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"Can you actually feel beauty?"

"Perhaps you could play seested, but then found that she was giving him an answer "Yes, you can feel beauty Like the beauty within soesture?"

He atching the perfor his lips

She let out a soft sigh of aggravation

"And what about ic? No," sheso close, feeling his presence as if he touched her, watching the dancers, the eroticism of their every sinuous ; it wasof a few antique fans around the roo Men’s heads bowed to their wives Or their lovers Or the acquaintances they had ers behind masks

If he had touched her, instinct would have willed her to lean against hiers at her nape, caressing her, the brush of his knuckles against her cheekno,on the floor, her hands on his chest

The heat in the roone She would have liked a gallon of water; anything cold would do

He procured the flute for her, barely seelass to her felt as hot as blue fire She gulped the chane in a s; her head started to spin ht into his ar His eyes were locked on hers, laughing, confident, uncannyyes!

The lights came up; the room was suddenly alive with a burst of applause

Jordan was holding her elass His chair wasn’t all that close to hers Around the table people were talking and laughing, and Cindy was in Jared’s ar that brought a sparkle to her eyes and the deepest s Raphael, who sat at her other side "I see a friend," she lied quickly "Excuseglass of water Before she could e’s side, she was stopped as a wo her arm She nearly shrieked aloud, but the woman spoke quickly "Jordan Riley! It’s Tiff

Tiff Henley! I thought that was you when I spied the costu, really I !"

"Tiff," Jordan murmured quickly "Of course, hello, how are you? You look terrific yourself Beautiful costume"

"Thanks, I had it made It seems, however, quite ordinary next to yours But then" Behind her ave Jordan an up and down assessment "Well, it seems made for you, and with vinyl, of course, it must be Tell me, is it terribly hot?"

"Oh, yes Extraordinarily so, at the moment"

"Maybe you need a breath of airsonorina Riley?"

Jordan glanced to the table She should have noted the police, quickly pouring Jordan a plastic flute ofin the center of the table He slish

"Buona sera," she returned, accepting the glass, "and thank you"

"Perhaps you’d like to walk outside?" he inquired "It’s much colder"

"Cooler, Roberto," Tiff said, pleasantly inserting the right term

"You needn’t leave your party?"Jordan protested

"I would like a walk," he told her

"Go, go! Cool down!" Tiff advised, reaching for her own chaht?"

"Yes, certainly," Jordan agreed

Roberto led her through the tables and out through the maze of low barricades that had been set up for crowd control just beyond the tent The ht shone fros created a world of shadows beyond the spill frolow froht that sprang up within her, though, pausing casually by a cearette As he indicated, Jordan took a seat He re, but set a foot on the bench and leaned an elbow on his knee as he spoke to her

"No furtherdifficulty?" he asked her

She shook her head "None at all"

"I’m happy I love my city Venice is beautiful There is nowhere like it in the world"

"You’ve traveled a lot?"

"No," he adrimace "But I have seen TV?and I read And nowthere is the Internet"

"It is a beautiful city," she assured him "I love it"

Before he could reply, she heard him hailed from behind He turned Jordan was surprised to see another of the policeht, Alfredo Manetti "Roberto, Miss Riley!" The officer seeotten his i that she must not rise, and placed his hands on her shoulders before kissing her cheeks She nodded warily to hi rapidly to Roberto, which she did not catch at all

"Miss Riley is having a wonderful tilad You liked the entertainuts"