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after."
    There was a long pause while he studied another ornament, a delicately made ceramic nest containing a pair of tiny bluebirds. He’d sent her the ornament the Christmas after their affair. Had he thought that the bluebirds of happiness nesting in the tree might bring them back together? Hard to remember after all these years. "I’ve spent so much time building my career that I forgot to build a life," he said quietly. "You seem to have done a better job of balancing it all."
    "A rolling stone gathers no tinsel? Americans work too hard, I think. I’m lucky to spend half my time outside of London. In Upper Bassett, I’m Alice and the doctor’s daughter, Patricia and Keith’s sister, and a multiple aunt. The eccentric but amiable Lyme girl who’s done rather well for herself. It keeps life in perspective."
    Jenny flicked off the light switch so the room was illuminated only by dancing flames and tiny colored tree lights. She had taken off her heavy sweater earlier, and the silk shirt she wore underneath skimmed her curves alluringly. The soft light gave her a haunting Renaissance beauty.
    Greg’s fingers tightened around the birds’ nest. Though she had said he didn’t have to keep his hands to himself, he still had trouble believing that she might be interested in him. Their romantic history had been a fluke of circumstances.
    But maybe he wasn’t the only one who had found those days magical. It was worth risking rejection, because he would never forgive himself if he didn’t at least try. Carefully he hung the ornament out of Plato’s reach. "Earlier today we were interrupted at an interesting moment."
    Even though beauty was power, she looked vulnerable, almost fragile. "I didn’t think you’d come to England," she said softly. "I’m glad you did. Even gladder than I thought I would be."
    With one provocative motion, she pulled off the scarf that tied back her hair. Luxurious as ermine, the dark waves cascaded over her shoulders, catching auburn highlights from the fire. "I wouldn’t mind a holiday fling. Shall we pick up where we left off all those years ago?"
    Powerful awareness pulsed between them. For the first time he accepted that even though she was a glamorous actress, she was also the friend and lover he had never forgotten. "I hope we can, Jenny. The fact that we were together then is the greatest miracle I’ve ever known."
    She came into his arms lightly. His first kiss was tentative, wondering, awed. How he’d longed for this mouth, these lips, the essence of Jenny.
    Her head tilted back and she melted against him. Warm, curving, irresistible—and neither of them even tried to resist. He tangled his fingers in her glossy hair to bring her closer, jet lag forgotten as he came alive in every cell. "My God, Jenny..."
    "How could I have forgotten this?" she whispered as she burrowed against him.
    Doubts and time dissolved along with words as they tugged at each other’s clothing. Jenny pulled a folded blanket from the sofa and tossed it in front of the fire. Giving thanks that he’d come prepared in case something wild and wonderful happened, he pulled her down beside him, craving the weight and feel of her intoxicating body.
    Even that first time so many years before, they had come together with sweet harmony. Now there was harmony and more, as if they’d been waiting for years to set each other afire. He felt they had known each other forever as they remembered how to kiss, how to touch, how to laugh.
    How to be in a perfect moment.
    Afterward, shaking from reaction, he pulled her close and kissed her damp forehead. He had indeed fallen into Wonderland. In real life, it wasn’t possible to be this happy. Perhaps this moment could only be perfect because it was so ephemeral. In less than a month he would be in Argentina.
    But as he gazed into the embers of the fire, he mourned the knowledge of how soon such happiness must end.
    * * *
    Not wanting to move ever again, Jenny rested her