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  She reached back to run her hand along her side and felt the deep ridges of skin. Twisting, she tried to see what was there.

  Graydon got up, removed a small mirror from the wall, and held it so she could see the long, wide scars down her side. “I think you were burned, and badly.”

  Toby handed him the mirror and sat up in the bed, pulling the sheet over her. “I have no burn scars but I do have a row of small pink birthmarks running down my side. My dad used to say they were a map of undiscovered islands.”

  Graydon sat on the side of the bed holding the mirror. “You are in Tabby’s body,” he said softly. “Last night I could feel the ridges on you and I thought of what you must have been through to leave such deep scars. But it wasn’t you who had endured the pain.”

  The idea that she was in someone else’s body was almost more difficult to comprehend than the idea of time travel. Right now it seemed that she and Graydon were in some historic inn, with a very authentic bed—except that everything was new. Two hundred years hadn’t passed, so the furniture didn’t have that years-old patina that made it into antiques.

  “What about you?” Toby asked. “Anything different?”

  “I don’t believe there is.” His eyes began to twinkle. “But perhaps you would like to search.”

  “I think that would be best,” Toby said solemnly.

  When he leaned toward her, she ran her hand over his hard, flat abs, across his shoulder, and down a muscular arm. “I have nothing to compare you to, but you look and feel fine to me.” She put both her hands on him. It was wonderful to see and touch him. “Do you feel any different to yourself?”

  “No,” he said, his eyes darkening with passion as she drew closer. When the mirror started to fall, he caught it and twisted to the side to put it on the little table by the bed.

  “Oh, my!” Toby said, her eyes wide and her hand to her mouth. “Your back!”

  “Is it scarred?” he asked as he turned his back fully toward her.

  “No scars anywhere.” Toby was trying to contain her laughter but couldn’t help herself. He handed her the mirror and she held it so he could see. The entire left side of Graydon’s back was covered in a truly magnificent tattoo. It was unmistakably Japanese and in vivid color. The image was of a woman, her hair pinned up on her head. What was unusual was that her hair was a golden blonde and her eyes were blue.

  Graydon twisted about as he stared into the mirror. “Is that who I think it is?”

  “I’m not sure, but I think it’s me as a geisha.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Graydon said as he put down the mirror. They looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing.

  Graydon stretched out beside Toby and pulled her into his arms. “I can assure you that in real life I have no tattoos.”

  “Not even an ankle butterfly?” Toby was still laughing.

  “I must say that this one is rather remarkable, isn’t it?”

  “And stupendously flattering.” Toby looked up at him. “I’m glad you were able to negotiate this marriage for them. Any man who loves a woman as much as Garrett loves Tabby should spend his life with her.”

  Suddenly, she was feeling very sleepy, which made sense, as they’d been awake all night.

  “I want to stay here,” Graydon said. “With you. I want the life we could have here.” He put his hand on her cheek and lifted her face to his. Her eyes were closed. “Toby, do you know how much I love you? Do you have any idea how much it’s going to destroy me to leave you? I don’t think I can—” He broke off because he saw that she was asleep.

  He started to say more, but he too was overwhelmed with sleepiness. “No,” he whispered. “I don’t want to sleep.” He was very much afraid that he’d wake up and all this would be gone. But he couldn’t stay awake.

  With their bodies tightly entwined, they slept.

  Toby awoke slowly and for a moment she didn’t know where she was. It was full daylight but the shades were down so the room was dim. Hanging from the door hinge was the beautiful gown she’d worn to the dinner party last night and she was glad she’d taken the time to put it on a padded hanger. For a moment she looked up at the ceiling, remembering the party. It had certainly been a success! Victoria had agreed to the theme and …

  She sat up in bed. Had they really gone to Kingsley House and torn apart the window seat? She rubbed her hand across her eyes. Surely that had been one of her dreams. She also seemed to remember arguing with Graydon over something to do with Tabby and Garrett but she couldn’t remember exactly what.

  Feeling a bit confused—too much to drink?—she got up, took a shower, and washed her hair. Last night it had been sprayed and gelled and moussed in an attempt to make it stay up, and she wanted all of it out. She dressed in jeans and a pink cotton shirt and went downstairs. It was going to take some work to clean up after the party.

  But the house was in perfect order, with no sign of the previous night’s gathering. Nor was there anyone around.

  On the table in the sunroom were a bowl of fruit and a note from Graydon. “Yogurt in the fridge. I’m outside. Take your pick.”

  What an odd thing to say, Toby thought as she scooped yogurt onto the fruit and began to eat. Anyone reading it would think there was a great deal more between them than there was. But then, maybe it wasn’t what he’d written but the note itself that was unusual. She seemed to remember Graydon writing something with a quill pen. There had been candlelight and some old document—only it wasn’t old. Some man was saying that the ink wasn’t yet dry.

  The vision seemed to come and go in seconds and she couldn’t think where it had come from. When she heard the clash of steel on steel, she went to the window and looked out.

  Daire and Graydon, their upper bodies bare, honey-colored skin glistening with sweat, were, as usual, attacking each other. Nearby, Lorcan was watching them intently. Toby started to raise her hand to wave but someone knocked on the front door so she went to answer it.

  She opened the door to see her friend Alix standing there.

  For a full three minutes there was nothing but hugging and laughing and talking on top of each other. It was the first time Alix had been back to the island since her wedding.

  “Did you have a wonderful time?” Toby asked.

  “Fabulous. All of it! Has anything happened that I missed out on? Have you heard from Lexie?” Alix asked. “Dad said you have some interesting visitors.”

  “Come and see.” Toby linked arms with Alix and led her through the kitchen to the sunroom windows. Outside, the two beautiful men were now wrestling, their strong bodies clad only in loose white trousers that were hanging so low they looked to be in danger of falling off.

  “This is what you wake up to every morning?” Alix asked. “Talk about honey on toast!”

  Toby sighed. “Yes. Honey. Acres of it.”

  “So remind me which one is yours.”

  Toby turned away. “Neither of them. Daire, the taller one, is in love with Lorcan.” She nodded to the woman on the sidelines.

  “I didn’t even see her there,” Alix said.

  Toby laughed. “I know what you mean. See that flower bed on the far left? It gives me the best view of the men. I water the flowers in that poor bed for so long they’re in danger of being waterlogged. But then, whenever Lorcan and I feel we’re being ignored, we get the men back by doing yoga—with lots of rear-end-up poses.”

  Alix was watching Toby. “It sounds like you’ve set up a family here, but Mom said they’re all going to leave soon.”

  “Yes,” Toby said, her voice showing her dread of that event. “In about two and a half weeks Graydon will return to his country and announce his engagement to another woman.”

  Alix put her hand on her friend’s arm. “Mom said you and Graydon were becoming …” She didn’t finish that sentence because she thought it was better not to tell everything her mother, Victoria, had to say about Graydon and Toby. “He’s going to break her heart!