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"Do you trust me?" he asked

Now there was a sixty-four-thousand-dollar question "I suppose," she said, hedging Only Mae’s faith in hi him her current benefit of the doubt

"Well, you can," he said, clearly disappointed by the less than wholehearted response "You need to go back to whatever you were doing and let Hannah and aze without blinking "I was thinking of quitting for the day,you a snack," he said at once "Anything you want"

"An entire pint of your ice cream?"

"If that’s what you want," he said at once

"Okay, that’s it So on down there, isn’t it?" she said, trying to brush past him

"Mo It’s not bad I prohter’s plea, not the pleading expression in Trace’s eyes that won her over "You can’t keep me up here forever, you know"

"Just another couple of hours," he said, looking relieved "Still want that ice crearinned "I figured asback to strip wallpaper"

"Maybe you ought to take a break," he suggested "Maybe take a long, leisurely bubble bath or soruet fixed up by itself"

He tucked a finger under her chin "When you start saying things like that, it’s exactly the time when you need a break the most"

"This from a workaholic like you?" she scoffed

"Actually that’s so your aunt used to say to et away froot me up here every tiia in his voice "And she was always right I always felt better after a few days with her I even got so I barely cracked open my briefcase the whole ti a bubble bath, too?" Savannah teased

"Nope, but you probably could," he retorted, then added in an undertone, "especially if you were joining h Savannah like a bolt of lightning "Any bubble bath I take, I’ll be taking alone," she told hi her own voice muted