“Our first night apart,” Lucas teased, setting her bag down.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep without your snoring.”

“I don’t snore.”

“Hah!” she said, and he grinned.

There was an awkward moment when they realized it was time to say good-bye. Kate was about to leave Lucas for the first time since their wedding. She was excited about the show, but also nervous. She wasn’t used to hiding personal secrets and certainly not from the country at large. Now she would be on national TV, and what if something went wrong?

“You’ll do great.” Lucas seemed to read her thoughts. “Dr. Phil will probably make you a regular if you’re not careful.”

“I don’t think I’m ready to move to Hollywood.”

Lucas smiled. “Good.”

Kate glanced at her watch. “I should get to my gate.” She pulled her boarding pass and driver’s license from her suit pocket.

“Have a safe flight.” Lucas looked over her shoulder, and Kate knew he was conscious of Dahlia. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss. The gentleness of his touch tugged at her, even with the brevity of it. Would she ever get used to him kissing her? Wasn’t it supposed to become old hat after a while?

Now, as Kate waited for the cameras to roll, she touched her lips, remembering the way they had tingled after the kiss.

Do I have feelings for Lucas? Feelings that go beyond friendship?

Before she could chase the thought, one of the crew gave the signal for taping to begin, and the show was underway. Her couple was up first, thankfully.

Dr. Phil started. “Today we have Hope and Ryan. They’ve been married for eight months and are wondering if they’re just too different to make it work. Come on, guys, you’re supposed to be in the deliriously happy newlywed stage, so what gives?”

Hope twined her fingers with Ryan’s. “The delirious stage lasted about two days for us.”

“It was a whirlwind kind of courtship,” Ryan said. “I guess we didn’t know each other very well, didn’t realize how different we were.”

“How long did you all date?” Dr. Phil asked.

They looked at each other; then Hope cringed. “Five weeks.”

The audience groaned.

“Five weeks!” Dr. Phil’s voice rose. “You barely know how he takes his coffee in five weeks.”

“I know, I know,” Hope said. “It was impetuous, and we regret that we didn’t wait longer. I guess I let the whole ‘falling in love’ thing go to my head. I mean, we are in love, and we want to make it work. But we’re so different—we just aren’t sure how to find a middle ground.”

“Well, they say opposites attract,” Dr. Phil said. “Tell us what your hot buttons are. What are the differences that drive you crazy?”