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doctor? Perhaps in Lubbock?”
    “Excuse us,” Piper interrupted, “our dinner’s getting cold.”
    For a minute Mrs. Croaker looked like she wasn’t going to leave, but then she sniffed again and said, “Nice to meet you, doctor.”
    “What was that about?” Eric asked after she left. “She seemed a little strange.”
    “Not strange, just plain mean.” Piper stared after Mrs. Croaker. “I used to be engaged to her son and it didn’t work out. Ever since then she’s hated me.” Hate was a mild description of how Neil Croaker’s mother felt about her.
    “In that case, we’ll just forget her,” he said.
    Piper wished it were that simple. Don’t be stupid, just tell him, she tried to convince herself. You know he’ll find out eventually. Better if he hears it from you than from her.
    Oh, what difference did it make what Mrs. Croaker or anyone else told him? She wasn’t going to get involved with him, so what he heard or didn’t hear shouldn’t matter a bit.
    “Don’t you ever miss the city?” she asked, determined to avoid thinking about Mrs. Croaker. Why should she let that old biddy ruin the first date she’d had in months?
    “Not much. All I have to do is remind myself of the traffic, the smog, the crime—”
    “Stop,” she said, laughing. “Okay, I’ll admit Capistrano does have some advantages.”
    “And some I hadn’t even realized,” he agreed, taking her hand to hold it in his.
    She’d walked right into that one. Her heart gave a skip and her stomach fluttered at the contact. She was being a fool to let herself be affected by him. A man who could make a place like the steakhouse seem romantic was definitely dangerous. But why couldn’t she pretend, just for tonight? It was a refreshing change being with a charming man who knew nothing of her past.
    He squeezed her hand lightly before releasing it. If she hadn’t been a practical woman, she’d have sworn her hand tingled.
    They finished eating and Eric waved at Marge. “Early day tomorrow,” he said to Piper. “Do you mind?”
    “That’s all right. On a ranch, all the days start early.” As they left, Piper noticed he gave Marge a good tip, even after she’d nearly dumped his dinner in his lap.
    They didn’t talk much on the way home until Eric broke the silence to ask her a question. “Is something wrong?”
    Surprised, she looked at him. “No. Why do you ask?”
    “You’re quiet.” He reached out and patted her hand that rested on her knee. A comforting gesture, but there was nothing comfortable in the bone melting jolt she felt at the contact. “It was that woman, wasn’t it? Anything you want to talk about?”
    Oh, Lord, he sounded so sympathetic. “No, it’s nothing.” She hadn’t been thinking of Mrs. Croaker, she’d been thinking about Eric. About kissing him good night. Even before they turned into the driveway, anticipation made her stomach churn. Why in the world was she making a big deal out of a simple good night kiss?
    He walked her to the door, but instead of leaving, he simply stood there staring at her. At her mouth. He was going to kiss her. She wanted him to. And she was scared witless of what would happen when he did.
    “Good night, Piper. I’ll call you.”
    She watched him leave, deflated like a popped balloon. All that build up. For nothing. Her hand balled into a fist. She’d bet dollars to donuts Eric planned it that way.

CHAPTER THREE
     
    Eric’s receptionist was out with a virus, her replacement couldn’t spell hello and couldn’t count past ten, and Mrs. Croaker waited in the exam room. A perfect Monday morning.
    “What seems to be the problem today?” Eric asked Mrs. Croaker, hoping she wouldn’t be as unpleasant as he remembered from the other night.
    “Oh, Dr. Chambers, my allergies have been just terrible lately,” she moaned, putting a hand to her sizable nose.
    His attempts at taking a history were hindered by her comments about the citizens of Capistrano. She knew