Page 74 of The Runaway Bride of Blossom Branch

“Me, too.”

“What do you want to do about lunch?” he asked.

“Where’s your doctor’s office?”

When he mentioned a street address, Cate offered a suggestion. “You want to indulge at The Varsity?”

The long-standing burger joint near Georgia Tech’s campus had the best onion rings in town. The burgers and frosted orange shakes weren’t bad either.

A genuine smile lit up Harry’s face. “That sounds perfect.” He glanced at his watch. “Can you be ready in half an hour?”

“Of course.”

Cate ransacked her suitcase and what she had left behind in the closet. It would be far too hot to linger in the car, even in a parking garage. She would have to go upstairs to the doctor’s office and sit in the waiting room. That meant she didn’t want to wear shorts and a T-shirt.

In the end, she settled on a simple navy sundress with red trim. At least she would match the holiday theme.

Harry came out wearing dress pants and a crisp, pale yellow shirt.

Cate cocked her head. “Are you going to work or to the doctor?”

“It’s a classy building,” he said.

She laughed as he’d meant her to...and she was glad she had chosen the sundress.

After their greasy but wonderful lunch, Harry directed her to the beautiful high-rise where the ortho doc had his offices. They found parking and rode the elevator upstairs.

Harry—surprisingly using a crutch—wasn’t saying much. Last night loomed large, especially since Jason’s apartment was one of their stops today.

“Howisyour knee?” she asked as they stepped out of the second elevator.

“Better every day.”

It might have been an overconfident response, but he did seem to be moving more easily.

When Harry approached the reception desk to sign in, Cate found a single chair in an unoccupied corner beside a silk fern and picked up a six-month-oldArchitectural Digest. Jason owned copies of the two issues where Harry was featured. He used to keep them on his coffee table and proudly show them off when guests came over.

Jason loved his cousin, and Harry felt the same about Jason.

While Cate was happy for both men to have that kind of mutual support and admiration, it made her situation awkward at best.

Harry was forced to pick a spot on the other side of the room. Doctor’s offices were the worst. The minutes ticked by. Then half an hour. Finally, a nurse called Harry’s name. He gave Cate a long-distance smile and a shrug before disappearing through an official-looking door.

Despite every effort Cate made not to risk eye contact, the older woman seated near her struck up a conversation. “I saw you come in,” she said. “Your husband is a fine-looking man.”

“We’re not married,” Cate said. She didn’t elaborate because she had no wish to chitchat.

“Engaged?” the woman asked.

“No.”

“But you’re here with him at a doctor’s office?”

Cate counted to ten and managed a smile. “He’s a friend. He hurt his knee and can’t drive.”

“Ah.” The little woman’s mischievous expression dimmed. “You can’t blame me for prying. I may be old, but a man like that grabs a gal’s attention, if you know what I mean.”

Her husband, who had his head buried inPopular Mechanics, gave his spouse a warning glance. “Leave the poor girl alone. And behave yourself, old woman. I’m sitting right here.”

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