To Heal A Heart (Love Inspired) by Arlene James

constantly. He hadn’t shut up all evening, going on and on about one thing or another. It wasn’t that he ignored her so much as that she wasn’t pushy enough to interject herself into his monologue. Melissa kept looking at her apologetically, while Scott worked not to notice how self-involved and boorish his friend was outside the office. Nate was Scott’s boss, so what else could Scott do?
    Piper sighed inwardly, then admonished herself to lighten up. So Nate was not the man of her dreams—so much not that she never intended to see him again—but she could still enjoy herself. She and Melissa had put their heads together earlier and giggled about a pair of elaborately coiffed standard poodles being walked by a couple in matching sweaters. Later she’d watched one of the few children in the place smear melted cheese in his hair while his oblivious parents perused the menu at length, and now here came Mitch Sayer.
    Her heart sped up a bit. Telling herself that she had no reason to be either embarrassed or pleased, she smiled up at him as he drew near.
    “Piper.”
    “Hello, Mitch. Fancy meeting you here.”
    “Enjoying your dinner, I hope. Mine was excellent.”
    “We do manage to run into each other with surprising regularity, don’t we?”
    His dark blue eyes danced with an invitation to share secrets, and she felt her smile widen.
    Melissa shifted inquisitively, reminding Piper to make introductions. She literally waved a hand in front of Nate’s face to get his attention.
    “These are my friends and neighbors, Melissa and Scott Ninever, and their friend, Nate Tatum.” Their friend. Had she really said “their friend”? Nate didn’t even seem to notice. “Guys, this is Mitchell Sayer, the very first person I met in Dallas.”
    “Technically, it was even before that,” he pointed out with a grin.
    “Right. On the way to Dallas, I should say.”
    Mitch nodded at Melissa and shook hands with Scott and Nate, who momentarily dammed the flow of his speech in order to acknowledge the newcomer. Mitch turned his smile right back to Piper.
    “So how have you been?”
    “Fine, thanks.” She glanced at Melissa and coyly added, “Fine but sore, since Melissa here has me hauling myself out at the crack of dawn every morning for laps around the block.”
    Mitch split a look between them. “Neither of you looks like you deserve that kind of punishment. Now me, if I don’t get in at least three miles a day, I start looking like something that came in with the circus, something with a trunk.”
    Piper laughed, but it was Scott who said, “Hey, man, you must do some weight training, too.”
    Mitch nodded. “About three times a week, schedule permitting.”
    “Weights, now that’s my deal,” Nate announced. “Back in high school I could bench…”
    Piper automatically tuned him out. Mitch listened politely for a moment, then he placed one big hand on the edge of the table and the other on the back of her chair as he bent forward, dipping slightly to bring his face close to hers.
    “Haven’t seen you around lately,” he said softly, and her heart skipped a beat at the notion that he had actually been looking for her. She reminded herself that the genie was already out of the bottle where he was concerned.
    “As I learn the ropes, they’re putting more on me at work,” she said. It was the absolute truth—and had nothing whatsoever to do with why she’d avoided returning to the downtown park. She hadn’t wanted to run into him, wouldn’t allow herself to be pulled back into the trap of other people’s expectations of Ransome and Charlotte Wynne’s daughter.
    “I hope I’ll see you again sometime,” Mitch told her, holding her gaze with his.
    She replied dryly, “Given our track record, it seems likely.”
    Mitch smiled at that. Then Scott burst out laughing at something Nate said, and Mitch straightened. He nodded around the table, smiled at Piper and said, “Enjoy your evening.”
    “Thanks.