Julianna narrowed her eyes. "Your point?"

"We haven't had lunch once since you came to work here. And it's been two weeks." "I've been busy. Work comes first." "I understand. I… How about dinner, then? Or coffee at the Bottom of the Cup? We never see each other anymore."

"Sorry. Can't."

Julianna returned her attention to the call she needed to make, dismissing the other woman without a word. Sandy didn't budge. "I saw you with Laura and Bruce yesterday. You weren't too busy to have lunch with them." Julianna made a sound of impatience. Sandy was proving to be an annoying drag. The little mouse was the last person she wanted to be associated with at the firm, the last person she wanted Richard to associate her with. But still, it seemed unwise to make an enemy of her.

"Geez, Sandy, you sound almost jealous. Like I'm cheating on you or something."

Hot spots of color flew into the other woman's cheeks. "I don't mean to, but…when I got you this job, you promised-"

"Wait a minute, you didn't get me this job. I got it. For myself. On my own merits. What would people think if they heard you say that?"

The woman took a step backward. "I'm sorry. It's just that-" She twisted her fingers together, eyes sparkling with tears. "It's almost like you're…dropping me or something."

Julianna closed her appointment book, bent and fished her purse out from under her desk. She slipped the strap over her shoulder and met the other woman's eyes once more. "You're imagining things. I'm just so busy now. In fact-" she glanced at her watch "-I've got to run. Richard is waiting."

For a moment, Sandy simply stared at her, then something crossed her face, a kind of dawning realization. "You used me," she whispered, voice quaking. "To get this job. So you could get next to Mr. Ryan."

"Don't be ridiculous." Julianna battled to conceal her unease. "I didn't know anything about you when we met. Including where you worked."

Sandy shook her head. "How do I know that? You could have been following me around for weeks, learning everything you needed to in order to get close to him."

Julianna stood, alarmed. She hid it as best she could. "And why would I do that?"

"Because you're in love with him. I see the way you look at him. Everybody does."

"You need to get some professional help, Sandy. That or a life." Julianna crossed to stand directly in front of her. "You're really pathetic, you know that? I feel sorry for you."

Julianna slipped past the other woman, leaving her standing in the office doorway, her shoulders shaking with the force of her tears.

Julianna and Richard went to the café across the street from the firm. The hostess led them to a table by the windows, and Julianna gazed out at the patio. She looked back at him and sighed. "I love dining alfresco."

Richard laughed. "That's right, this is your first August in southern Louisiana. What do you think? Hot enough for you?"

"What do I think? That I'm going to melt, it's so blasted hot."

She propped her chin on her fist, something that Kate did often and Richard was struck by how much she reminded him of his wife.

"Is it ever going to cool down again?" she asked.

"We usually see some cool days in October."

She picked up her menu, her lips curving into a shy smile. "You're teasing me."

"I wish I were." He smiled. "Just imagine the days before air-conditioning."

That was too horrible to even contemplate, and they fell silent as they studied the menu. No sooner had they laid them aside, than their waitress appeared to take their lunch orders.

Richard watched Julianna while she ordered, thinking again of the similarity between her and Kate. He cocked his head and drew his eyebrows together. It was almost uncanny.

She caught him staring and flushed. "What?"

"You remind me of someone," he said.

"Who's that?"

"As crazy as it sounds, my wife."

"Why would that sound crazy?" she asked.

He laughed. "Because you look nothing alike." The waitress brought their iced teas. He watched as Julianna added two sugars, and he shook his head. "She adds two sugars to her tea, too."

"I don't mind being compared to her," Julianna said softly. "Judging by the picture of her on your desk, she's very attractive."

"Yes, she is." He took a sip of his tea. "You'll have to meet her sometime. I'm sure you'll like her."

"You don't have any children?"

"Pardon?"

"I didn't notice any pictures-"

"I have a daughter," he said quickly. "She's three months old." Even as he said the words, they sounded awkward on his tongue, cumbersome, as if he were telling an untruth. "Emma Grace, that's her name."

"You need to put a picture of her on your desk." She smiled. "Show her off a bit. I'm sure she's gorgeous."

"Of course she is." He cleared his throat, anxious to get off the subject of Emma and down to business. "I'm going to be tied up at the courthouse all afternoon with pretrial motions and thought we'd better go over a few things before it gets too crazy."

"Fine with me." She bent to retrieve her notebook and pen from her purse on the floor. She flipped it open and laid it on the table. "Shoot."

"You've called the local Shriner's and confirmed my speaking engagement?"

"Done." She referred quickly to her notes. "The president, a Jay Summers, will introduce you. I sent over a brief bio. I also reconfirmed the content of your speech, that you would be discussing the district attorney's place in the legal system and your platform. He asked me to remind you to leave twenty minutes at the end for Q and A."

"Good." Richard took another sip of the tea. "As you know, I go to trial next week. It's going to be nuts, you probably won't see me at all. I'll check in with you as I can, but I'll mostly go through Nancy. If anything urgent comes up, let her know."

Julianna nodded, taking notes as he went on. He asked her to contact the people in charge of several upcoming festivals and to reserve a booth at each. He also asked her to query printers about bumper stickers, refrigerator magnets and flyers.

"Got all that?" he asked, when he had finished.

She nodded. "One question, though. How long do you anticipate the trial lasting?"

The waitress brought their sandwiches. When she walked away, Richard began again. "My guess is two to three weeks. There's a lot of evidence to be presented, some of it tricky DNA results."

"So, no speaking engagements, dinners or anything until the trial concludes?"

"Exactly."

She took a bite of her chicken salad sandwich, then washed it down with a swallow of tea. "It must be difficult having to review all the evidence for a crime like this." She shuddered. "I mean, isn't he the one accused of hacking his girlfriend to pieces?"

The media had dubbed his client Dr. Death because of the nature of the crime and because Dr. Robert Wellever was a renown New Orleans surgeon. "Some of it is pretty gruesome," he agreed. "But it's my job and it has to be done."

"Do you think you'll get him off?"

"I hope so. He's an innocent man."

"But what if-" She bit the words back, shaking her head. "Never mind."

"Go ahead, Julianna. What were you about to say?"

"But what if he isn't innocent? Or rather, what if you thought he was guilty?"

"I'd still represent him. In this country, you are innocent until proven guilty. Every American has the right to a fair trial and unbiased representation."

He met her eyes and saw the eagerness there, the admiration and awe of youth. He had to admit, he liked seeing it directed at him. It made him feel young again and on top of the world. "All that said, that's precisely the reason I'm running for D.A. I want to be on the other side of the courtroom for once. I've defended guys who were guilty as sin, I knew they were because they'd confessed to me. Even so, I presented the smartest case I could, given the evidence, and I got them acquitted.