Her head snapped up, and Mandy glanced around the restaurant. They were just across the street from their office and anyone could be listening. That was the last thing in the world she needed, rumors running around the office about her and Damien. Not seeing any secretarial spies, Mandy waved away a fly and dropped her fork. “Is it that obvious?”

“I’ve never seen you like this.” Despite a summer breeze tumbling down Fifty-second as they ate outside, Caroline looked cool and put together.

As usual, Mandy felt as though she’d run an obstacle course on her way to lunch. She was hot, blown, and sticky. And she was certain her deodorant had given way on the elevator down.

“Ben certainly didn’t produce this kind of reaction from you. It makes me wonder if there is more to your feelings than you realize.”

Oh, she realized them all right. “I’m terrified that he’s got into trouble. We had this sort of fight yesterday at the ultrasound.” Maybe fight was the wrong word, but they’d certainly not left each other in a happy place. “Then he just took off. He never leaves the office like this. And he hasn’t even checked his e-mail. Where could he have gone?”

“Maybe he’s at home. Maybe he just needed a mental health day.” Caroline touched her hair, smoothing it. “Did you know that sixty percent of women and twenty percent of men have called off sick because of a bad hair day?”

Mandy knew without a doubt Damien wasn’t a contributor to that statistic. “Damien would not call off sick because his hair looked bad. He would be bleeding out his eyes before he called off work.” Which made her wonder if he was in his apartment, bleeding out his eyes.

Her stomach churned. “I don’t even know where he lives! Oh, my God. He could be dead.”

“If he was dead, he would not have had the forethought to cancel all his appointments first.” Caroline took a bite of her Cobb salad. “Why don’t you just call his cell phone? You’re his secretary. Surely you know his cell number.”

Mandy felt a huge sense of relief that she could contact him. “You’re right. I have it in my Palm Pilot.” She bent over and started digging around in her purse. “How did you know you were in love with Brad, Caroline? Was it this eureka moment?”

“Well, no, not really.” Caroline’s voice was puzzled. “I just knew that Brad was the man I wanted to spend my life with. I knew we were right for each other. And of course, I love him.”