He looked down at her. “I don’t care why you came, only that you’re here.” Besides, no matter what she said to him or to herself, she was here, at least in part, for him. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be staying until Monday. She’d be heading back to Misty River today after her meeting with Tracy.

“I will concede,” she said, “that the opportunity to see you while in Atlanta is a nice perk.”

Her misty blue eyes killed him. They communicated so many things—wisdom and disappointments and commitments fulfilled.

“I’m determined to become the best perk ever,” he said.

“Impossible. I’ve already received the best perk ever—a bag of wookie cookies given to me by a student last May the Fourth Be With You.”

“I can be better than wookie cookies.”

“You’re overly competitive.” Her attention slid to his chest, then back up again. “Have you been at the hospital this morning?”

“Yeah.”

“I like this look.”

“A white T-shirt and scrubs?”

“You are aware, are you not, that several Hollywood actors have built careers on this look?”

“Those guys are fake doctors. Chumps.”

He kissed her. He’d planned to keep it quick—didn’t want to scare her off—but at the first taste, need overwhelmed him. After a few minutes, he had to use all his self-control to break the contact. “Thank you for coming.”

“You already said that.”

“It was worth repeating.” He gave a lopsided grin. “How much time do we have before the meeting with Tracy?”

“Are you planning to join me for the meeting?”

“Is it okay with you if I do?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll join you.”

“We have two hours.”

“That gives us plenty of time to grab some lunch.”

I think this might be her,” Leah said two hours later.

She and Sebastian had arrived early at the park Tracy had specified. They’d been waiting and watching for a redhead in a gray coat, and the woman who’d just entered the park fit the bill. Her body language radiated caution as she scanned her surroundings.

Leah caught the woman’s eye, raised her hand in a wave, then approached. She could sense more than hear Sebastian walking beside and slightly behind her. Wind had swept the morning’s gloomy weather to the east, leaving hesitant sunshine, high-sixties temperatures, and rain-scrubbed foliage.

“Tracy?” Leah asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m Leah. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me. This is my friend Sebastian.”

Tracy nodded tightly at Sebastian. She was of average height and almost painfully slender. Her lovely hair was parted on the side and tucked behind her ears before continuing in a smooth, shiny plane to her mid-chest. It was the only soft and inviting thing about her. Her pointy features looked as if they’d been chiseled from marble.

“Would you like to sit down?” Leah indicated a picnic table nearby.