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Jack took her by the elbow, and once they ducked behind a hut and out of sight of her unit, he swooped in for a kiss. Izzie grasped at the lapels of his uniform, pouring herself into the kiss in hopes that it would never end, but she couldn’t help feeling that she was trying to drive back an incoming tide.

When they broke apart, he let out a long breath. “I needed that. I’m sorry I can’t stay.”

“I’m happy to see you at all,” she said with a laugh.

“Izzie…” he started, but then he stopped.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

He gave her a little smile. Against the brilliant force of his usually sunny smiles, it felt dim. “Nothing’s the matter. I was driving by Great Yarmouth, and I remembered you telling me that you’d be here. And… and I wanted to ask you something.”

She sensed that he was holding something back, but she didn’t know him well enough to figure it out on her own and she still felt a little too shy to ask.

“You can ask me anything, Jack,” she said.

“I…” He hesitated, threading the brim of his cap through his thumbs and forefingers. “I have twenty-four hours’ leave coming to me.”

“I do too,” she said. “I had been planning to keep my leave back to go up to London and check on the shop, but unfortunately twenty-four hours won’t be enough with the trains being what they are.”

Now his smile returned with its full wattage. “In that case, we could try to arrange our leave together. We could go away somewhere nearby. Just the two of us.”

Go away somewhere? Together?

“Unless you don’t want to,” he said, seeming to take her hesitation as reluctance.

“No,” she hastened to reassure him. “No, it’s just that I don’t really know what to say.”

“What is there to say other than yes?” he asked.

“Well,” she started, “where would we stay?”

“There are plenty of pubs with rooms or little inns dotted around. I could find one that wouldn’t ask too many questions. Or we could say we were man and wife?”

“Newlyweds?” she asked with a laugh, hoping it covered up how racy and intriguing she found the idea.

He caught up her hand in his. “Something like that.”

“Would we share a bed?” she asked, forcing herself to be bolder than usual because she wanted as many answers as possible before she agreed to anything.

His neck went red under his tan. “If you like. Or I could sleep on the floor, if that would make you more comfortable. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

She thought about it for a moment. She didn’t know what she wanted. A part of her was so drawn to him and the way he made her feel when he kissed her. A part of her knew that well-behaved women weren’t supposed to go away with any man who wasn’t their husband, but she was fairly certain well-behaved women weren’t supposed to spend their days repairing balloons and wearing work boots.

“Think about it,” he said. “You don’t have to tell me now, and besides, we don’t know if we could make it work at all.”

Seeing the possibility of a trip with Jack slip away from her made something lurch in her stomach.

“I’ll see if I can manage the time, and I’ll write to you,” she promised.

He kissed her swiftly. “Just tell me the date—if that’s what you decide. I’ll make the arrangements.”

She couldn’t help herself from returning his giddy grin.

“Can I walk you back?” he asked, offering her his arm.

She took it and, when they emerged from around the beach hut, she could see Lottie yell something to the rest of the unit. A cheer went up, and Izzie started to laugh.

“Do I want to know how badly I’ve ruined your reputation?” he asked.