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"Then let’s get out and get you a towel"

"It’s a good plan," she said

She hurried ahead of him and found her towel He had worn cutoff chinos into the water, and just the edges et He reached for the polo shirt he had thrown on the sand near her things and skinned it over his head She towel dried quickly and slid on her dress, and still she was shaking

"Ah, you knohat you need?" he asked, taking her discarded towel and wrapping it around her shoulders and rubbing theested

"A hot toddy--and Irish whiskey I knohere they make the best"

"Would that be a place south on Duval known as O’Hara’s? I hear that it’s a real hangout for actual locals--conch-type people--and that the tourists crash in so with the locals," she said with a sreed

He was pleasant and easy, char, in fact She wondered how she would have felt about hi If she’d just come in with Katie somewhere and it had been, oh, Vanessa, you’ve ine Well, anyway, then, Sean, this is Vanessa, Vanessa, Sean

She had chosen theirKatie had offered to introduce him She hadn’t wanted friendship to be a part of it Maybe she hadwhat she had set out for--another chance to discover what had happened At the very least, a chance to feel that she had done everything in her power

"So, seriously, how did it go?" she asked

"Brilliantly Better I don’t know if I would have thought of having an intro with Marty if I hadn’t wanted to see what Jay could do And Marty onderful He’s a natural before the careat Jay is editing now"

"He brought all his equipment?"

"No, he’s at my house"

She was silently impressed--with Jay She was surprised that Sean would trust a stranger with his work system, and she said so

"You left hi soul"

"Hardly"

"But?"

She started to sink in the sand while taking a step He took her hand The feel was a jolt A nice one She liked the scent of him, too Ocean and…him Clean and fresh

She didn’t want to feel so attracted

She didn’t want to break free fro him

"I looked around at costumes today This is really one of the best places to purchase A lot of the retailers have researched the period thoroughly They have great poet’s shirts, vests, jackets, hats, corsets, blouses, skirts--you naht a piece today A replica of one worn by Dona Isabella," she said

He nodded and continued walking

The vendors had covered up their wares; so a fir in hired security

"I drove down here Let’s get toher hand He unlocked the car and opened the passenger-side door for her

It was a car she ht have expected for hih, but not brand-new, a car that could go just about anywhere It fit Sean very well, down-to-earth, utilitarian, and soed and sensual andin that direction

It was difficult A St Nicholasfrom the rearview mirror, and she wasn’t surprised to see that he honored the patron saint of the sea An O’Hara’s sticker was on the front windshield, low, on the passenger side The rear of the Jeep was filled with a stack of neatly piled clothing, as if he had just been to the laundry, though she wasn’t sure why he would go out since she was certain that the house--which had actually been bought by Katie--had a washer and dryer

He saw her looking at the stack of clothing He winced "I suck at it so I take it to the Laundroe things wind up an ultrafehed Good God, she found even that endearing