy" Before it rubbed off, Ripley got up, pointed at Mac "You&039;re dancing"

"Soet hurt," Mac muttered

Sam watched the entertainment for a ood at this"

"H at Nell, her face wistful and so totally unguarded that seeing it was like a fist to his heart Tears sparkled on her lashes What he saw in the her hand, he stood "We used to be good at it Let&039;s see if we still are"

Following impulse, he pulled her down the steps to the bluff Then he spun her out to arth, whipped her back

Her arm hooked smoothly around his neck, her body fit to his

"Oh, yeah" He slid his hands down to her hips and began to sith her "We&039;re still good"

It had been a long tiotten his moves, his rhyth with hi herself to it, she kicked off her shoes Sand flew under their feet as they turned, dipped, and spun

Dancing had always been a kind of joyful and soy Co-ordination Anticipation

She stopped hearing the music with only her ears She heard it in the quick pressure of his hand on her back, the grip of his fingers on hers, the whirl of her own body

When he lifted her off her feet, she threw her head back and laughed Then she linked her arms around his neck, for the first time in more than a decade, in an embrace that was sheer and si fro her cheek resting against his teht her breath

"Told you they were show-offs" Ripley elbowed Mac, but she was grinning