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going to the Barnes. Or did you forget the tickets?” Her tone was sarcastic, but she knew that Louis wouldn’t have forgotten the tickets. It was all she’d asked of him for her birthday. But the sheepish look on her face told her he had indeed failed to procure the required admission passes.
    “This is un-fucking-believable, Lou,” she said, her voice rising well above conversational level.
    “Nic, I’m sorry. I just forgot. I’ve been so busy—”
    “Not too busy for movies with Rae, though,” she screamed. And then she remembered her manners, and rose from her seat. “Please excuse me,” she said in a much calmer voice. As she turned and stalked to her bedroom, she couldn’t resist the temptation of one last parting shot. “Feel free to spend the night, Rae. It seems you two can’t get enough of each other.”

Chapter Three
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

    Rae and Louis gazed at each other. “Give me a moment,” Louis said with a sweet smile as he started to rise from the couch. Rae grabbed his arm, stopping him.
    “It’s late,” Rae said. “I think I’ll make the long walk next door.”
    “I would say she’s not usually like this, but I’d be lying.” He laughed.
    “You did warn me she’s a bit difficult.”
    Rae had met Louis at his front door a year earlier as she was moving into the apartment beside his. They’d both been wearing University of Scranton shirts and bonded instantly as they talked about their common hometown and alma mater. A few hours later, Louis had rescued her from her unpacking when he knocked on her door, bearing food and wine. They’d sat at her brand-new dining room table eating and talking away the evening.
    As Rae had bid him good night she knew that a wonderful friendship had been born. She visited his apartment soon after and couldn’t help but notice pictures of the striking, dark-haired woman scattered about.
    Over the next few months, Rae had learned quite a bit about the woman in the pictures. She was Louis’s best friend, a fellow physician named Nicole Coussart. Nic had finished her residency training and moved back to Wilkes-Barre just before Rae moved in. Nic hated Philadelphia but loved the mountains, Louis’s cooking, old movies, and women.
    Without ever meeting her, Rae was hooked on the idea of Nicole. Or perhaps it was the possibility of Nicole, conceived during her many hours in the easy company of their mutual friend Louis. She’d practically begged him to arrange the introduction, and he’d resisted, finally giving in and setting up the disastrous night that had thankfully ended without bloodshed.
    So much for meeting people, Rae told herself as she keyed the lock and entered the apartment next door.
    During the speech she’d recited as she ended their two-year relationship the year before, Rae’s ex-lover, Paula, had suggested that Rae cared more about her job than anything else. She’d then kindly reminded Rae that life was too short to spend it working.
    Instead of becoming defensive or sheltering in a comfortable state of denial, Rae had reflected on Paula’s parting words. Paula was right. She’d spent nine years with the DEA, and all she had to show for it was a nice investment portfolio.
    She’d devoted her first years after law school traveling for the job, saving most of her generous salary. Giving up her small apartment hadn’t been much of a sacrifice. She’d lived in hotels on the road, staying with friends or family during the rare times she was home. She’d spent three years living in Europe and then two in South America before finally deciding she’d walked enough foreign soil. A position in the Philadelphia office became available, and for three years she’d been there, working long hours in her own little war on drugs.
    Admitting Paula was right was easy compared to actually changing her life. Rae was passionate about her profession and had a hard time backing off. Her team was investigating the illegal