.

herself straighter, she shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Just kind of brain-dead after a draining day.”

      And then, to further convince him that nothing at all had changed between them…and why should it have?…she said brightly, “I’d love to have coffee with you and James. I’ll meet you there.”

      He still looked at her as though something puzzled him, but she kept her smile in place as she headed for her car. Only when she was buckled into the driver’s seat did she allow it to fade. What was she doing, letting a random comment from a fanciful patient interfere with her friendship with her study pal? She and Ron had had their share of conflict, but romantic yearnings had never been an issue. Their problems were due entirely to conflicting personality traits, all the more reason to put Georgia’s mistaken observations and unsolicited advice out of her mind.

      She must be more tired than she had realized. She could use a cup of coffee and a few laughs with her friends.

      Because Haley was delayed by a red light, Ron was the first to reach the coffee shop. He was already placing his order when she got in line, and had secured a small table when she joined him with her skinny vanilla latte. “Looks like we beat James here,” she commented, slipping into a plastic chair.

      “Looks like.”

      Ron took a cautious sip of his own hot drink. “I was tempted by those muffins, but I figured I’d better eat some real food first,” he said after swallowing. “Had a sandwich and some chips for lunch, but they’re long since worn off.”

      “I got half a salad down before I had to run help my resident with something,” she admitted. “I’m starving.”

      “Want to go next door for Chinese after we finish these? We’ll see if James wants to join us.”

      The fast-food Chinese place next door was good, quick and relatively inexpensive, all points in its favor. Haley nodded. “Sure. I’ve got time for some noodles before I hit the books.”

      “Great. I’m not in the mood to cook for myself tonight.”

      “Neither am I.” She sipped her coffee, trying to decide whether she should repeat her conversation with Georgia to him. Ron would probably get a kick out of the older woman’s misguided matchmaking efforts. He loved to share amusing stories. But for some reason, she kept the patient’s observations to herself. Maybe they hadn’t been all that funny, after all. Just…mistaken.

      They chatted about their workday for a few minutes more before being interrupted by the chirp of Ron’s phone. He slipped it from its belt holder and glanced at the screen. “Text from James. He’s not going to be joining us, after all.”

      “Oh? Nothing’s wrong, I hope.”

      “No. Just having trouble with his car again.”

      James’s classic sports car was notorious for mechanical problems, about which the study group had teased him often.

      Ron shook his head as he returned the phone to its holder after sending an acknowledgment of the message. “Don’t know why he doesn’t give up on that car and buy a new one.”

      “He loves that old car.” The car seemed to be the only inanimate object James did truly value. He’d even given it a name. Terri. If there was any personal significance to the name, he’d never said.

      “Way more trouble than it’s worth. I’d have dumped it a long time ago.”

      But then, that was Ron’s stated philosophy, Haley mused, gazing into her coffee cup. If something didn’t work out, or was more trouble than he deemed worthwhile, he walked away without looking back. He’d even proclaimed that he was prepared to do the same with medical school. If his grades had slipped or he’d failed one of the critical tests, he’d have taken it as a sign to move on, he’d insisted.

      Haley had made no effort to hide her disapproval of that attitude. She was of the “Try, try again” credo herself. Ron had teased her during their first year of studying together that “Never give up. Never surrender!” should be her motto. The allusion had sailed over her head until he’d hosted the study group one blessedly study-free Saturday afternoon for pizza and a showing of a sci-fi spoof movie that was one of his favorite films. He’d performed a bowing, fist-against-the-heart salute every time he’d seen her for several months afterward, until she’d finally threatened to dropkick his computer if he kept it up. Although he hadn’t believed her—entirely—he’d finally grown tired of the joke and moved on to another one.

      He drained his coffee. “Ready for noodles?”

      She’d already agreed to eat with him. It would be a little too obvious to cancel just because James wasn’t coming along, after all. Besides, why shouldn’t she share a quick meal with Ron? she could only blame Georgia McMillan and her silly imaginings for making her suddenly self-conscious around her friend.

      Telling herself this foolishness would all be forgotten by tomorrow, she pushed her empty coffee cup aside and reached for her purse.

      Ron couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but something was off with Haley. She seemed to be lost somewhere in her own thoughts, though she made an effort to participate in their conversation. He couldn’t read the expression in her eyes, and her smiles looked a little distant. She didn’t seem annoyed with him—a common enough occurrence that he knew how to recognize those signs—but neither was she fully connecting with him this evening.

      Setting down his chopsticks, he studied her from across the little table in the crowded Chinese restaurant. “What’s going on, Haley?”

      She frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”

      “You’re acting weird. Have been ever since we left work today. Have I done something to tick you off again?”

      She twisted noodles on her own disposable chopsticks, and he wondered if she was deliberately avoiding his gaze. “Have I ever not let you know when you’ve ticked me off?” she asked wryly.

      “Well, no. But I think I know you well enough to tell when something is bothering you. Did something happen at work today?”

      “Not…exactly.”

      “What does that mean?”

      She sighed a little and looked up from her bowl. “One of my patients said something that caught me a little off guard, but it’s no big deal, okay? It was just an observation she made that I think was inaccurate.”

      Conscious of the patient privacy laws that had been drilled into them, he glanced around to make sure no one could hear them before leaning a little closer to respond. “The only ‘she’ you have is the one who always winks at me when we come into her room on rounds. What did she say?”

      Haley shook her head. “You know we’re not supposed to discuss our patients outside the hospital.”

      “Not if it’s a privacy issue,” he agreed. “Is that what it was? Is there something your resident should know, and you’re wondering how to tell him?”

      She shook her head again. “It’s nothing like that. She was just teasing me. Let it go, Ron, okay?”

      “Fine.” He wondered if she would have been so reticent with Anne. Or even James or Connor. But then he told himself to stop taking it so personally that she was holding something back from him. It wasn’t as if they told each other everything.

      He’d become increasingly aware lately that there were a lot of things he didn’t understand about Haley. One would think after knowing her for two years, he’d have learned all there was to discover. And yet, it felt sometimes as if he’d barely scratched the surface of Haley Wright.

      She gave another little shake of her head, as if clearing her mind of whatever had been bothering her, and quickly changed the subject. “I met with the rest of the class officers this morning for another planning session for the big tailgate party in September. I think it’s going to be