Wait a minute. He's gone ‘ out of the picture ‘ adios ‘ and you didn't tell me? I don't believe it. You little shit! He grabbed her again, and squeezed her tight in his arms. How dare you do that to me! I've been trying to figure it out since yesterday when I called you, and you asked me to dinner. Why didn't you call me? I thought that was our deal, you'd call me if anything happened.

A lot did happen when I got back, but I needed some time to sort it out in my own mind, before I called you. He understood that, but he had agonized over her all week. He would have loved to have known that she had broken up with Brandon. And now he had a thousand questions he wanted to ask her.

What dastardly deed do I have to thank him for, if I ever see him?

Apparently quite a few I didn't know about. But the real topper was when I flew to San Francisco and showed up at the Fairmont last Friday night. That was a good one. He had a woman with him, staying in his room. And suddenly I realized that he's been doing it all along, and he pretty much confirmed that.

Nice guy. Great principles. I like that in a man. Good moral fiber. He was joking with her, but he was seething inside at what she'd been through. How humiliating, and how cruel. But in an awful way, he was glad it had happened, and so quickly. It was kismet.

The trouble is, she commented, I like all those nice things too, principles, ethics, fidelity, all that boring stuff that's out of fashion these days. And I seem to like to delude myself about people I convince myself have them. Unfortunately, I'm wrong usually. I seem to miss the call most of the time. In fact, so far, when it comes to picking losers, I've been batting a thousand.

Maybe things have finally changed for you, he said, pulling her close to him again, as he stood behind her, and felt her willowy warmth against him. Maybe your eyesight has gotten better.

Has it? She asked him cautiously, wanting answers from him, and reassurance.

What do you think?

I'm asking you. I don't think I could go through that again. This is the third one for me. Three strikes, I'm out.

No, Allegra, he said, turning her around to face him so he could look at her. You're just beginning. You're only a baby. That was all practice stuff. Now we go for the brass ring. And you're gonna get it this time ‘ you deserve it’ . Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at him, and this time when he kissed her, she kissed him back, with all her heart, and the faith that she had given so foolishly before. But he was right. This one was the biggie. He was the genuine article, and he wasn't going to fool her. To her very core, she knew it.

They sat together for a while, and she showed him around. She had the odd feeling that he would be spending a lot of time there, and she was showing him his new home. It was a funny feeling.

I love it, he said, admiring what she'd done, and the easy warmth of the place. She loved it too, and she was happy he did.

And a little while later, they left for Malibu. It took them forty-five minutes to get to Alan's. She told Jeff about him all the way there, and the pranks they'd committed together over the years, but even knowing all of that, Jeff was still startled into silence when he met them. Carmen was so incredibly beautiful, even in a T-shirt and blue jeans. She had the same breathy, sensual quality Monroe had had, but she was so much more beautiful, so much more breathtaking, that Jeff hadn't been adequately prepared to meet her. And meeting Alan was just like looking straight at a movie screen, except that he was alive and looking at you, and laughing with those perfect teeth, and incredible blue eyes, and finely chiseled features. He reminded Jeff a lot of Gable. They were quite a combination. He could just imagine it once the press got a hold of them, never mind the tabloids.

Their hosts ushered them inside, and Alan had made tamales and guacamole for them, and he served Jeff a tequila. But as hospitable as he was, there was a puzzled expression as he looked at Allegra's date for the evening, and then finally when he got her alone, he challenged her and she laughed mischievously at him.

What the hell is going on, you little holdout? Who is he? Where's the creep? Alan never spoke of Brandon in pleasant or even civil terms, because he'd never liked him. But this time Allegra didn't say anything in his defense. She was just grinning at Alan. I like this one. What did you do with the other one? Kill him?

Just about. He's been cheating on me for two years or thereabouts, she summed it up for him in a nutshell. I walked in on him with one of his sweeties, at the Fairmont last weekend. Actually, they were out of the room, but her bra and panties weren't, or her see-through nightgown.

Why didn't you tell me, you turkey? He looked hurt that she hadn't called him.

I needed time to get used to it. I don't know. She looked serious for a minute. I called you once, and you weren't home. And I felt like such a horse's ass, I didn't feel like telling anyone about Brandon. I've been licking my wounds all week.

Count your blessings, Alan said seriously, pouring her a soda. She didn't want tequila. That guy would have made you miserable for the rest of your life. Trust me. I know it.

She knew he was right now, and as they talked about it, Carmen and Jeff came in to join them.

What are you two up to? Jeff asked, putting an arm around her as she smiled coyly. What's the drill here? Do I trust you with this man? Tell me the truth now so I know what I'm up against. I'm afraid I can't compete with him. Is he a threat?

Alan laughed and was quick to reassure him. Not for the last fifteen years, I'm afraid. She was cute as hell at fourteen, but all I ever got out of her were a bunch of sloppy kisses. I hope you've at least gotten better at that, Alan told her rudely, and she shoved him.

Thanks for nothing. You used to give me beard burn, and get me in trouble with my mother all the time, you creep.

You know, he still does that. Carmen looked at her sympathetically, and Allegra laughed. It was fun being together, the four of them, and Allegra had never seen either of them as happy.

Alan made tacos and tostadas for dinner, and Carmen made Spanish rice and a huge salad. And there was ice cream and hot fudge sauce for dessert, and they toasted marshmallows in the fireplace, like kids. Then they went for a walk on the beach, and laughed and talked, and played tag as they ran in and out of the ocean as the waves lapped gently against the sand in the bright moonlight. It was a lovely evening.

When they went back inside finally, Carmen grinned at Allegra, and then at Alan. She looked up at him with her huge blue eyes, and whispered something. She was asking if she could tell them, and he hesitated, looking at his old friend, and at Jeff, wondering if the one would disapprove and the other could be trusted. But he decided he could handle either of them, and Carmen could barely keep herself from exploding with excitement.

We're getting married in Vegas on Valentine's Day, she announced, and Allegra pretended to faint and fall backward.

Cupid's dream, and a lawyer's nightmare. Her eyes met Alan's immediately, wondering if this was really what he wanted. But it seemed to be; he looked sure of her and of himself, and she had never seen him as happy. He was thirty years old and he ought to know by then what suited him and what didn't. The papers are going to kill you. I hope to hell you use another name, and you go incognito. Wear wigs, paint your faces, do anything. This is going to be the news of the century. Princess Di and Prince Charles were nothing to this, kids. Please God, be careful.

We will be, Alan assured her, and then he had an idea. Will you be our maid of honor, our witness, whatever? And then he looked at Jeff expansively. You can come too, if you can put up with her by then. We'd love to have you, Alan said generously and Jeff was touched when he said it. They were warm, genuine people, and he had had a great evening. It wasn't pretentious, or intellectual, or like any of the supposed salons in New York, but it was much more down to earth, and he enjoyed it. It was why he had come to California originally, but these people were special. He liked them both, and he hadn't been able to take his eyes off Allegra all evening. He still couldn't believe his good fortune that she'd broken up with Brandon so quickly.

And since the wedding was only two weeks away, they all talked about it for the next hour. Alan wanted to take Carmen fishing in New Zealand for their honeymoon. He had made a picture there and he really liked it. And she wanted to go to Paris, because she'd never been there.

I'll take you to New Zealand, Jeff, Alan said expansively, lighting a cigar. The girls can stay home and go shopping.

But even as they joked about it, Allegra urged them to be careful. The press were going to make their lives miserable once they figured it out. It was vital that no one suspect anything for as long as possible. How are you going to get to Vegas?

I thought we'd just drive, Alan said practically.

Why don't I rent you a bus? Bram uses a great one. I'll see if I can get it, as a gift from me. It would cost her about five thousand dollars to send them to Vegas in it, but it was fabulous, and well worth it. It was like driving in a yacht, or a private airplane. And if she rented it in her name, no one would be the wiser.

That sounds like fun, Carmen admitted, and Alan indulged her, and thanked Allegra.

Jeff and Allegra helped them clean up, and they put the dishes in the dishwasher for the maid to deal with in the morning, and Jeff and Allegra left at eleven. The moon was still bright, and he asked her if she'd like to see his house on the way home. It was only a few blocks away. She was hesitant at first, and then she nodded. It was all so new to her still, and in some ways she felt shyer with him now than she had in New York. Everything had been so rushed there. They had to take what they could, while they had it. It was a little bit like a shipboard romance, and now suddenly this was real life, and she knew they both meant it. It was more than a little scary. And she still couldn't believe Carmen and Alan were getting married.