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offspring better not have inherited those tendencies or he’d have her to contend with. She might be a pushover when it came to everything else, but let someone hurt her daughter and there’d be hell to pay.
    “Is that him?” She eye d a short, stocky man with glasses and thinning hair who entered the restaurant solo.
    Eva didn’t even look up. “When you see him, you won’t have to ask. Trust me. The resemblance is uncanny.”
    “ Well, he must be a looker then. From what I remember of his father, he was something else.”
    “Oh, he’s something else all right.” Fidgety, Eva tapped a tune on her water glass with her nails, then paused to wipe the condensation from her fingers with the linen napkin unfolded across her lap. “Don’t forget, you promised you’d be nice.”
    “When am I not nice?” Honestly, what did she think she was going to do? Shine a penlight in the poor man’s eyes and interrogate him? Ask to see his financial and medical records? She had no reason to resent him for wanting to marry her daughter. If anything, it only showed that the guy had superior taste.
    “Would you like to order an appetizer while you’re waiting?” The waitress, a perky girl who couldn’t have been more than eighteen, stood poised with her pen and pad in hand. There were pink streaks in her frizzy hair and her nose was pierced on one side. Abby couldn’t help but wonder how she managed to blow her nose without injuring herself. Kids these days…they picked some bizarre ways to express themselves.
    “Did you want an appetizer?” Abby asked Eva, glancing across the table at her. She didn’t respond, didn’t even hear the question. Her attention was focused instead on someone across the room, and the way those green eyes lit up indicated that the rest of the world no longer existed for her.
    Mr. Wonderful had arrived, apparently.
    “No thanks hon, we’ll wait for the rest of our party.” Abby turned her head in the direction of the entrance, and the first thought that ran through her mind when she caught sight of the blond approaching their table was holy hunk on toast!
    No wonder Eva was infatuated.
    “Ms. Spencer? Julian Winter. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”
    Not only was the young man a remarkably identical replica of his father, he sounded like him too, down to the mild English accent and articulate pronunciation. He had a voice designed for movie narration. And a face designed for magazine covers. “Nice to meet you, too. My goodness, you do look just like your father.”
    “That is the only similarity, I can assure you.” He slipped into the booth beside Eva and smiled warmly at her. “Hello, darling.”
    With his accent it came out sounding like dahling . Abby watched the way the couple interacted with interest. There was no mistaking that these were two people who were very much in love. The way they were looking at each other bordered on salacious. Was this the way she looked at Grant? She’d better watch that. The entire medical staff would know she had the hots for him if she wasn’t careful.
    “Have you ladies been waiting long? I’m not late, am I?”
    “No, we got here a little early,” Eva assured him.
    The waitress sidled back over to take their orders, and once that was taken care of Julian addressed Abby before she had the chance to confront him.
    “I expect this all must seem a bit precipitous to you, Ms. Spencer…”
    “Abby.”
    “Abby. I hope I can ease your concerns by assuring you that your daughter will not only be protected and well provided for, but she will be loved and cherished every waking day of her life.”
    Abby wondered with amusement if he’d rehearsed that charming little speech beforehand. “ Well, I hope so. Because I expect nothing less.”
    Eva rolled her eyes. “Mom…”
    “On my honor, she will receive nothing less than my constant devotion.”
    Was he always this formal? “Relax, hon. No need to be uptight. I promise