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eyes.
    “It’s not a dissertation defense,” Sophie continued, “but rather a dissertation revelation .”
    Taking in her roommate’s words, Kirsten nodded slowly. “I like that. My revelation is coming soon then, I guess.”
    “Damn straight. Hey, are you ready to go? I was just about to head to Grant’s apartment.”
    “It’s your apartment too,” Kirsten reminded her.
    “I know.” Sophie packed up her tote bag. “But it’s so new. It’s hard to think of as mine too. Are you, um, still staying with your parents in the ’burbs?”
    Kirsten’s apartment was currently cordoned off as a crime scene. “Yeah, and they’re driving me nuts .”
    The friends emerged onto the hallway of the academic building, chuckling, then froze at the sight of a self-possessed gray-haired man crossing their path. David’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. Sophie’s heart hammered in her chest.
    “Hello, um, Dr. Alton,” Sophie stammered, her face on fire.
    “Please call me David, Sophie. I hear we’re to be colleagues now.”
    To her surprise, she felt not one spark when he took her hand in his and shook it. Surely a man who’d been her crush for over a year would elicit at least some sort of physical reaction?
    “What happened to your arm?” David asked, nodding at her sling.
    Sophie was suddenly grateful that her meddling father had managed to use his influence to keep her involvement in the shooting out of the newspapers. Of course David knew about her ethical breach and stint in prison, but she didn’t exactly want to broadcast her latest Mafia misadventure.
    Noticing her friend’s silence, Kirsten turned to her advisor. “Um, David? She had an accident, but she’d rather not disclose the details. She’ll be out of the sling in a couple of weeks.”
    He hesitated, puzzled by the evasive response, but his suave demeanor soon returned. “Just in time for your defense then,” he nodded, aiming a polished smile at Kirsten.
    Seeming to regain her composure, Sophie quietly corrected, “Her revelation.”
    Shooting her a confused look, David studied Sophie for a moment before seeming to arrive at a conclusion. “Well, then, I must be off. My son’s got a baseball game later.” His smile now seemed plastic. “Nice to see you both.”
    Once he was out of earshot, Sophie practically melted into the wall behind her, murmuring, “Oh my God.”
    “ That should be interesting—working with him all semester.”
    Sophie gave a beleaguered half-chuckle. “No kidding. I’m in total hell right now.” She gave a dramatic sigh, but Sophie had to admit the interaction hadn’t been quite as humiliating as she’d expected. She was pleased to find herself not attracted to him one bit this time around. That ship had sailed…and now she had McSailor. A warm smile crossed her lips as she thought of her gorgeous, gentle, seafaring hero.
    She sensed a buzzing in her bag, which was accompanied by dismay as she reached in to find her phone. “Please tell me my father hasn’t figured out how to send text messages.”
    Her dismay switched immediately to delight as she read the message:
    How’s my beautiful Bonnie today?
    “Grant has a cell phone!” she said with a laugh.

3. Conjoined
    As Hunter followed the attractive couple down the hallway to their second therapy session, his conversation with a colleague a few days ago floated through his mind.
    “It’s wise of you to consult about this,” Michelle Mendota told him.
    Embarrassed, Hunter glanced up at the psychologist across the table in the coffee shop.
    “It’s difficult for any of us when we’re attracted to a client,” she continued, brushing an unruly strand of long, wavy black hair over her shoulder. “But as you know, consultation’s the best way to handle an ethical dilemma.”
    He could sense her intelligent brown eyes boring into him, and his cheeks still felt warm after confessing he felt a physical attraction to Grant Madsen. However,