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Hala slid to her knees and leaned over and looked into the ht to clearly see her reflection The face that stared back was flat-eyed and expressionless It was also a disaster She looked like an over-the-hill streetwalker who had been beaten up by her pimp

She reached out and pulled several paper towels from a rack She dipped them in the cold water, then wiped clear the clotted blood and lipstick which had smeared around her mouth Her mascara and eye shadow looked as if they had been applied by Jackson Pollock on a drip painting She wiped away that mess too Her hair was still reasonably intact so she patted the loose ends into place

She still looked awful, she thought despairingly She forced a s she looked more presentable

He looked at her a long moment and then screwed his face into an expression of awed curiosity "Excuse

orgeous creature, but have you seen an old crone anywhere?"

Tears welled in Hala's eyes and she half-laughed, halfcried "You're a nice man, Mr Pitt Thank you"

"I try, God Icnows I try," he said humorously

Pitt had returned with several blankets and he bundled them around her

He placed one arm under her knees and the other around her waist and lifted her without the slightest sign of strain As he carried her up the aisle his nuive out and he stu

"Are you all right?" she asked

"Nothing a shot of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey won't cure"

"As soon as I return home I'll send you a whole case"

"Where's home?"

"At the moment, New York"

"Next tiether"