“You’re right. I’m sorry.” She crossed to the leather sofa and sat down. “You’re saying you act this way because the world has low expectations and you’ve chosen to live down to them?”

Not exactly how he would have phrased it, he thought, feeling uncomfortable. How had they gotten onto this topic to begin with?

He crossed the room and sat at the other end of the sofa.

“You don’t think very much of me,” he said.

“You don’t give me reason to think better.”

She was right. Most of the time he didn’t care what women thought of him. Enough worshiped him that he didn’t give a damn about the rest. But for some reason Lori was different.

He drew in a breath. “There was a girl,” he said slowly. “Jenny. I met her when I was drafted into a farm team.”

He looked at Lori. “That’s a minor league baseball team. All the major league teams have farm teams to groom players.”

She smiled and even with her glasses, he could see the corner of her eyes crinkle. “I know what a farm team is,” she told him. “I’m not a huge fan, but I’m not totally ignorant.”

“Good. So I met Jenny and it was amazing from the beginning. She was pretty and smart and funny and I was crazy about her.”

Lori shifted on the sofa. Her mouth twisted slightly, then she said. “So you were normal once.”

“More than that. I was in love.”

He didn’t like remembering how it had been back then. The good times with Jenny had been the best, but the crash…he’d wondered if he would ever recover.

Lori’s hazel eyes darkened slightly. “I can’t imagine you in love. You mean like being faithful and wanting a future in love?”

Her voice sounded tight. He wanted to believe that was about envy or something, but he had a feeling it was just a whole load of disbelief.

“I asked her to marry me.”

Lori’s breath caught. “I didn’t know.”

“No one does.” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs and stared at the ground. Without wanting to, he remembered everything about that night. It had been warm, but raining. The rain was the reason he hadn’t been playing. A three-day soaker had trashed the field. He could smell the dampness in the air and someone’s cooking a couple of apartments over. He and Jenny had been sitting on the steps leading up to her place.

He remembered the feel of her body so close to his, the way her long straight blond hair had gleamed in the moonlight. He’d looked at her and known she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She was all he’d ever wanted—someone he could love forever. So he’d asked her to marry him.

“She said no.” He spoke the words flatly, as if they had no meaning. As if he couldn’t remember what it had been like to hear her faint giggle of surprise.

“I’m sorry,” Lori said.

“Don’t be sorry yet, because that’s only part of it. She said she wasn’t interested in marrying me. She thought I was a lot of fun and great in bed, but marriage was out of the question. I wasn’t the kind of guy women married. She was actually seeing someone. He was going to propose and she was going to say yes. I was the kind of guy women had a last fling with, but not the kind anyone wanted to be with for the long haul.”

LORI HAD A RESTLESS NIGHT and a difficult morning. She couldn’t seem to concentrate on what she was doing, mostly because she kept reliving her conversation with Reid.

While she knew he was telling the truth, she still had trouble believing any woman could reject him so easily. Sure, he was too good-looking to be real but he was charming and fun and just thinking about having him kiss her again was enough to make her weak at the knees, which made her want to pound her head against the wall out of sheer humiliation, but there it was. The reality that Reid was the kind of guy women loved. Even smart women who knew better. Apparently self-awareness was very different from immunity.

She couldn’t get her mind around the fact that someone he’d been in love with had walked away from him. Had, in fact, rejected him cruelly. There had to be more to the story.

Lori knew many of her questions would never be answered—especially the one about why this was so fascinating to her. She didn’t want to know the answer to that.

She finished clearing the dishes from lunch and loading the dishwasher. Then she went to check on Gloria.

Her patient was reading in bed. Gloria set down her book when Lori entered the room.

“My oldest grandson’s wife is coming to visit,” Gloria said, her voice sounding more resigned than pleased. “She had a baby recently. The biological father came from a sperm bank, if you can believe it. I’ll never understand why Cal wanted to get back together with a woman who would do that sort of thing. He could have done so much better than some breeding cow who…”

Lori raised her eyebrows.

Gloria drew in a breath, then let it go slowly. After a second, she spoke again. “My grandson’s new wife is coming by to visit. She’s bringing her new baby. Won’t that be lovely?”

Lori grinned. “I think you’ll enjoy the company.”

“I like babies,” Gloria said slowly. “Regardless of where they…” She paused again. “Penny is very pretty. I’m sure her baby will be especially attractive.”

“You’re making progress,” Lori told her. “How does that feel?”

“Awkward and foolish most of the time,” Gloria admitted. “But you’re right. It makes a difference. I want my family in my life and if this is what it takes, then I’m willing to do it.”

“The things we do for love.”

Gloria stared at her. “Or don’t do. Why aren’t you married?”

“No one asked.”

“I find that hard to believe. You’re perfectly capable.”

Lori knew that there was a genuine compliment buried in the less than elegant words. “I should have that stitched on a pillow. ‘Perfectly capable.’”

“You know what I mean. You’re the sort of woman who would make someone a good wife.”

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you? But apparently men everywhere decided they could live without me.” She spoke lightly, not wanting to admit there might be any pain inherent in her situation. She was nearly thirty years old and no man had ever fallen in love with her.

Her sister’s theory was that she deliberately picked men she could never care about so it was easier for her to keep her distance. Lori wasn’t sure. She’d never been in love, so maybe Madeline had been right. And she did tend toward men who were safe.

Except for Reid. Not that she could ever really care about him, but he was someone she could dream about.

She’d gone her entire life without having a crush on someone. Why did she have to have one now? And on him?

“You’re not sexy enough,” Gloria said.

Lori stared at her. “Excuse me?”

“Men are stupid about sex. Always have been. You don’t try to make yourself attractive.”

“I dress appropriately for my job.”

Gloria shook her head. “Don’t pretend that this is how you are during the day and it’s totally different the rest of the time. You’ve made a career of blending into the background. I’m not fooled. Hand me my purse.”

Lori reached for the leather handbag by the bookcase and passed it across to her patient.

“Maybe I like my life,” she said, more than a little annoyed. “Maybe I don’t appreciate your criticism.”

Gloria slipped on her reading glasses and pulled out a Palm Pilot. “I’m the queen bitch, girly. What makes you think I care?”

Lori tried to hide her smile, but couldn’t. “You’re not all that.”

Gloria looked at her over her glasses. “I’m all that and more. Write this down.” She read off a phone number. “You want Ramon and only Ramon. Tell him I sent you. That should put the fear of God into him.”

“Who, exactly, is Ramon?”

“My hairdresser. And don’t panic. I’m an old woman and he does what I say. But with your hair, he could do something amazing.”

Lori resisted the need to finger her long, wavy hair. It had always been a disaster she didn’t know how to control. Deep down inside, she’d always wondered if a great cut could make a difference. But she’d been afraid to try before, so she’d left her hair long and kept it back in a braid.

Still, she was tempted. Would changing her hair make Reid see her differently? And how much did she hate that he was the first place her mind zipped?

“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll think about it.”

“You’ll call,” Gloria said. “That’s an order.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” She glanced at the clock. “Now put my purse away and help me to the bathroom. Penny will be here any minute.”

TWENTY MINUTES LATER Lori opened the door to find an attractive woman holding a baby on the wide porch. The woman seemed tense and apprehensive.

“Penny Jackson,” the woman said with a tight smile. “Not Buchanan. Which I’m sure Gloria hates. For a woman who was a pioneer in her day, she has some very particular ideas about the rest of the world. Not that I care. I don’t care. Except she’s Cal’s grandmother and my grandmother-in-law, so even though I don’t want to care, I actually do.”

She paused, sucked in a breath and seemed to relax. “You’re probably thinking you don’t want to let the insane inside. I totally get that.”

Lori grinned. “I’m a professional. The insane don’t scare me.”

“Good to know. What about mean old ladies?”

“I’m fearless.”

“I wish I was.”

“You will be. I’m Lori Johnston, Gloria’s day nurse,” she said as she stepped back. “Come on in.”

“Do I have to?” Penny asked, but she stepped inside. “I’m married to Cal, Gloria’s oldest grandson, which you might have figured out from my senseless rant. This is Allison.”

Lori stepped close to smile at the baby, ignoring the audible ticking of her biological clock. All she had to do was see a small child and her body sent up hard to ignore get-pregnant-now messages.

“She’s beautiful,” she said honestly, gazing down at the sleeping baby.

Allison was all pink skin and pale wisps of hair. She smelled like powder and vanilla and her mouth was that perfect rosebud shape women spent the rest of their lives trying to duplicate.

“I think so,” Penny told her. “You should see Cal. He’s crazy about her. I know some men are freaked out about babies, but he’s not. He wants to be a part of everything. He’s even crabby that I’m breast-feeding because it means he can’t help.” She sighed. “He’s a great guy.”

Lori felt a flicker of envy. Not because she was the least bit interested in Penny’s husband but because she was stupid enough to want a great guy for herself. Which wasn’t likely to happen. She had never been in love. Not even once. Obviously there was something wrong with her.

Her lack of love wasn’t all one-sided—after all, no one had ever been in love with her, either. Although she wasn’t sure if that made the situation better or worse.

Lori grabbed the large diaper bag hanging from Penny’s shoulder.

“I’ll put this in the kitchen for you,” she said. “Would you like anything while you’re visiting Gloria? Tea? Decaf? A sandwich?”

Penny sighed heavily. “I want to say a speedy escape, but I have a reputation for being tough. Difficult even. I once stabbed a man. It was an accident, but still. I refuse to be afraid of one small old woman.”

Lori felt her eyes widen. “You stabbed someone?”

Penny shrugged. “Assuming I survive this, I’ll give you the details.” She raised her head and thrust out her chin. “Okay. I’m braced.”

“You don’t need to be braced,” Lori told her. “You’ll do fine. Gloria has changed.”

“So I’ve heard, but as I’ve yet to see any flying pigs, I’m reserving judgment.”

Lori resisted the need to say, “You’ll see.” Instead she led the way into Gloria’s temporary quarters.

“Penny’s here,” she said as she stepped aside to let in Cal’s wife and the baby.

Gloria raised her bed and smiled welcomingly. “Penny! How delightful to see you. Thank you so much for coming. I know you must be busy, between taking care of Allison and cooking those delicious meals at the restaurant.”

Penny came to a stop and stared at Lori, then looked back at Gloria.

“Come here,” Gloria said, coaxingly. “Oh, what a beautiful little girl. So precious. She’s perfect and she looks just like you.”

Lori did her best not to look smug as she stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her.

AN HOUR LATER Cal arrived with Reid on his heels. Both men carried large takeout bags from the Downtown Sports Bar. Lori knew that was where Reid supposedly worked, although he hadn’t been going in much. Not that she blamed him. The whole world wanted to talk about how lousy he was in bed or find out if he wasn’t. Under those circumstances, she supposed that laying low made sense.

“Your wife and daughter are already here,” Lori said as she took the bags from Cal. “I’ll get this ready to serve. Do you want to eat in Gloria’s room or the dining room?”