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was enigmatic but reassuring. She wondered if he used that smile in his medical practice, if by smiling at his patients he was able to ease their symptoms and make their medications work more effectively.
    â€œBut—everybody wants to be a star, and Susannah Dawson is a star.” Lindsey returned her adoring gaze to Susannah. “There are so many people in the world who would give anything to live that kind of life.”
    â€œThose people don’t know any better,” Susannah retorted. “If they did, they’d run screaming in the opposite direction. Stardom is a lot nicer to dream about than to live through.”
    Lindsey seemed to deflate, and Susannah regretted her harsh words. She wondered if there was a way to apologize without making the girl feel worse.
    â€œSometimes what seems like one thing when we view it turns out to be quite different when we live it,” Toby gently explained to his daughter. “Lots of people want to be doctors, but they don’t realize how much hard work and stress come with the job. Youknow because you live with me. But other people might not see that. They might think being a doctor is more like—like what you see on TV medical dramas.” He sent a smile Susannah’s way.
    Lindsey said nothing. Her eyes downcast, she pushed back from the table. “Can I be excused?” she asked.
    â€œWould you like some dessert? Ms. Dawson brought those brownies,” he reminded her, gesturing toward the foil-wrapped plate.
    â€œMaybe later.” Lindsey stood, gathered her empty plates and stomped out of the room.
    Susannah turned to Toby for an explanation of what terrible thing she’d done. Perhaps she’d spoken sharply, but had she really been curt enough to send Lindsey fleeing from the room?
    â€œForget about it,” he said, as if sensing her dismay.
    â€œYou never know what’s going to set her off.”
    â€œI guess she was a little starstruck, and I didn’t live up to her expectations.” Susannah sighed. She’d spent far too much of her life trying to live up to people’s expectations—and she couldn’t even live up to a ten-year-old girl’s.
    â€œStorming away from the dinner table is one of her favorite activities. She likes to be dramatic. Maybe she’s got a bit of showbiz in her.” He lifted the wine bottle. “Would you like some more?”
    She appreciated his effort to make her feel better. “Thanks, yes,” she said, lifting her empty glass toward him.
    He filled it, then added more wine to his goblet. “She’s disappointed in me because I didn’t even know who you were,” he said with a self-deprecating grin. “Yesterday you told me your name was Sue, so Ithought maybe she was confusing you with someone else.”
    â€œShe wasn’t,” Susannah admitted. “I…” She didn’t know Toby enough to confide in him—and one thing she’d come to Connecticut for was privacy. But she still felt bad about his daughter, and about her foolish attempt to deny who she was. “My name is Susannah. I just had this crazy idea that if I left Los Angeles, people might not recognize me.”
    â€œPeople like me won’t,” he said, his smile growing.
    â€œI watch the eleven-o’clock news, basketball and a little football on TV, and that’s it. Mercy Hospital wasn’t on my radar screen until Lindsey started jabbering about it yesterday.” He sipped some wine, his eyes clear and piercing as he studied her. “Susannah’s a lovely name, but I kind of like Sue, too.”
    â€œI like Tobias,” she admitted, recalling the name printed on the business card he’d given her. “But I gather you prefer to be called Toby?”
    â€œYou can call me anything you want, as long as it’s clean.” He grinned and sipped a little more wine.
    â€œAnything but Dr. Dad. That’s