Lydia shook her head. “What I have to tell you involves a certain doctor, but according to you, I’m not supposed to mention his name.”

“Sam?” Marjorie’s heart stopped, then pounded frantically against her ribs.

“The one and only.”

The temptation to strangle Lydia was powerful. Marjorie returned her gaze to the report. “I refuse to play your games.”

“Okay,” Lydia announced with typical nonchalance. “If you don’t care, then far be it from me to announce that the very doctor in question happens to be in this building at this precise minute.”

Marjorie’s gaze froze. “Here?”

“Not more than twenty yards from this office door, if you must know.”

The papers Marjorie had been holding slipped from her fingers and fell to the top of her desk. Uncaring, she left the scattered sheets there.

“But you are apparently over Dr. Sam,” Lydia commented, studying the ends of her polished nails, “so it would be best if you stayed holed up in here and did your best to pretend he isn’t anywhere around.”

Without realizing what she was doing, Marjorie stood, her knees barely strong enough to keep her upright.

“I don’t mind telling you,” Lydia said, grinning, “I’m having a difficult time not giving Dr. Sam a piece of my mind. The man is obviously a pervert.”

Marjorie blinked, sure she’d misunderstood her friend. “Sam’s nothing of the sort.”

“Imagine Dr. Sam wanting to get married,” Lydia continued with a sigh. “Doesn’t he realize how old-fashioned that is? A woman should live with a man fifty, maybe sixty, years before making that kind of commitment. Dr. Sam expects too much.”

As best she could, Marjorie ignored her friend’s sarcasm. “Sam’s here?”

Smiling unabashedly, Lydia nodded. “You’ll see him the minute you walk out of this office.”

Nothing could have kept Marjorie where she was.

As Lydia had claimed, Sam was in the dealership, standing at the service counter. For a solid minute Marjorie was unable to breathe. He looked tired, overworked, hassled. He wasn’t taking care of himself, and he looked as though he’d lost weight. As if drawn by a magnet, she walked to his side.

“Sam.” His name came from her lips without her even being aware she’d spoken out loud.

He tossed a look over his shoulder and froze when his eyes met hers.

“Hello,” she said in an effort to avoid calling attention to herself. “How are you?”

“Fine,” he answered stiffly. “And you?”

“Okay…Wonderful, actually.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

A tense silence followed while she struggled for something more to say. Her gaze fell to the service desk. “Is something wrong with the car?”

He shook his head. “It’s time for an oil change.”

The tense quiet returned.

“…babies?”

“…work?”

They spoke simultaneously.

Sam gestured with his hand. “You first.”