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"You must be on your feet a lot at work"

"I don’t mind that part" She touched her sternum and then her te"

"Do you ever…I mean, you’ve watched patients die, yes?"

Ivie slowly nodded her head

"How do you do that?" he said softly "How do you get through that?"

"Well" She took another sip "First of all, not everyone passes There are so many people we help at the clinic And Havers, I ht is a pastel bow tie instead of his more serious navy blue and hed, she realized that she liked the sound Liked that he thought she itty

Really liked that he was listening to what she was saying so closely

Ivie took a deep breath "When it does coo unto the Fade…I’m not numb to it Not at all But I also see it as my job to try to ease their way I’ that bothers me--and I know I can help that It’s the journey, not the outcoe, if that makes sense"

"You’re not afraid of death?"

She shook her head "It’s peaceful Death can be a release and a relief for the person, and that is a blessing The thing is, a lot of times, it is work to die It requires physical and emotional effort What sucks is that forout of sequence, it’s a job they don’t want It’s about loss of control, loss of function, loss of identity and independence…loss of choice and decision, of fao of all that, what co freedom, the soul released from its temporary prison of mortality"

When he just stared at her, she flushed "Annnnnd noe switch to sports and weather, right Sorry, but you did ask, and I’ood at half answers"

He stayed silent as her wine arrived, and the waitress read the the whole ready-to-order thing

"I’ afterward? What if the Fade is a bunch of bullshit, a self- because they don’t want to consider the likelihood we are nothing but wor" She put her hands up "Ya dead, either way So it’s a in You get eternal life with calorie-free M&M’s and fettuccini Alfredo--or, you’re worm food with no consciousness so you won’t know and won’t care Might as well assume the best because it’s less likely to drive you crazy with a depressing distraction while you’re whooping it up on this side, right?"

As he did that stare-at-her thing again, she put her hand on the closed leatherreally heavy and deep for a first date, isn’t it"

"This doesn’t feel like a first date"

Ivie found herself sing hard, mostly because she felt the same way And then there were those eyes of his Low-lidded, intense…coht aristocrats were frivolous, somehow," she blurted "You’re not like that"

Silas’s broad chest rose and fell And then he picked up his menu "Frivolous is a fair critique of ?"

He opened the leather cover and peered over the top of it at her "Do you wanton the table, I expect you to do the sa Put it down in front of him "Do you knohat you’d like?"

"The fettuccini Alfredo That is my idea of heaven Crea that over the salad and grilled chicken o on a lot of dates"

"Really? I find that really hard to believe"

"It’s true And as for what I do? To be honest, I’ I started with assets that have been in enerations, and then I pulled a Forrest Guhties I hung on through the non-Jobs era and cas like you read about Then I jule company called Amazon in the nineties and now I’, and feel free to judge me I know I do"

"Good Lord, you have it made in the shade I am so jealous"

His eyes drifted off toward the fire "Don’t be I would trade it all to be someone else"