I felt the blood drain from my face as I stared at Mikhail's sleeping form, and with a gasp and a tiny shriek, I scrambled backwards and fell off the side of the bed, entangled in the sheets. The commotion startled him awake, and he sat up, leaned over, and peered sleepily down at me as I lay on the floor, flustered and panicked.

"Alice? What in the...?" he asked, looking bewildered

"Wh-what are you doing here? Why are you in bed with me? Where are my clothes?" I squeaked, wrapping the sheets more tightly around me.

He got out of bed and came around, knelt next to me, and stroked my cheek. "Calm down, Alice. It's okay."

"No, it's not okay! Why am I naked? What... what happened? What did we do?" My voice rose higher and I began to tremble as I teetered on the verge of hysteria.

He put his arms around me, saying, "Shhh. Listen, it's fine. You just had too much to drink last night, that's all."

"Then why were we in my bed? Together? Naked?!"

"I'm wearing boxers. Didn't you notice?" he said drily. I glanced down at his light blue striped shorts, then back up at him, confused. "Don't you remember anything from last night? You passed out, so I brought you back up here and put you to bed. Then I sat up with you to make sure you'd be okay, but I must have fallen asleep."

"But... but... naked!" I stammered. I put my hands on my head, trying to think through the fog that seemed to envelop my aching brain. "I... I remember we had dinner, and I drank a lot of champagne and wine. And those coffees. Then... then the strawberries. And the cream. And kissing—lots of kissing. And we went for a walk on the beach...." I stopped, my head pounding too painfully to think.

"Yes, that's right so far...." Mikhail prompted me encouragingly, sitting down on the floor next to me and putting his arm around my shoulders as he watched me.

I bit my lip and tried to focus again. "I... I remember it was so hot even after the sun went down, and the water felt so nice and cool.... Wait, we... we went skinny-dipping, didn't we?" He nodded his head as I turned red with embarrassment and buried my face in my hands.

"Do you remember anything else?" he asked after a moment.

I shook my head, then suddenly I did recall... I looked up, almost dizzy with the shock of the memory. "Oh goddess, I-I came on to you, didn't I? I was begging for it! Then you... then we...? Oh, my goddess, we did, didn't we?" And I started to cry.

"Shhh, calm down, Alice, it's okay. We didn't do anything. Keep thinking, try to remember what happened next."

"R-r-really?" I sniffled. "But how... I was all over you! So...."

"Think."

I concentrated for a moment, fighting through the waves of panic and confusion and pain. "Wait. I-it's coming back to me now. You're right—you turned me down, didn't you?" I breathed a quavering sigh of relief as I looked at him in wonder. I hadn't entirely broken my promise after all, in spite of myself, though it had been an awfully close call. I recognized that it was only due to Mikhail's actions that it remained unbroken, not mine. If he'd been less honorable, I would certainly not have made it through the night intact. "Then I... I remember trying again to talk you into... into having sex with me. That's all. The next thing I remember, I was waking up naked in bed, with this goddess-awful headache. But we... we really didn't do anything? You're positive?"

"Positive," he said with a half-smile. "Though I confess that it wasn't easy to restrain myself."

I leaned over and rested my cheek on his shoulder. "Thank you," I whispered. He just squeezed my shoulders in reply as we sat on the floor.

After a moment, he said, "Anyway, as for the rest of the night, you passed out on the beach immediately after propositioning me for the second time—and it was a good thing that you did, too, because I wasn't sure how much longer I could resist you. You were very persuasive in your, ah, arguments. Then I pulled my pants back on, wrapped my shirt around you, bundled up the rest of our clothes, and carried you up to your room. Luckily, no one saw us—that might have been more than a little awkward. I got you into your bed, but by then I'm afraid I was too exhausted to try to get you into your nightclothes. I was somewhat inebriated myself, you know, though much less so than you were. So I tucked you in, then sat up in bed beside you to keep an eye on you. I was afraid for a while that you might become ill, but you just stayed in a deep sleep. I was barely able to keep my eyes open, though, and I suppose I simply fell asleep. I'm sorry for frightening you like that, and that my presence gave you the wrong idea."

I shook my head. "No, I'm glad you were there for me. I was just confused and shocked because, well, waking up naked in bed with you like that...."

He lifted my chin up and looked into my eyes. "I know there have been times when I've been upset and not... not as gentle with you as I should have been. But please believe me when I say that I would never take advantage of you when you're vulnerable."

I nodded, and he stroked my cheek gently as I said, "Yes, I believe you. And... and I see now that I can trust you, no matter what might have happened in your past."

After a few minutes, he got dressed and left, intending to stop by his room and change, then find us some breakfast, since the house breakfast was long since finished. While he was gone, I took a shower and had a long, hard think about last night. Could I really say that I'd kept my vow? Just because technically it hadn't been broken, as I was still a virgin, I had at the very least broken it in spirit and intent, hadn't I? At least, I'd been not even just willing but actively trying to break it, and wasn't that almost the same as actually breaking it? I pondered that question until the water cooled and I shut it off; I wasn't able to arrive at an answer, so I decided to let it be—for now, anyway. But I knew that sooner or later, I would have to tell Cam about it—the sooner the better, really. And I didn't much look forward to that conversation.

Thankfully, the weather had changed overnight—a few fluffy, white clouds had moved in, and the breeze had picked up. It was a pleasantly mild day—neither too hot nor too cool. I pulled on a coral pink sundress and went downstairs to try to find some aspirin. I caught up to Mrs. Simmons bustling around her front parlor, dusting her shelves of knick-knacks and humming cheerfully. I asked her if I could have some aspirin, and after giving me a quick scrutiny, she hurried off.

A few minutes later, she returned with a bottle of tablets and a tall glass of tomato juice. "Here you are, dear, drink this first, then take two aspirin. You look rather, ah, delicate this morning. A little too much wine with your supper last night, perhaps?"

"Just a bit," I replied, wincing. I took a sip and half choked. "This is... umm... very interesting tomato juice."

"Oh, it's not tomato juice, dearie, it's a Bloody Mary. Tomato juice with vodka and some seasonings to add a little kick. My cousin, who owns an inn on some island way down south, swears by them as a morning-after cure. There's just a enough vodka to ease your symptoms, plus lots of nutrients. So bottoms up, and you'll soon be back to your usual sunny little self!" I took another sip, then drank it down quickly, swallowing two tablets with the last little bit of it. I returned the glass and thanked her before dragging myself back up to my room to await Mikhail's return.

I curled up on my bed while I waited, still drained from the night before. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, Mikhail was sitting on the edge of the bed next to me, gently stroking my hair. "Hello, sweetheart," he said when I opened my eyes. "I hate to wake you, but I didn't think you'd care for tepid coffee."

I just smiled up at him, still half-asleep, admiring the way the softly filtered sunlight set his platinum hair aglow and lit up his ice-blue eyes. I reached out a hand to his cheek, caressing his jaw line. He took my hand and kissed it, then stood and pulled me to my feet. "Come on, darling. You really should try to eat something, and the coffee will help wake you up."

We sat out on the balcony and ate croissants and sipped strong, black coffee. The deliciously fresh breeze on my face woke me up and helped my appetite to return, at least a little bit. By the time I'd eaten the last bite of the crisp, flaky pastry and finished all but the dregs of my coffee, I felt much better. I don't know if it was due to the meal, the salty sea air, the aspirin, or Mrs. Simmons' concoction, but whatever the cause, I was relieved that the pain had subsided to a dull ache.

"The last of the engagements I had made prior to your arrival will be on Monday," Mikhail said after we finished eating. "I have a friend who is a luthier. He founded a small school that teaches lutherie, as well as the construction of other instruments, and he has asked me as a personal favor to perform at the entrance ceremony that morning. Unfortunately, I won't be able to invite you to join me this time, but I should be free that afternoon and evening. Then I have something every Tuesday night—I think you'd enjoy it, but if you aren't interested, I'm under no obligation to go."

"What is it?"

"I meet up with a group of musicians each Tuesday night, just to play. It's fun and inspiring to be with other musicians, all with different instruments and different training and tastes. Usually we gather at Stuart's house, but this time Erik, my host, will be taking over for him. You would, of course, be more than welcome to bring your violin and join in. We usually play through some music we're already familiar with, and often a piece or two of new music, then we finish up with some improvisation."

"It sounds fun! I'd love to come along, if I won't be in the way. And I'll bring my instrument, though I'm not sure if I'd feel like playing it in front of a bunch of strangers."

"I'm sure they'll love you as well as your music, so you have nothing to worry about," he said with a smile.

"Well... if I'm going to play with your friends, I should probably practice—I've hardly touched my violin this past week!" So we went for a walk through town, stopped at a coffee shop for some coffee and sandwiches, and then went to his room to pick up his violin before returning to my lodgings, where we spent the afternoon playing.

We dined that evening at a café with a large deck overlooking the beach and ocean, then afterwards he walked me back to my door. He gave me a leisurely kiss, then turned to leave. He took a few steps, then looked back at me with a smile, and said, "You know, dearest, we really do make beautiful music together."