Sheila nodded. "Nothing like a stiff cup of java. I wonder if I should call up to your friend and see what's keeping her?"

Annja shook her head. "I wouldn't bother. The only thing that took Jenny longer than getting ready for anything back in college was trying to get her to stop talking about her latest crush."

"One of them, huh?"

Annja smiled. "She's good people, Sheila. Just a little lovelorn and lonely."

"Aren't we all," Sheila muttered as she walked away again.

Jenny managed to make her way down faster than Annja expected. She wore a similar terry-cloth robe and slippers. Annja wondered which Vegas hotel Sheila and Tom had knocked off to get that set.

Jenny sat down. "Hi."

"Feeling any better after the bath?"

Jenny glanced around. "Yeah, I guess so. It's nice not to be so dirty anymore. My water was pretty filthy."

"Mine, too." Annja looked at her. "You okay?"

"No."

"David?"

"Yeah."

Annja sighed. "Jenny, you've got to look at it from his perspective. He needed your help. Maybe he thought you wouldn't come out unless he offered you something enticing, like some type of supposed evidence."

Jenny looked up. "I would have come out for just the evidence. He didn't need to lead me on like he did."

"Well, you know guys. They don't always think things through so well. Maybe that was just his twisted logic."

Jenny frowned. "I don't think he even likes me."

Annja sipped her coffee. "What's not to like? You're gorgeous."

"I'm old."

Annja stopped drinking. "Hold on a second. If you're old, then that makes me old, as well. And I don't feel old, so I would like to ask you to please stop saying that you're old, okay?"

"I'm almost thirty, Annja. Do you know what the odds are for a single woman in her thirties to find true love and marriage? Very slim."

"You're really a bundle of joy today, aren't you?"

"Sorry."

Annja leaned forward. "Look, so what if things didn't work out with David? There are tons of other guys around. You know that. You'll find someone, I know you will. And when you do, that guy will be the luckiest dude around. You're too good not to have someone recognize that."

"You think so?"

"Know so."

Jenny managed a smile. "Thanks for the pep talk. I appreciate it even if you don't necessarily mean it."

"Huh?"

"Well, just look at you. You're my age and no prospects in sight for you, either. I know you're just as depressed as I am but you're keeping up a strong front for me. I appreciate that."

Annja leaned back. "Jenny, I am not depressed. Nor am I putting up some sort of front for you. I'm trying to help you as my friend."

"You're not lonely?"

Annja snorted. "I'm too busy running around the world to be lonely."

Jenny eyed her. "That's a convenient excuse. Are you sure you're not just using that to avoid the issue?"

Annja sighed. "There's no issue. I've had plenty of guys in my life but nothing really has a chance to develop. It's the price I pay for doing what I do. I've made my peace with it. Anytime I think my heart's needs outweigh my professional aspirations, I'll simply stop."

"You think it will be that easy? To stop, I mean."

"I don't know. I've never really tried." And with the sword, there's no telling if I'd even be able to, Annja thought.

"And what about the whole love thing? You think that will just happen easily, too?"

"What I think," Annja said, "is that if we put our minds to it, there's nothing we can't do."

Jenny smiled. "I guess. It's just hard. I mean, I'm a college professor. I see truckloads of good-looking young boys all day long. And all I want is a man to call my own."

Annja leveled a finger at her. "You'd better keep your hands off those college boys. You wouldn't want to add unemployment to your list of woes."

"I know it. But we all want someone at the end of the day. That's what I'm saying."

"So let's see if we can find someone for you."

"Huh?"

Annja grinned. "I'll bet that guy Simpson is available."

"Please."

"What about Baker? Did you see that receding hairline? Hot."

Jenny shook her head. "What the h.e.l.l, I'll just invite them both back at the same time."

"There you go. Give 'em the thrill of a lifetime."

Jenny giggled. "Probably be over in thirty seconds and then I'd be no better off than I was at the start."

"Probably."