She seemed to study me for a minute. “Permission to speak freely?” I laughed. “Always.”

“I’ve known you for, what, three years or so now, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve seen you jump in and out of a lot of relationships. And don’t think I don’t know about all of them; I’ve got my sources.” She smirked and winked, and I laughed, feeling sheepish. Kate did have a remarkable talent for seemingly reading my mind. “And even with Dianne, whom I know you were in love with, I never saw you do anything that big and selfless and be so concerned.” She shrugged. “Something in your voice changes when you talk about this woman, and I’m willing to bet she’s on your mind a lot more than you would readily admit.”

She leaned forward, not letting me avoid her gaze. “You’ve had a rough couple of years, Jack. If you think you’ve found someone who could lighten the load a bit, I’d go for it.” She threw up her hands and smirked. “Or just ignore me completely, and tell me to shut up and get back in my place.”

I laughed, glad for the escape. “And your love advice column starts next week in the LA Times, right?”

“Yeah, and once the mail starts pouring in I’ll have to start charging for these private sessions, so take advantage of it now when I’m still dispensing it for free.” She winked as she stood and headed for the door.

I walked her out and gave her a hug. “Thanks, Kate. You’re a good friend.”

She smiled, her tone light but still serious. “I care about you, Jack. I don’t want to see you hurting anymore, that’s all.” She descended the stairs and turned out of sight.

I walked back to the apartment and pulled a beer from the fridge before sitting back down on the couch, surrounded by mail and scripts. I thought about what Kate had said, trying to decide whether it had any merit.

Truth was, Grace fascinated me. When I’d first seen her in the hospital, I felt only concern, but mostly because of the circumstances. The second time, I’d been curious. She’d seemed harmless enough, but once she’d laid on all that God talk, I’d been more than a bit wary of her. But that morning when I’d dropped off the car at her house, she’d been so friendly, and so sincere and normal … if she hadn’t said anything about God in the hospital I would never have pegged her as religious.