t was almost eight o'clock when Jeremy knocked on Jody's door.

"I'll just be a minute," she told him.!!!Just until my hands stop shaking and I figure out a way to keep my knees from knocking together.

It had taken Jody almost an hour to decide what to wear. The red silk didn't seem appropriate, so she'd had to run out to one of the stores along the boardwalk and find something suitable. She hadn't planned on having to dress for dinner with the man or her dreams. The short blue sundress that she found at one of the little boutiques had been just right.

I wished him here, she thought, and the possibility filled her with a sort of power she'd never felt before.!!!I willed him here.

One last glance in the mirror had her feeling like Cinderella about to set out for the ball on the arm of her prince.

"Hi," she said as she opened the door. The look in his eyes made her feel all the more like a princess.

"You look beautiful," he said simply, making her feel that it was true.

"Thank you," she blushed under her makeup and bit her tongue to keep from adding, So do you.

"Your hair…" He reached out a hand to touch the long curls that bore a pale shade of moonlight and drifted around her like a halo.

"I had it highlighted," she nodded, as if he couldn't see that for himself.

"It looks great." He slid his hands into his pockets, the urge to crush those soft ringlets was so strong. He cleared his throat. "Joanna's is just down the boardwalk, isn't it?"

"Yes." She grabbed her purse and checked to make certain her room key was inside, then stepped through the door that he held open for her. "I called and changed my reservations to a table for two. The receptionist here at the motel told me it was only a ten-minute walk."

It was a pleasant stroll along the boards to Joanna's and a picture-perfect night. Gulls cried here and there as they raced each other and the tide for the bits of marine life that landed unceremoniously on the shore, dumped by one wave, carried back out to sea by the next. Tanned children raced by, their parents hot on their heels, anxiously trying to keep them in sight lest they fade into the crowd and disappear before they reached the amusement pier at the opposite end of the boardwalk. A sunburned couple strolled by, their faces looking red and uncomfortable.

"Cute shop," Jeremy nodded to the storefront where large shells and all manner of kitschy things crowded the windows.

Jody glanced at his face to see if he was kidding.

"Might have to stop there on the way back and pick up something suitably hokey for my partner." He grinned.

She stopped in front of the window. "Is he the tacky tee-shirt type or the ceramic mug with obnoxious saying type?"

"Both," Jeremy nodded.

"Ah, well then. I'd say you're in luck. They have a bit of everything in there."

"I kind of like that little rubber hula dancer over on the side there." He leaned a little closer.

"The one that says 'I danced my grass off at Ocean View Beach'?"

Jeremy's laughter flowed through her like warm molasses.

"It's perfect," Jeremy nodded, taking Jody's hand. He doubted he'd find anything better—or worse, depending on how one looked at it—to take back to T.J., who after much protest had agreed to take over that last investigation that Jeremy hadn't been able to get to.

Well, of course he had. Just as Jeremy would have done for T.J. After all, they were almost brothers, weren't they? More or less…

Joanna's was a perfect wedding cake of a house, with a tower overlooking the ocean and a wraparound porch, all set upon pilings that raised the house far above the beach. The underside of the structure was open, which accounted, Jeremy noted, for the fact that the structure had been able to withstand the many storms it must have seen over the years. They took the stairs hand in hand and stepped through a screen door, heavily detailed with fretwork, into the relative cool of the handsome reception area.

"This definitely has atmosphere," he mused as he peered beyond the lobby into a small dining room where round tables were set to overlook the ocean.

"It's also supposed to have the best chef on the island."

"Do you have a reservation?" the hostess, in a white skirt and short-sleeved shirt and sporting a red plaid bow tie, asked.

"Yes," Jody nodded, giving her name.

The hostess scanned the list of reservations.

"Ted," the hostess signaled a passing waiter. "Table three in the Marina Room."

The waiter led them through one lovely room to the next to a table overlooking not the ocean, but the opposite side of the island where, before too much longer, the sun would begin to set over the bay. Having seated them and given them each a menu, he took their drink orders and disappeared.

"What are you having?" Jeremy asked after he had scanned the menu.

"Grilled Chilean sea bass," she told him, "and I'm toying with the idea of trying their crab soup."

"That sounds good. I think I'll have the same." The waiter reappeared with their wine at the precise second they folded their menus, and Jeremy ordered for them both.

Jody looked across the table and fought the urge to pinch herself.

"I still think it's the most amazing coincidence that you used to come to Ocean View," she said. "It's not as if it's a well-known resort."

"Actually, I grew up not far from here."

"Where was that?"

"Just a small town inland a bit."

"Oh? Which town?" She persisted.

"Crismen's Well." Just speaking the name aloud after all these years all but stopped his heart from beating.

"Do you have family there?"

"No, he said softly. "Not anymore."

"Your salad, madam," the waiter appeared, offering a welcome interruption. "And yours, sir. Another glass of wine, sir?"

Jeremy nodded dumbly.

"How long are you planning on staying?" She was asking, mercifully changing the subject.

"Till the weekend." He willed his pulse to return to normal, his palms to stop sweating.

"What are you planning on doing for the week? You don't look like the sunbathing type."

"You're right about that. I never could just lie there on the sand and bake. I thought I'd do some deep-sea fishing one day. The motel desk clerk said you can sign up for a charter down at the marina with just a day's notice. Do you fish?"

"I have, but it isn't something I'd do on my summer vacation. I'm more inclined to bake on the beach."

"Your skin is so fair," he commented, "you must burn easily."

Jody grimaced. "I do. I have to be really careful. I actually got a little more sun today than I'd have liked."

"Are you telling me that you'd spend a whole week at the beach just lying on the sand?"

"And that would be a mistake because…?"

He laughed. "Don't you get bored? Aren't you motivated to do other things?"

"Other things such as?"

"Jody, Jody, Jody," he shook his head slowly. "One would think that, as a veteran shoregoer, you would know that the Jersey shore is more than sand and surf."

She laughed softly, the sound of it burying itself in his gut and digging in.

He smiled and continued. "I could stay here for weeks and never spend so much as an hour on the beach and never do the same thing twice."

"Okay, tomorrow, then. What do you have planned?"

He'd actually not thought to plan anything in advance, but once pressed, he responded easily. "Whale watching."

"Whale watching?" Her eyebrows rose in interest.

"Ever been?"

"Once, in Maryland."

"Did you see any whales?"

"Actually, no, we did not."

"Why not join me?"

"Sure. Maybe we'll even see some whales." She grinned as the waiter brought their soup. "And you're right, there are other things to see. Actually, I can't believe how much the area has changed. I wish I had time to see it all."

"To see what all?"

"Oh, everything. You know, there used to be some small islands out toward the marsh, on the bay side.

We—my friends and I—used to go over there, two to a canoe, and have lunch. I wonder if they're still there."

"You want to see it all, do you? The whole island?"

She nodded as she took a taste of the soup.

"It's wonderful," she sighed.

"Did you taste the little herb rolls?"

"Umm. Excellent."

It was all delicious, the chef living up to his reputation. To end their meal, they shared a slice of perfectly tart mile-high lemon meringue pie and sipped excellent coffee and watched the sun drift into the picture-perfect arms of a harlequin sky reflected in the tranquil bay. When the sun had finally set, Jeremy paid the check and held the back of Jody's chair for her, asking, "How does a walk on the boardwalk sound?"

"Great." She nodded.

Once at the bottom of the outside stairs, she bent over, saying, "Wait… just one minute…" and removed her shoes.

"I cannot tell you how good this feels." She sighed as she swung her shoes over her right shoulder.

Jeremy laughed. "You could have slipped them off in the restaurant, you know. I doubt anyone would have known under that long tablecloth."

"I'd never have gotten them back on. I cut my foot on a shell in the ocean today and it's killing me."

"You should have said something," he told her. "We could have done chili dogs and fries in shorts and bare feet tonight."

"And missed that incredible dinner?" She shook her head. "I don't think so."

"How 'bout some boardwalk fudge?" Jeremy pointed to the little wooden stand overlooking the beach.

Best Sweets on The Boards, the sign over the door announced.

"I couldn't eat another thing," she told him. "I may not eat again until Thursday."

"I'll have to buy some later in the week"—Jeremy pointed back to the fudge shop as they strolled past—"for Mrs. Dane. And she'll probably be expecting some saltwater taffy, as well."

"Who's Mrs. Dane?"

"She's our secretary, T.J.'s and mine."

"Who's T.J.?"

"T.J. Dawson…"

"Ah. The Dawson in Noble and Dawson." Jody nodded. "What's he like?"

"T.J.?" Jeremy slowed his pace while he debated how best to answer, how best to describe the man who was not only his cousin, but his best friend since second grade, who had stood beside him through the worst of times, whose parents had opened their home to Jeremy when he'd had no home to go to, who'd made him part of their family when his own family was gone…

How do you describe a man like that and do him justice?

You didn't. You couldn't.

Jody would meet him, one of these days, and then she'd know. For now, all Jeremy could think to say was, "He's a great guy. You'll like him."

Their hands swung easily between them as they meandered down the boardwalk.

"Oooh! A palm reader!" Jody exclaimed. "Let's have our palms read!"

Jeremy laughed and allowed himself to be pulled by the hand to the open storefront where a woman in her mid-forties with teased red hair of a shade not found in nature sat at a card table filing her nails.

"Have a seat," she said without looking up. "I'll take the lady first."

Jody sat opposite the woman at the card table and dropped her handbag on the floor.

The woman tucked the nail file into a side pocket of her short shorts and pulled a pair of black-framed glasses from a worn cloth case. Slipping the glasses onto her face, she turned to Jody, reached across the table, and, without ceremony, asked, "May I?"

Jody placed both hands on the table, and the woman took both of them in her own.

"I am Anna," she told them. "And if you're expecting me to tell you that I am a descendant of gypsies, you'll be disappointed. But I do have a gift, and I'll share it with you."

For a price, of course, Jeremy mused, but said nothing. As a private investigator, he'd once been involved in breaking a ring of fortune-tellers who were fleecing elderly residents of several small communities in the Baltimore suburbs, and was only mildly curious about the boardwalk palm readers. After all, they were all the same, weren't they?

Anna turned Jody's hands over several times, then concentrated on the left palm.

"It is said," Anna told them, "that the left hand will show what was intended in your life, and the right will show what you have done with what you were born with."

She tilted Jody's hand toward the light.

"You have long hands," she said softly. "They tell me you have tact and sensitivity. The palm and the fingers are the same length, telling me that your instincts and judgment are balanced. Your hands are strong, you work hard, you have a great deal of energy."

She examined Jody's thumb and fingers, and nodded, saying as she went from one digit to the next, "Again, energy, an energetic will. You are ambitious. Prudent. You bring a certain artistry to your work."

You've got that right, Jeremy nodded imperceptibly. Jody's flan is an art form unto itself…

"… and you love your work; you're very good at it and take great pride in your accomplishments. I see that you are independent; you enjoy the freedom to express yourself that you are allowed. You work for someone who encourages you to experiment, do you not?"

"Yes." Jody laughed a tad nervously. "Actually, I do."

"She… it is a woman, I see that… relies heavily upon you. You enhance her business. She admires your creative spirit, your industrious nature."

Jody smiled and glanced up at Jeremy, who raised an eyebrow.

"Now, let's see what else there is here…" Anna's glasses slid onto the bridge of her nose and she pushed them back up with her index finger. "A touch of shyness, I see. Idealistic. A believer in romance, ah, yes, in love at first sight. And you are capable of great passion…" Here she glanced up with a half smile and said softly, "… as yet untested, but it is there. Now let's look at the lines…

"Long life, good character. A heart to be cherished, since it will be given completely but once." Anna lifted Jody's right hand and peered intently into the palm. "You have used your gifts well, you have exceeded your own expectations."

Anna folded Jody's hands, one atop the other, whispering as she did so, "You are entering into a new phase, with new challenges. Trust your heart to lead you, and you will not be disappointed. All you need is within your reach. You need only to take it."

Jody smiled and wondered if Anna really knew what she was talking about.

"And now, sir, if you would have a seat…" Anna gestured to the chair Jody was vacating.

"Oh, I think I'll pass," Jeremy waved Anna off. "Thanks anyway."

Anna smiled. She knew a skeptic when she saw one. Well, then, it would be his loss. "That will be twenty dollars for the lady's reading."

Jeremy pulled a twenty from his wallet and handed it to her. He took Jody's arm and steered her toward the narrow doorway.

Still, Anna couldn't resist.

"Your journey home is nearly at its end."

Her words stopped Jeremy in his tracks, as she had known they would.

"Before the week has ended." She whispered so that only he could hear. Then she nodded toward Jody and said, "For her sake, you'll go."

Jeremy forced a patronizing smile and saluted Anna as he turned back to the door, forbidding himself to dwell on her words. A lucky guess, nothing more. Isn't that the way the fortune-telling game was played? He tucked Anna's comments into a corner of his mind where he kept things he'd rather not think about.

Anna stood in the doorway and watched them walk away, mildly amused. Before the week was over, he'd see…

Jody slipped her hand through Jeremy's arm and asked, "What did she tell you there at the end?"

"Oh, just the kind of stuff they always tell everyone so that you go away thinking that they have some kind of psychic gift."

"I thought she was pretty good," Jody continued. "She certainly had my job situation pegged pretty well."

"Well, you play the odds often enough, sooner or later you'll hit one right on the money," Jeremy nodded, and having decided that a change of subject was called for, asked, "What would you like to do now?"

"Hmm, let's see." She stood in the center of the boardwalk, looking first to the left—toward the big amusement pier with its killer roller coaster and the water slides—then to the right and the more "gentle" rides, the ones suitable for children and adults who have recently had a large meal.

"Shelton's Pier?" She asked hopefully.

"Shelton's Pier it is." Jeremy smiled and took her hand.

Leisurely they strolled to the white picket fence that surrounded the amusement park.

"Oh, Jeremy, look!" Jody grabbed his arm and pointed off to her left. "Teacups! I remember riding the teacups with my mother when I was little. And look there, there's that little boat ride."

Laughing, he allowed himself to be led to the short metal fence that closed off the narrow waterway from spectators. Tiny passengers, strapped into tiny seats, held tightly to the sides of the miniature rowboats as they floated along, dragged by a pulley under the water to keep all moving at the same rate of speed.

"Oh, I remember riding in those little boats! I thought I was such big stuff, because I got to ride alone. You must have ridden in them lots of times, living just down the road."

He shook his head.

"How "bout the merry-go-round?" She asked. "My mother and I used to go on together. It would always be our last ride. Then we'd stop for cotton candy on the way home. Did you use to ride the merry-go-round, Jeremy?"

"Once or twice."

"Ferris wheel?"

"Only until I became too cool for anything less than the big, nasty rides."

"Wait here," she told him.

Jody returned shortly with a string of multicolored paper tickets.

"We need three each for the merry-go-round, five each for the Ferris wheel." She held up the tickets. "Unless, of course, you're still too cool…"

Jeremy laughed and took her hand, leading her to the line for the big wheel.

Ten minutes later, they were strapped into a canary yellow gondola and watching the park patrons on the ground grow smaller and smaller.

"Look, from here you can see the lights from the marina," she said.

"And the lights from the roller coaster." He pointed to the south. "That's one wicked-looking machine, isn't it?"

"Oh, I saw it on Saturday night A few of my friends went on, but I just couldn't bring myself to get on it."

"I'm game, if you are."

"After that dinner, I don't think so." She laughed.

"Maybe tomorrow night."

"Maybe. Look, there's the center of town. Three streets over from that red neon sign, on the bay side, is the house we rented when I was little. If it was daylight, we could probably see it from here. What a fun thought, to see the entire island from up above it all."

"Hmm," he rubbed his chin. "There's a thought…"

"When I was little, I used to think that you could touch the stars from the top of the Ferris wheel." Jody said when the ride came to an end and began its gradual release of passengers, giving each car a minute or so stopped at the very top of the wheel.

Her face was so near, tucked as she was into the crook of his arm, and her mouth was so close, that he never thought about kissing her, he just did. Her mouth was warm and sweet and still bore the slightest trace of lemon mixed with sea air. She tasted so good that he kissed her again, parting her lips with his tongue and tracing the contour of her mouth. Deeper and deeper, seeking more and more of her.

Had any woman ever been sweeter to taste, softer to touch? Had he ever suspected that it would be otherwise?

With her hands on either side of his face, she drew him back to her when she thought he would pull away. She'd never been kissed quite like that, and she didn't want him to stop, pure and simple, and so she kissed him until their car was making its last little swing to the platform where they'd get off.

They wandered around the amusement park, holding hands, but not speaking, until finally, on their third pass of the merry-go-round, Jody said, "There's a big black horse draped in scarlet and gold that's calling my name. Want to ride with me?"

"Sure."

Jeremy helped her to the platform when the ride had stopped, walked with her through the crowd of children and young lovers who were threading their way through the handsomely painted mounts.

"Here's my horse," she said as she climbed atop the black horse to sit sidesaddle. "Are you going to ride? There's a pretty mean looking dragon over there that might suit."

Jeremy laughed and nodded in the direction of the bright green beast.

"I'd hate to have to fight an eight-year-old for him. I think I'll just stand here with you, if that's okay."

The music started and the carousel began to turn slowly.

"Ah, that must be the legendary gold ring," he said as they passed the wooden post where the ring hung from a small dowel. "I'm going to have to go for that, you know."

Lights twinkled on and off, the mirrored back of the carousel reflected the gaily decorated animals as they pranced past, faster and faster until the reflection was little more than a blur of color. As the ride began to slow, Jeremy walked to the edge, and holding onto the nearest post, waited to pass the wooden pole. Jody never did see him reach for the gold ring, but as they hopped off the ride, he slipped it onto the middle finger of her left hand.

"I'm afraid it's a little big," he apologized.

"Oh, you got it!" She laughed, delighted that he had done so. "I never thought that anyone ever actually got one of these things!"

"Beginner's luck." He shrugged, gratified that she was so pleased with so small a trinket. "I spent a lot of time on the boardwalk as a teenager, but I never spent much time riding the carousel horses."

"Not macho enough?"

"Not by a long shot. The Rattler, the Twister, the Sea Serpent—those were manly rides."

"Then I guess the spinning teacups were out."

He laughed and drew her close to him as they walked past the arcade where boys in baggy pants and tank tops fed an endless supply of quarters into the machines.

"Now, how about that cotton candy you were talking about? Isn't that what you said you used to end up your nights on the boardwalk with?

Jeremy purchased two paper cones of the spun-sugar confection, and handing her one, said, "You have to wonder just who thought up this stuff."

"It's awful," she said as nibbled.

"Umm. Disgusting." He agreed.

"It's so simmer," she sighed. "Cotton candy and boardwalk fudge."

"Saltwater taffy and snow cones."

"Boardwalk pizza."

"Boardwalk fries."

"With cheese."

"Uh-uh. Old Bay seasoning."

"Ooh, that sounds good, too."

"Maybe tomorrow night we should just do boardwalk for dinner," Jeremy said as they arrived back at the motel. "And later, we can take on the roller coaster."

"Not after a meal of boardwalk food."

"Hmm, good point."

"Oh, look. People are swimming in the pool there. Want to join them?"

He glanced at his watch.

"Not tonight," he told her. "I have to get up early tomorrow. And so do you."

"I do?" She frowned. "Why?"

"Because there's something we want to do."

"There is?"

He nodded.

"How early?"

Jeremy appeared to be calculating something.

"Well, if we want breakfast first, we should probably meet at the coffee shop here in the motel by about five."

"And if we don't want breakfast?"

"Five-thirty should do it."

"Are the whales up that early?"

"Whales? Oh, no, that's not whale-watching time. That'll be later in the day. This will be something else. Something special."

"What?"

"It's a surprise," he told her. "You'll just have to wait till the morning to find out."

They stopped in front of Jody's door and she handed him her key when he reached for it. He pushed open the door with one hand and turned on the lights for her.

"So. You game? Five A.M.?" He asked as he gathered her in his arms.

"Yes," she told him as his mouth lowered to meet hers. "I'm game."

He kissed her until something inside him told him he'd better stop while he still could.

"I'll see you at the coffee shop at five," he said, closing the door behind him.

Jody dropped her shoes on the floor and sat on the edge of the bed and held up her hand. The thin band of mystery metal on her middle finger gleamed like the finest gold. She lay back across the bed, dazzled from kisses she could still feel, right down to her toes, and wondering what incredible surprises tomorrow might bring.