A bit later, back in the Laverys' bedroom, Duke hung his jacket in the closet, then sat on his side of the bed, leaned back against the headboard, and loosened and removed his tie, tossing it onto the nightstand. "Almost done in there?"

As he unbuttoned his collar and cuffs, Anna emerged from the bathroom in a tiny, tight, faded black Eli Love concert T-shirt and panties. She stopped to slip a CD into a player on the dresser, and as a disappointingly generic guitar ballad began to blare from the speakers, she turned and slinked to the bed. She crawled up on all fours and then straddled her husband, settling herself onto thighs.

"What's this, then?" Duke asked bemusedly, sliding his hands up her bare thighs.

Anna just smiled widely at him.

"I buy you a silk peignoir and this is what you come to bed in?"

"You don't like it?"

"It doesn't matter, really, because I intend to have you out of it in a minute." He reached for the bottom hem of the T-shirt.

"Not—" Anna grabbed his hands with lightning-quick reflexes. "—so fast…" She pressed his hands into the mattress on either side of them, then leaned in and kissed him.

"You're very forward this evening," Duke observed, pleased.

"I blew out all my candles. I get my wish."

"In that case…your wish is my command."

They kissed again, this time with no intention of stopping until all the evening's wishes had been granted.

Afterward…All the Love still played on the stereo. The Laverys lay in each others arms, in a tangle of sheets.

"Are you sure it's your birthday?" Duke asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"For a moment I thought it must be mine…."

Anna laughed. "No, I'm quite certain it's mine."

Duke sighed. "I'll have to send Mr. Eli Love a thank-you note, then." He paused. "What is it with you and these Australians, anyway?"

"It's just a coincidence." Anna looked at him mischievously. "Eli is the one and only man on my List, though."

"What list is that?"

"The people who, if we ever got the chance…well, we'd be allowed a little…extramarital activity."

Duke raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, really? Who shall I have on my List, then? Let me think…. Well, there's that girl, the dancer, from that Travolta movie. Bloody awful film, but she's a nice bit of talent."

"Haven't seen it," Anna deadpanned. "But okay, you get a free pass for Travolta's random tart.

"And then…"

"What do you mean, 'And then?' My List has one person!"

"Well that's your prerogative, and I'm glad of it. But one person does not a List make, luv."

"I guess you have a point," Anna grudgingly admitted.

" So…Tiffany."

"The little redhead who sings in shopping malls?" Anna asked doubtfully.

"I don't know who that is," Duke answered, truly clueless and uninterested.

"Robin listens to her. 'I think we're alone now. There doesn't seem to be anyone a-rou-ound...,' " Anna sang, completely off-key.

Duke laughed. "I hope we're alone now. That was terrible. I hope the poor girl sings in shopping malls better than that."

Anna frowned and shoved at him.

"Okay, add her to the List," Duke said, still laughing.

"She's 17 years old!" Anna scoffed in mock horror.

"Well, we'll wait a year, then put her on the List."

"Huh!" She shoved him again. "So who did you mean, then, anyway?"

"Tiffany. Tiffany Hill."

Anna sat bolt upright in the bed and whipped around to stare at him incredulously. "Tiffany? No no no. You're supposed to pick a celebrity!"

"Tiffany's on TV…"

Anna was fully riled. "No, a celebrity you're never actually going to meet!" She stared at him with her mouth agape. "I can't believe you said that. We had dinner with her and Sean last night…."

"Well, you started this little game, Mrs. Lavery," Duke laughed at her.

"Yes, well, just you remember: Sean knows a dozen ways to kill a man without leaving a trace. And he taught me three of them."

"And you do keep your gun in the bedside table, after all."

Anna realized he was teasing, and she settled back down into his arms, but was still put out. "That's right. Don't you forget it either."

Duke squeezed her tight and kissed her cheek, gratified by her jealousy. "Mmmm. So do you really want to know who I think about when you're not around, and I'm left to my own devices?"

"You can keep that to yourself, thank you. I've heard more than enough."

Duke spoke in his hypnotic storytelling voice that mesmerized Anna and Robin alike. "I remember a beautiful woman, standing alone in a crowded room…. She's wearing a pink frock, and she has the darkest, most electric eyes I've ever seen."

Anna looked at him in recognition, and he gave her that same devastating half-smile that he graced her with that night two years earlier when they first set eyes on each other, at the Policemen's Ball. Her breath caught in her chest just as it had then.

"And then I think about taking her by the hand," he continued, "and leading her out of the party, to someplace dark…and private…. And making passionate love to her, without ever exchanging a word."

"Duke…," Anna murmured, transfixed.

He held a finger to her lips, whispering, "Shh. Not a word." He kissed her with intensity, pressing her down upon the pillows and shifting his body atop hers. And then there were no more sounds that qualified as words….