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While he waited, he poured hilass of chardonnay To his surprise, he was nervous He couldn’t iine why--or could he? His ain The past was painful and the present was unpredictable…and the future? Well, who knew about the future?

Initially this relationship hadn’t been too proained momentum in the last few days Even noasn’t entirely convinced that Julie was for real, that the settlement offer truly didn’t interest her

Gradually Roy could feel hiainst his will He’d decided never to fall in love again, but Julie Wilcoff made his and the hope This sense of wanting to be part of life again frightened hih hiht pain and betrayal Yet all day he’d thought of little else but this dinner with Julie and the kisses they were bound to share

His phone rang and he reached for the receiver, already knowing it was her "Hello"

"I’m here" Even the sound of her voice was sultry

He hit the nurant her entrance He couldn’t resist taking his private elevator to the lobby so he could escort her up to his suite

Standing by the glass doors that opened into the beautifully decorated lobby, Roy watched as Julie walked froainst the cold She had on a long wool coat, which she’d left unbuttoned Beneath it, he saw the sleek black skirt andjacket with a silky white blouse He was struck by her loveliness Every time he saw her, she seemed to look more beautiful Was that just awhat had always been there?

He held the door and stepped back to let her enter Once she was inside, he made a leisurely appraisal and sucked in his breath He could think of only one word "Wow!"

"You like?" Holding open her coat, she slowly pivoted to give him a better look

"I like a lot"

"Don’t act so surprised," she ood"

"I’ll say" With his hand at her elbow, he steered her toward the elevator, which took the rooton He’d grown accustoer astonished him as it once had But the view captured Julie’s attention the instant she stepped out of the elevator An uninterrupted panorahts stretched before her like some kind of Christmas fantasy

"Oh, Roy," she whispered, "this takes my breath away"

"It’s what sold rin, she re, he took off her coat, one sleeve at a ti it in the hall closet When he returned, she still hadn’t moved

"The parade of ships is supposed to start in less than thirty minutes"

She walked close to theand, standing next to her, Roy pointed out sohts "Naturally, the view is even ht," he said

"I can hardly ilanced around his condo, but Roy didn’t care Although it was a showpiece, he rarely had anyone up to visit He’d heard that people were curious about his houed by the view

Without asking, Roy poured her a glass of wine Joining her once again, he handed it to her "Shall we have a drink before we eat?"

"Thank you" She accepted the glass, then turned back to stare out the"I can’t bear to look away This is just so beautiful"

He’d thought he’d wait to kiss her, but realized that delaying it another lass froently turned her toward him "What you need is a distraction"

He didn’t knoo seconds her eyes searched his, telling hi her into his arms, he watched as her eyes drifted closed and she leaned into his e with the fatih her, or perhaps he was the one who treood it felt to hold her

She was taller than any other woh the shoulders, too, but he liked that In fact, he liked everything about Julie He iain She opened to hi her lips, as her arms slid upward and around his neck

A voice in hisher was too wonderful to continue without consequences He hadn’t intended to let things go this far, this fast, but there was no stopping either of them Not yet A few o back to enjoying their wine

Another kiss Then he’d stop Then he’d pause long enough to clear his head

But already his hands, which had been innocently stroking her back, had worked their way down her waist He loved the feel of her, loved the gentle contours of her utterly fe went on, it was hard to keep fro tiood

"Nice," he whispered, reluctantly easing his mouth fro but the woman in his arms

"Very nice," she whispered

Their eyes held Her hands remained on his shoulders and his stayed on her waist "Are you ready for dinner?"

She gave him the softest smile "No" Her voice was a mere wisp of sound

"Me, neither" He kissed her again, hishers Her lips were pliant, war they went on like that, lost in each other