“Mom, it’s 8:30.”

“I’ll go in a minute.”

“You’re going to be late.”

“Crap.” Cara flipped the textbook shut and hopped over to the closet. Darren had been hounding her all night about this date, hovering in the doorway every few minutes to say she should start getting ready. “Why are you still up?”

“Why aren’t you at the restaurant yet?” Darren asked her with a grin. He laughed when she threw him a dirty look. “I’ll go to bed when you leave.”

“Promise?” Cara called.

“I promise. Get ready!”

She kicked off her flannel pants and threw them into the hamper. Her tank top followed suit, and she pulled a new dress out of the closet. It had taken three extra shifts at the lab to buy it, and she wasn’t even a little bit sorry; the dress hugged all the places it should hug, with a neckline that was the perfect mix of classy and sexy, and the purple set off her eyes and her hair to perfection.

She applied her makeup hastily, sighing as she had to rub the eyeliner out and start again, but at last she nodded in satisfaction. Her hair…well, her hair was never going to be well-behaved, but it shone nicely enough. And if she was a little pale after a few weeks in the lab, well, she knew her smile more than made up for it. She slipped on her heels and poked her head into Darren’s bedroom.

“Sleep, mister.”

“Five more minutes.”

“If you don’t sleep, you shouldn’t go out on the river tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll sleep!” He grabbed his toothbrush and ran past her.

“I love you,” Cara called.

A muffled, toothpaste-filled call was her response, and she smiled as she grabbed her purse and headed out, calling a hasty goodbye to their landlady. A brief sprint to the curb—tricky in her heels—and she was in a cab, checking her watch every few seconds. She hopped out of the cab and into the restaurant, and she skidded to a halt at the bar.

“I’m sorry I’m—”

“Five minutes early?” Perry asked her, grinning. He held out a glass of champagne.

“There’s no need to mock me,” Cara said as she took her seat.

“On the contrary, I find your habitual earliness endearing.” His grin spread. “And, finally. I finally arrived somewhere before you.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.”

“Mr. Hammond?” A waiter held out his hand. ”Your table is ready.”

“Thank you, Jake,” Perry told him easily. As they walked, he slipped his arm around Cara’s waist. “You look lovely, by the way.”

“And you look very handsome.” Cara smiled up at him, and leaned in for a kiss. She raised an eyebrow when she saw him watching her. “What?”

“Life in the lab suits you,” he said decisively. “You’re practically glowing.”

“That’s the radium.” Cara held his gaze until she saw a flicker of uncertainty. “Just kidding.”

“Mmm.” He studied the menu. “Or, I’m going to die of radiation poisoning one of these days.”

“Very unlikely, I’ll have you know. So how’s business?” She took a sip of water, and smiled at him.

“Same old, same old. Have a lot of money. How’s science? Other than the radium.”

“Same old. Made some robots. Actually,” she said, warming to the theme, “I made some cybernetic implants as well. You know, there’s an interesting theory about using implants within the spinal column to… now what?”

“You should have some champagne.” Perry was smiling at her. He reached out to take her hand.

“Okay.” Cara lifted her glass and held it out to him. “To… oh, my God. Oh, my God. Perry. Oh, my God.”

The ring glittered, little bubbles rising in amongst the three tiny sapphires. Cara held the glass, shaking, tears coming to her eyes.

“Cara Ford.” Perry’s voice seemed to be coming from very far away. “Will you marry me?”

“Oh, my God,” Cara whispered again. She seemed to have forgotten how to say anything else. She nodded, hand pressed over her mouth, and wiped away a tear as he dumped the champagne unceremoniously into his water glass, holding the ring out for her. “It fits…it fits perfectly. How did you know?”

“Darren helped.”

“Darren knew?”

“Of course.” Perry smiled at her.

“I have three years before I finish my PhD,” Cara whispered at him. It had to be a mistake. Perry Hammond had enough money to tempt a princess.

“We’ll make it work. After all, I’m told I have enough money to fly back and forth between New York and Boston.” He sobered when she looked over at him. “I wanted to wait, I just…I couldn’t. I’ll move to Boston if you want. I’ll wait for you in New York if you want. But Cara, I have loved you since the moment you almost poured coffee on me in that diner. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Or I with you,” Cara whispered.