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“Come on, I’ll buy you some dinner.”
    When she declined, he said, “Well, at least a cup of coffee.”
    She was on the verge of pointing out that there was coffee in the waiting room, then hesitated. He was right. She needed a break, even if it was only ten minutes in the hospital cafeteria.
    They rode the elevator down to the basement and walked into the large, open room, which was mostly empty now. Colby reached for a serving tray and slid it along the counter, collecting a green dinner salad, a cellophane-wrapped turkey sandwich and coffee. Valerie surveyed the cottage cheese salad with the limp pineapple and instead grabbed a bottle of cranberry juice. She wasn’t at all hungry, although she’d eaten very little in the past few days.
    He withdrew his wallet and paid the cashier, then carried the tray to a table at the back of the room, near the window.
    He chose one far removed from any of the occupied tables, and that started Valerie’s heart pounding with a renewed sense of anxiety. Colby had brought her here to face the inevitable.
    “I’m going to lose my father, aren’t I?” she asked outright, determined to confront the truth head-on.
    Colby looked up, his dark eyes filled with surprise. “Not if I can help it. What makes you ask?”
    She slumped against the back of the chair, so relieved that it was all she could do not to weep openly. “I thought that was why you brought me here—what you intended to tell me.” With trembling hands, she picked up the bottle of juice and removed the top.
    “We aren’t going to lose him.” He spoke with such fierce conviction that she realized his will to keep her father alive was as strong as her own.
    “How long have you known my dad?” she asked, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table.
    “A few years now.”
    Valerie vaguely recalled hearing Colby’s name mentioned once or twice, but she couldn’t remember when or for what reason. With her hectic work schedule she’d been home only intermittently. Her last visit had been nearly six months ago, although she phoned weekly.
    “We met soon after your mother died,” Colby explained. “Your father made a generous donation to the hospital in her name.”
    Valerie knew that David’s contribution had been large enough for the hospital to begin construction of a new wing. The irony of the situation struck her for the first time, and she drew in a deep, painful breath. The new wing housed the Coronary Care Unit.
    “By the way,” she said, feeling obliged to apologize—or at least acknowledge his reputation. “I understand that I was, uh, mistaken earlier in what I assumed about your skills. I’m sorry about that.”
    “Don’t worry.” He shrugged. “It happens all the time. But back to your dad—he and I play chess once a week.”
    “You ever beat him?”
    Colby grinned. “Occasionally, but not often.”
    Valerie was good at chess herself, which was hardly surprising since her father had taught her to play. One day, perhaps, when all of this was over, she’d challenge Colby to a game. Odd how easy it was to assume they’d continue to know each other….
    “He’s very proud of you,” Colby said casually as he unwrapped his sandwich.
    Valerie suppressed a sudden urge to giggle. “So…he mentioned me before his attack.”
    “At every opportunity.” He frowned as he said it. He was, no doubt, thoroughly sick of the subject.
    Valerie settled back and crossed her arms, enjoying herself. “In other words, Dad’s preoccupation with matching the two of us up isn’t something new.”
    Colby paused, averting his gaze. “Let’s put it this way. He wasn’t quite as blatant about it as he’s been the past few days.”
    “You must’ve been curious about me.”
    “A little.”
    “And?” she said. “What do you think?”
    Colby lifted his shoulders, as if to say she hadn’t impressed him. Or was he saying she hadn’t disappointed him?
    “That doesn’t tell me a thing,” she