just be a minute.” Kate motioned toward her office
When he was gone, Jill asked, “Is that who I think it is?”
“Yes.”
“Is he really your husband?”
“Looks that way. I’ll take those messages.” Kate pried the messages from Jill’s fingers.
“Oh.” Jill finally tore her gaze from Ryan, standing in her office. “And Tom’s looking for you.”
“How does he know I’m here?”
“Rumor mill. Honey, you’re practically a celebrity. And you go anywhere with Ryan Harrison, and people are going to talk.”
“Fabulous,” Kate muttered. She moved toward her office. “I’m not staying long. I just need to check on something. I’ll take a stack of work with me, but if anyone asks, I’m not here. Got it?”
“Sure. Hey, Kate?”
Kate stopped with one hand on the door.
“Is he as good as he looks?”
Kate feigned disgust. “You’re hopeless.” Then added with a smile, “Better.”
Ryan was studying the pictures on her shelf when she stepped into the room.
“Not as big as your office,” she said, closing the door behind her.
“Where was this taken?” He lifted a picture of Reed playing in the sand.
“On the gulf. He loves the beach.”
Emotions brewed in his eyes when they turned toward her. And, for the first time, she realized he’d lost time too. “I have more pictures at home. I can show you if you want.”
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. But his eyes were distant, almost as if he were holding something back. “I’d like that.” His voice changed before she could ask what was bothering him. “Where do we start?”
She moved to a shelf across the room and pulled out medical journals. “You can flip through these while I pull up the database on my computer.”
He dropped into a chair opposite her desk and lifted a stack. She scrolled through screens on her computer. The quiet hum of the outer office was the only sound in the room.
“Kate?” The intercom buzzed. Jill’s voice chimed through the quiet. “Heads up, Tom’s on his way—”
Her office door pushed open before she could respond, and Tom Adams strode in without knocking.
“You dodging me?” he asked.
Kate stood. Ryan rose too, eyeing her managing editor with suspicion. He obviously recognized Tom from that day at her house when he’d come to talk to her and had learned about Reed. So much for avoiding anyone at the office. “Tom Adams,” she said, making introductions, “Ryan Harrison.”
“Jesus,” Tom muttered. “It’s true.”
“I’m not staying today, Tom. I know the office is in an uproar, so I’ll get out of your hair. I’m just looking for something.”
“Looking for what?”
“An article about a cancer drug tested in Canada.”
The color drained from his face.
“Son of a bitch.” Ryan stepped around Tom and closed the door. Then he glanced at Kate. “I think we just found our link.”
Chapter Eighteen
Tom Adams’s Victorian row house sat on a quiet street in Pacific Heights. Ryan tapped a hand against his knee as he and Kate waited in the immaculate living room. Wide windows looked out over the city. Trees swayed gently in the afternoon breeze.
Kate caught Ryan’s tense shoulders, his tight jaw. “Relax, would you? You’re stressing me out.”
He shot her an irritated look and went back to tapping.
Kari Adams came down the stairs with Tom at her side. Her face was drawn, the swell of her very pregnant belly protruding from her slim body. “Sorry we kept you waiting.”
Ryan tensed at Kate’s side, but she ignored him. “It’s all right. I’m sorry we’re bothering you. I know how tired you must be.”
Kari smiled, running a hand over her belly. “I’m not able to sleep much these days.”
“Practice for B-day,” Tom said, his fingers skimming their baby.
“Look.” Ryan shifted his feet. “I don’t mean to be rude, but we really need some answers. The first of which is why you dragged us all the way over here when you could have answered our questions at Katie’s office.”
Kate slanted him a warning look, which he ignored. The man had no tact when he was on a mission.
“That’s my fault.” Kari sank onto the floral couch. Even with her pregnant belly, the couch seemed to gobble up her petite body. “Tom knew I’d want to be involved.”
“I’m not following you.” Kate sat in a plush, cream chair across from Kari. “How do you have anything to do with a medical study?”
“Do you recognize me at all?” Kari asked.
“No, should I?” Worry tickled the back of Kate’s throat.
“I suppose not. We only spoke a few times when I was in the nursing home,