turned, an apology on her lips. The CIA agent was dabbing at a large coffee stain on his shirt. She glanced down and saw his cup on the ground, dark liquid chugging from the lid. Rufus, finished with the muffin, had taken it upon himself to begin lapping up the liquid. “I am so, so sorry,” she apologized to the man.
He fixed her with a glare. “You really ought to watch what you’re doing,” he said, his tone deep but frosty.
“I’m sorry, it was my dog...” She trailed off with a quick glance at Rufus.
“Then you should watch what your dog is doing,” he returned.
Tessa frowned. “Let me buy you another coffee,” she offered.
He checked his watch. She noted it had a mechanical timeface with a leather wrist strap. Under different circumstances, Tessa might have found it charming. She had never understood the digital watch thing, but even her dad wore one these days. She preferred a more traditional look.
“I don’t have time for another coffee.”
His words drew her attention back to the agent. He balled up the napkins he’d been using to clean his shirt and edged around her to toss them in a nearby trash bin. Rufus, who had finished his breakfast, suddenly took note of the man and gave a low growl. The guy paused midstep at the warning. Tessa stared at Rufus in surprise. During all the months she’d known him, she’d never heard him growl.
“I’m sorry, he’s not usually like this,” she said.
Rufus let out a nonthreatening bark as if to apologize, but the stranger only arched an eyebrow.
“Sorry if I don’t share your assessment. He looks like he belongs in the pound.”
Tessa felt a ripple of irritation. She was sorry she’d ruined the man’s shirt but did he have to insult Rufus?
“At least let me pay to dry-clean your shirt,” she offered, still trying to make amends.
He huffed. “I’m already running late.”
“Here.” She picked up the brown paper bag from the ground, tearing off a piece that hadn’t been splattered by coffee. “Do you have a pen on you?”
He grunted but pulled a pen out of his jacket pocket. “That’s not necessary,” he said, even as he handed it over.
Tessa scribbled her name and phone number on the bag. “Sorry to cause your morning to get off to a rough start, but it’s like the saying goes, ‘It’s never too late to start your day over.’” She passed the pen and paper back. “When you get the dry-cleaning bill, let me know, and I’ll send you the money.”
He stuffed the items into his pocket and pushed past her without another word. She watched as he stepped across the street and got into a pickup truck, which was slightly incongruous with his sophisticated demeanor. She sighed.
“Well, Rufus, we better head back home so I can change or I’m going to be late for work, too.”
Rufus belched in response.
* * *
DR. NOAH BRENNAN still wasn’t very comfortable in his office. Ever since he’d started working at Chesapeake View Children’s Hospital six months ago, he’d been unable to personalize the space. His last office had been filled with personal touches. Finger-paint drawings, framed photos, the Post-it notes that Julia had stuck onto his iPad every morning. He’d filled the room with memories and reminders. But all of those mementoes were boxed away now, collecting dust in a storage locker.
He’d never been embarrassed by the emptiness until today, when he’d walked in and found Ana Morales, the hospital’s director of development, eyeing the bare walls and desk.
Inwardly, he cursed. “Ana. I didn’t know you were waiting for me. I apologize for running behind this morning.”
It was that woman at the coffee shop with her unruly dog. He fingered the scrap of paper in his pocket where she’d scribbled her name and phone number. Tessa Worth. He had little patience for careless individuals. Carelessness was how people ended up in the emergency room—something he’d witnessed firsthand during his residency.
If it hadn’t been for Tessa Worth, he might have had time to settle into his morning routine before being faced with this unexpected visit.
Ana, fortunately, waved a hand to dismiss his apology. “You spend every waking minute at this hospital. There’s no need to apologize.”
She crossed to the desk and took a seat in front of it, tucking a strand of black hair threaded with gray, behind her ear. Her olive skin was lined with only a handful of wrinkles, and her brown eyes were astute. He fidgeted uncomfortably and avoided her gaze by stepping behind the desk and taking a seat.
Ana was the reason he was working at Chesapeake View. She’d been the hospital administrator at his previous job before becoming the director of development here. Ana knew his background, knew how he’d wanted a fresh start, so she’d recommended him to the hospital’s board. Noah’s reputation as a physician and the accolades he’d received over the years had sealed the deal for them.
But since coming to work at Chesapeake, Noah had gone out of his way to avoid Ana. She was still a reminder of his losses, and that made it difficult to be around her. She seemed to sense his dilemma and didn’t seek him out other than when necessary. The fact that she’d come looking for him today made him curious and on edge. Maybe it had something to do with the way his morning had started off with the coffee shop woman. Things tended to go downhill when his day began poorly.
But what had she said when she had offered to pay for his dry cleaning? It’s never too late to start your day over.
It sounded so much like one of Julia’s old sayings, before their lives had taken a turn for the worse, that he’d nearly flinched. The thought of his dead wife shook him. Would the ghosts he’d tried to leave behind never stop haunting him?
“What can I do for you, Ana?” he asked, trying to take his mind off his memories.
Ana straightened and gazed at him directly. Noah frowned. Whatever had brought Ana to his office, she meant business.
“How are you doing?” she asked.
It was an innocent enough question, but he knew what lay behind it. “How are you surviving?” was perhaps a more accurate way to phrase it. But he didn’t want to talk about his feelings. It was much easier and less painful to simply wall them off. If he focused on his loss, he’d never be able to do his job.
“I’m fine, thanks, Ana. How about you?”
She eyed him as he turned the question around, but thankfully, she chose not to press. After another minute of watching him, she came to the reason for her visit.
“Noah, as you know, the hospital recently brought a marketing and public relations coordinator on staff to assist me.”
Noah recalled some mention of a new coordinator, but he didn’t pay much attention to the world beyond his hospital floor. He wanted to keep his focus on what mattered most—his patients.
Ana paused, watching
