We returned to the two-bedroom apartment near the college campus that we shared. Dimitri was an instructor at the college, and Rose worked as a nurse at the university clinic, so it made sense for us to live so close. Our parents lived about a forty-five minute drive away, which was why I moved in with Dimitri and Rose when I started my freshman year. It was the perfect solution. Rose tended to be kind of bossy sometimes, but we usually got along OK.

When we got home, I went to my room right away and put my nightgown on. I had the smaller of the two bedrooms, but I didn't mind that. After all, there were two of them and only one of me.

I had a hard time getting to sleep that night. I just couldn't get James' gorgeous blue eyes out of my mind. Nor how very British he sounded, and that cute little way he had of hiking one eyebrow in interest...I got so hot and bothered that I almost couldn't stand it.

He called me the very next day. It was after lunch and I was watching TV and dozing when Rose told me that I had a telephone call.

I recognized his voice as soon as I heard it. "Lily? James here." He sounded so formal, so...dignified. Exactly the way I'd imagine an oboe player in a British orchestra to sound.

"Hi!" I said.

"Are you busy?" he asked.

"Uh...no, not really." I was trying very hard not to sound too eager.

"Could you meet me at Le Chateau at seven tonight? This is our last night here, and I'd like to meet you properly before we leave tomorrow morning."

My heart was beating so fast that it felt as if it were about to pound right out of my chest. Le Chateau was only the fanciest, and most expensive, restaurant in town. I'd never been there before, and I wasn't even sure if I had clothes that were nice enough to wear there.

"I'll be there!" I told James without even giving it a second thought.

"Good. I'll see you there, then."

"That was James," I told Rose after I hung up. "He wants me to meet him at seven o'clock at Le Chateau!"

"Le Chateau? Well, la-di-da!" I heard the slight envy in Rose's voice and it made me feel happy.

After much rummaging, I finally found a slinky little black dress, black tights, and black heels that I thought would do.

Dimitri whistled when he saw me. "Wow, Lily, you look really hot! Doesn't she, Rose?"

"She sure does!" my sister agreed. "You go, girl!"

Smiling happily, I left to meet James. He was already there when I arrived, looking even more breathtaking than he had the night before. He was dressed in pleated black slacks and a pin-striped shirt with the top button undone. When he saw me, he stood and pulled my chair out for me. I smiled and thanked him.

"So, what are you studying at uni?" he asked me.

"Psychology," I told him.

"Interesting." I couldn't tell whether he really thought so or was just being polite.

"So, have you always wanted to play the oboe?" I asked him.

"I've been taking lessons since I was four. Mary and I both have. She plays the violin."

"For the same orchestra?"

"Of course! The one my father was conductor of."

"What did your Mom do?"

"I suppose you could say she was one of his groupies." He laughed. "He was twenty-five years older than she was."

"Twenty-five years? My God!" I almost choked on my drink. He laughed heartily.

"She was his third wife. They met at a party given in his honor. He was still grieving over the loss of his second wife, but she made him happy again." James sighed. "For the brief amount of time they had together."

I felt awkward, as I'd never lost anyone close before. "They must have really loved each other."

"Emily has always told me they were inseparable."

"She must have been from your Dad's first marriage."

"Actually, she was from his second. His first marriage didn't last very long. She was mentally unstable. My half brother Kit was from that marriage." James chuckled. "He's actually slightly older than my Mum was."

"So how many brothers and sisters do you have in all?"

"Let's see..." He began to count them off on his fingers. "There's Kit from my Dad and Helena, Emily, Leo, and Harriet from my Dad and Ruth, and just me and Mary from my Mum. How many brothers and sisters do you have?"

"There's just me and Rose. I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother, although I do have a brother-in-law now. His name's Dimitri."

"Dimitri? That sounds Russian."

"He's originally from Baia in Siberia."

"What do your parents do?"

"My Dad owns a general store. My Mom works there."

"So have you always lived around here?"

"Yeah. Kind of boring, huh?"

"My family have always lived in the same little town in England. Mary and I didn't really start traveling until we joined the orchestra several years ago."

Assuming he'd finished university first, that would put him in about his mid twenties at the youngest. Would he consider eighteen to be too young for him? What would I say if he asked me how old I was? "You two must be very close."

"We're twins," he said, as if that explained everything. "My Mum was American."

"That's cool."

We finished our meal, and he asked me if I wanted to dance. He was an excellent dancer. I dreaded having to say good-bye to him, especially knowing that I might never see him again.

When we were finished, he walked me back to my car. "Thank you for a lovely evening, Lily," he told me. "I'll be in touch."

I wondered whether or not he was going to kiss me good-bye. He didn't.