"Roxanne, you'll just have to learn that with men flirting is an accepted thing. It just isn't their nature to focus all their attention on one woman forever. Men who profess to do so are mere hypocrites."

Roxanne didn't answer. She knew Jack spoke the truth. She blinked back tears of resentment. This was the man she was going to marry, the man she would swear to love, honor and obey all her life. Honor! Obey, perhaps, but never honor. She couldn't back out now. There were their families to consider. The cold, calculating families, who thought this such a mutually profitable marriago. Lambeth Stocks and Bonds marrying Grandon 011 Investments. It wasn't a marriage of two individuals; it was the merging of two large corporations.

Jack swerved into a parking lot and braked his car to a stop. "Come on, baby, cheer up," he grinned. His lips brushed against her cheek and his breath smelled of beer and stale cigars.

It was extremely warm inside the swank Garden City Country Club. A large danc o band, seated on an range and black dais, blared forth the latest dance tunes. Appropriate. Hallowe'en decorations lent a garish yet eerie atmosphere to the enormous hall. The place was crowded with Hallowe'en revellers, all masked and attired in a variety of weird costumes.

Roxanne led the way to a cozy table for two near the dance floor, conscious that her glittering and revealing costume attracted many admiring glances. She seated herself and drew the capo more tightly around her shoulders.

"What do you want to drink, dear?" Jack asked as a waiter hovered re ar.

Orders given, Jack arose. "Would you excuse me for a momont," he murmured.

Roxanne watched his retreating back disappear in the orowd.

Her drink was more than half finished when he returned. "Sorry, honey, but I got tied up with Willie Thomas, the

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