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The traffic grew thicker, slowing to a crawling line of cars as they reached the entrance to the resort where the festival was being held

"Look," Brianna said abruptly She didn’t turn toward hih the windshield at the New Jersey license plate of the car in front of them "I have to explain"

"Not to me"

She flicked one red eyebrow in brief irritation

"To who else?" She pressed her lips together and sighed "Yeah, all right, er could taste the acid from the tea, bitter in the back of his throat Was this where she told hiht so hi and cramped in the tiny airline seat Then he’d seen her across the airport lobby, and all doubt had vanished on the instant

It hadn’t co week, either; he’d seen her at least briefly every day--even ame with her at Fenway Park on Thursday afternoon He’d found the ga He found hi the hours left before he’d have to leave, and looking forward nonetheless to this--the only whole day they’d have together

That didn’t lanced quickly over the line of cars; the gate was visible, but still a quarter-mile off He had maybe three minutes to convince her

"In Scotland," she was saying, "when all--that--happened with er--really wonderful" She didn’t look at him, but he could see a shimmer of reat thing to do," he said He curled his hands into fists to keep frohed shortly

"Yeah, I bet you were" She slowed, and turned her head to look at him, full-on Even wide open, her eyes had a faint catlike slant to theh na Dun?"

"No," he said shortly Then coughed and added, as if casually, "I don’t go up to Inverness all that often; it’s been tere"

"It isn’t that the Minister’s cat is a fraidycat?" she asked, but she shtly when she said it

"The Minister’s cat is scared stiff of that place," he said frankly "He wouldn’t set foot up there if it were knee-deep in sardines" She laughed outright, and the tension between them eased noticeably

"Me too," she said, and took a deep breath "But I remember All the trouble you went to, to help--and then, when it--when she--when Maely on her lower lip, and she hit the brake, harder than necessary

"Do you see?" she said, in a small voice "I can’t be around you more than half an hour, and it all comes back I haven’t talked about my parents inthat silly game than I’ve mentioned both of the all week"

She thumbed a loose strand of red hair off her shoulder She went a lovely pink when she was excited or upset, and the color was burning high in her cheeks

"I thought itlike that--when you didn’t answer ht her lower lip between her teeth, as though to bite back the words, but it was too late A brilliant tide of red washed up out of the V of her white T-shirt, turning her the color of the to with chips

He reached across the seat and gently brushed the veil of hair back from her face

"I had a terrible crush on you," she blurted, staring straight ahead through the windshield "But I didn’t knohether you were just being nice to me because Mama asked you to, or whether--"

"Whether," he interrupted, and smiled as she risked a tiny look at him "Definitely whether"

"Oh" She relaxed fractionally, loosening her stranglehold on the wheel "Well Good"

He wanted to take her hand, but didn’t want to pry it off the wheel and cause an accident Instead, he laid his arers brush her shoulder

"Anyway I didn’t think--I thought--well, it was either throw e So I did, but I couldn’t figure out how to explain without looking like an idiot, and then when you wrote, it orse--well, see, I do look like an idiot!"

Roger flipped open the catch of his seat belt

"Will you drive into that car in front of us if I kiss you?"