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"Be interesting to see what they do with the money" He walked back to where she stood in the doorway "Well, soadventure in the world of art Are you ready for dinner? I'd take you to Dreamscape, but Carson is there and ouldn't be able to talk in peace How about the Crab Trap? It's not as good as Rafe's place, but it's not bad"

"You do realize that if we dine in any of the local restaurants, there will be a lot of talk to talked about in this town"

"I know"

Belatedly it occurred to hiossip "Look, if this is a probleot plenty of food in the house Co that it will be what anyone would call gourus and sous and salenerally purchased on a whim He considered the possibilities

"You planned to invite me back to your place?" he asked finally

"To be honest, it struck me that it would be more comfortable to eat there rather than in front of an audience coood and extremely curious people of Eclipse Bay"

He sreat"

The at hiure out rong On the surface, everything was perfect

Dinner had gone se of the salus and sliced solasses of chardonnay while they worked together in her snug, cozy kitchen They had talked easily, for all the world as coether countless times

It was alht A deep sense of inti to worry him This was a far different sensation than he had knoith other women in the past It was not the pleasant, superficial sexual awareness he had experienced on previous, si tension that was starting to leave claw marks on his insides

Maybe this had not been one of his better ideas Then again, looking back, he was pretty sure he'd never hadfairy queens, you took a few risks

He stood at the sink in her glea, white-tiled kitchen and washed the pan that had been used to steaus Nearby, Octavia, a striped towel draped over her left shoulder, went up on her tiptoes to stack dishes in a cupboard When she raised her arms overhead, her brsts moved beneath the thin fabric of her blouse

Da the pan

She closed the cupboard door and reached for the coffeepot "Black, right? No creaht"

She poured coffee into two cups and led the way into the living roo the damp towel over a rack, and followed her, unable to take his eyes off thewith this picture? he wondered This was exactly hoas supposed to look, precisely how he had hoped it would look at this point

She curled up in a corner of the sofa, one leg tucked under the curve of her thigh, racefully cupped in her hands The fire he had built earlier crackled on the hearth