“What do you want to play?” he asked. They stood at Jason’s shelf of game chips.Peering at the labels, she said, “I don’t know any of these....Pick something fun.”Jason handed Stephanie a controller then pushed the ottoman against the couch. He plopped down, kicked his shoes off, and put his feet up. A moment later, Stephanie followed suit. Compared with Stephanie’s smaller bare feet, his seemed huge. Her purple-painted toes attracted his attention. “Nice toes,” he said, then regretted saying. ’ Ashlee was grinning as she said it, but Julie heard the underlying sincerity. ‘Even if any of that were true,’ Julie said with a slight laugh, ‘this guy has them lining up. He doesn’t need to deal with a messy situation, so why would he?’ Ashlee nodded, but a smile was still on her face. ‘Okay, kiddo. Maybe you’re right.’ But there was an underlying tone in her voice that said she wasn’t convinced. Maybe it was Ashlee’s comment. Maybe it was the persuasive voice inside chipping away at her. His guide knocked, and the door opened a crack. Light streamed out. "Yes?" queried a woman's voice. "It's the American Gent, Ma'am — Colonel Ogilvy."The door opened wider and David was ushered in. "Come in, come in" The woman encouraged. "Welcome to Number 1 Storey's Gate — or 'The Dungeon' to its inmates" she laughed. In the light of the flickering globe David recognised his welcomer. "Miss Ive, a pleasure to meet you" "Ooo, aren't you a saucey one!" she simpered as he took her hand and kissed. They slept in, both of them still too tired to stir until late in the morning. Then, after a leisurely breakfast on their patio, they slipped into their bathing suits and walked over the dunes to the beach. That was everything they had hoped for, too. The sun was bright and hot. The sea rolled just enough to make playing in the water a lot of fun. There weren't too many people there either, which made it even more enjoyable. Ben and Ally lay on the sand, played in the ocean and spent a lot of.