TALL DARK AND HUNGRY Page 0,46

little less formal. The hushed, monied atmosphere was a bit constraining, making them both less talkative. Bastien missed Terri's enthusiasm and the tinkle of her laugh¬ter, for she had it well leashed.

The moment she was finished eating, he suggested they walk up the street to another place he knew for their after-dinner drink. The alacrity with which she agreed told him that while Terri had found the restaurant enjoyable, she too would prefer an atmo¬sphere more conducive to their talking. Bastien sus¬pected that trying to behave in such a subdued manner was killing her.

They walked the short block to Maison, a restau¬rant/bar he knew had an atmosphere that would al¬low them to talk more comfortably. The patio was open and filled with people enjoying the unseason¬ably warm night air, and Bastien was pleased when she suggested they sit outside.

Their conversation returned to the play, and Terri's enjoyment of it was so obvious that Bastien decided they should perhaps go to a couple more while she was in town. That thought reminded him that she would eventually leave to fly home to England, an idea that he found made him grimace with displea¬sure. He was enjoying her company and the escape from a life that, until now, had seemed just fine--but in retrospect it seemed dull and bleak with its focus on business and little else.

How had he lived such an empty existence for so long when there was so much pleasure to be had in life?

Chapter Eight

Pausing in the middle of recounting a tale about Kate and herself when they were teenagers, Terri glanced to the side with a start as she heard a customer ask the waitress what time it was, and the waitress's answer.

"Did she just say it was four-twelve?" she asked, forgetting all about the tale she'd been telling.

"Did she? No, she couldn't have. You must have misheard. It can't be that late alread--it is!" Bastien exclaimed with surprise as he glanced at his watch. He lifted a stunned expression to hers, and they stared at each other for a moment then burst out laughing.

"I guess we lost track of time talking," Terri said with a grin.

"I guess we did," he agreed. "But, then, we tend to like to do that a lot. Talk, I mean. I like talking to you."

"I like talking to you, too," she admitted, then glanced away, looking for a distraction from the wealth of feeling welling up inside her. Maison's pa¬tio wasn't as busy as it had been, but there were still half a dozen tables with customers. "I wonder why they haven't closed yet. I thought bars closed around four A.M. over here."

"I'm not sure," Bastien began, then said, "Oh. They're open twenty-four hours."

When Terri glanced back at him in question, he gestured to the writing on the awning. She smiled wryly and nodded. "I didn't notice that."

"Neither did I."

They fell silent for a moment, and Terri realized that it had grown cooler in the passing hours since they'd arrived. There was a bit of a chill in the air-- not much, but enough that she felt it on her sleeveless arms.

"You're getting cold," Bastien noted when she un¬consciously rubbed her arms. "I suppose we should head home."

"Yes," she agreed, but felt sad that the night was drawing to an end. Terri wouldn't have minded had it gone on forever.

Bastien stood and drew out her chair for her as she rose, then slid his suit jacket off and held it open for her. "Here, put this on. It's pretty quiet on this street, and with it being so late we'll probably have to walk up a block or so to find a taxi. Will you be all right to walk a little way in those shoes?"

"Yes, of course," Terri assured him as she slid her arms into the offered jacket. She'd been sitting for hours, and she hadn't drunk much despite the length of time they'd been there. Neither of them had; they'd been too busy talking. She paused with the suit coat halfway up her arms. "Will you be all right? You don't need this?"

"No. I'm fine," he assured her, urging the jacket up the rest of the way.

"Mmm." Terri pulled the silk material closed and hugged it to herself with a smile of pleasure. "It's warm and lovely, and it smells of you."

"Does it?" he asked with a small smile. "Is that a good thing?"

"Mmmm." She raised one lapel, turned her head to bury her nose in the