And," she went on, telling Erin what she'd never told another soul, "he had these wonderful big wings that looked like gossamer and twinkled with blue and green light."

"Wings?" Erin whispered the word, then her brow furrowed. "You mean...?" Suddenly, her brow smoothed and she sat up toward Annabelle, her face full of mischief. "You mean, your dream man was a...a...fairy?"

The word was so unexpected, and had so many other connotations, it caught Annabelle off-guard, though she'd often thought the same thing.

Tonight, after the stress of hearing of her sister's tragedy and being drawn into God-alone-knew-what, the idea hit her funny bone, pushing aside all worry, fear, and tension, and dragging her spirits out of the tank. She laughed. And laughed. And laughed, until tears fell from her eyes, and she had to hold her sides to keep the stitch in her side from bending her double.

"Oh, Erin!" She dragged in a breath. "A fairy?" She sputtered. "Oh, I hope not! That would be such a waste!"

Erin's scream of hilarity was muffled as she dove face first into her pillow.

A knock at the door signaled a visitor, giving Annabelle and Erin time to stifle their howls to mere snorts. Annabelle hoped they hadn't been heard. She didn't want to end up sharing a room with Erin permanently.

She covered her mouth with her hand to mute her giggle at that idea.

"Excuse me, is this Miss Tinker's room?"

Oh, my, what a sexy voice, Annabelle thought. It was also familiar, honeyed with a hint of an accent. She turned to see if the figure matched the voice.

"Yes," Erin said, sniffing in a giggle, "I'm Erin Tinker."

"Miss Tinker, I'm so glad to meet you at last."

A man came into the room, dressed as one might expect a university professor to be, right down to the elbow patches of the tweed jacket he wore over his cream turtleneck sweater. Annabelle smiled and half-expected him to whip a pipe out of his pocket. "I'm Gaelen Riley, Lucas's older brother."

Erin's face shone with sudden delight. "Gaelen!" She reached out toward him. "Lucas has told me so much about you."

Gaelen Riley stood by the bed. As he bent to take Erin's hand in both his own, very large hands, the warm light burnished his wheat-gold hair. Funny, Annabelle had never though blond men appealing before.

"And he told me of you." Dr. Riley smiled. "If I'd known he wasn't exaggerating about your beauty, I'd have made it my business to meet you sooner."

Blushing prettily, Erin turned to draw Annabelle into the conversation.

"This is my sister, Annabelle."

He started to turn toward her, then froze for an instant before completing the motion. "Annabelle?" he said, even as his sky blue eyes twinkled.

Annabelle started working up a fine head of steam. Imagine a grown man thinking her name was funny.

Then she suddenly realized his eyes as he studied her were filled, not with humor, but confusion, then...speculation? And ... fear? No, that was ridiculous.

Their gazes locked and a bolt of recognition struck Annabelle right in her heart. I know him, she thought. Yet she knew she'd never met the man before. She tried to put off the familiarity to the fact that she'd heard his voice the day before on Lucas's answering machine. Even as she formed the thought, she dismissed it. She knew him from somewhere else. But where?

Dr. Riley seemed to be having the same reaction. In the deepening silence, his eyes mapped her face, seeking. He tipped his head and squinted.