“I’ll come back later, when everyone else has gone home.”

“Good,” Tully said. “ ’Cause I need you.”

As soon as Kate was gone, Chad moved closer. “I thought I’d lost you.”

“I’m fine,” she said impatiently. “Did you see the broadcast? What do you think?”

“I think you’re not fine, Tully,” he said softly. “You’re farther from fine than anyone I know, but I love you. And all night I’ve been thinking about what my life would be without you and I don’t like what I see.”

“Why would you lose me? I’m right here.”

“Marry me, Tully.”

She almost laughed, thinking it was a joke; then she saw the fear in his eyes. He really was afraid of losing her. “You mean it,” she said, frowning.

“I got offered a job at Vanderbilt in Tennessee. I want you to come with me. You love me, Tully, even if you don’t know it. And you need me.”

“Of course I need you. Is Tennessee a top forty market?”

His rough face crumpled at that; his smile faded. “I love you,” he said again, softly this time and without the kiss to seal the words and give them weight.

The door behind him opened. Mrs. Mularkey stood there, arms akimbo, wearing a cheap jean skirt and a plaid blouse with a Peter Pan collar. She looked like an extra from Footloose. “The nurse said five more minutes with visitors and then they’re throwing us all out.”

Chad bent down and kissed her. It was a beautiful, haunting kiss that somehow managed both to bring them together and highlight how far apart they could be. “I loved you, Tully,” he whispered.

Loved? Had he said loved? As in past tense? “Chad—”

He turned away from the bed. “She’s all yours, Margie.”

“Sorry to kick you out,” Mrs. Mularkey said.

“Don’t worry about it. I think my time was up. Goodbye, Tully.” He walked past her and left the room, letting the door bang shut behind him.

“Hey, little girl,” Mrs. Mularkey said.

Tully surprised herself by bursting into tears.

Mrs. Mularkey just stroked her hair and let her cry.

“I guess I was really scared.”

“Shhh,” Mrs. Mularkey said soothingly, drying her tears with a Kleenex. “Of course you were, but we’re here now. You’re not alone.”

Tully cried until the pressure in her chest eased and the tears dried up. Finally, feeling better, she wiped her eyes and tried to smile. “Okay. I’m ready for my lecture now.”

Mrs. Mularkey gave her The Look. “Your professor, Tallulah?”

“Ex-professor. That’s why I never told you. And you’d say he was too old for me.”

“Do you love him?”

“How would I know?”

“You’d know.”