Three years he'd waited to meet her. Neal wasn't sure if the jumpy feeling in the pit of his stomach was nerves or excitement. Didn't make any difference. She said she'd meet him here at eleven. Unable to sit quietly in his hotel room, he got to Mae's Diner early. By ten-thirty, he'd already had three cups of coffee and two slices of pie. Now he wished he'd laid off that last piece. His jumpy stomach and coconut meringue pie were doing a tango in his guts. Even going to the restroom wasn't an option at this point. What if he disappeared into that place and she walked in, didn't see him and left?

"More coffee, sir?" The waitress appeared at his elbow so quietly he jumped when she spoke.

"No, thank you though."

"You waiting for someone?"

"Yes, ma'am." He kept his eyes glued to the doorway.

"She pretty?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

"Mister, when a guy watches a door like it's his last hope, I figure there's a woman involved, and it's real serious."

"Yeah." Neal didn't add anything else. He wasn't used to talking to women.

"When's she due?"

"Eleven."

The waitress patted him on the shoulder once. "Good luck, cowboy."

"Cowboy'--that fit him, he supposed. From the local grain company cap he wore, to the blue-plaid flannel shirt, to the pressed jeans to the worn boots, he must have looked like an escapee from a farm. Truth to tell, he practically was. An escapee from a ranch. For at least a week hopefully. The time sort of depended on Jenny.

Neal wanted to get lost in daydreams about her but feared looking like an idiot. The small diner was filling up fast. If she didn't show up on time, he'd give up his table to folks who really planned on eating.

Why in the world he thought she might not show up, he couldn't figure. But that tight feeling in his guts was mixed with a little bit--a tiny little bit--of fear. Fear that she wouldn't come like she said. Fear 'cause he had no clue what to say to her if she did walk through that door. The more he thought about what he was doing, the sicker he got.

Like one of those rendezvous people talked about and romance writers wrote about. Meeting someone in a strange town, halfway between his home and hers. Meeting a woman he'd never met before. Meeting a perfect stranger.

That's when his thoughts did a sudden stop. Jenny wasn't a stranger. They'd emailed back and forth for over three years. And while he'd never actually met her in person, he knew the deepest parts of her thinking, emotions and soul through her writing. She was no stranger. But she was about the most perfect woman he could ever hope to know.

Once again, the bell over the swinging door tinkled. Neal looked up so fast his neck snapped. Just an older couple coming for dinner.

"Easy there, cowboy. She'll show." His waitress grinned as she passed his side.

He nodded, but his throat felt like it was closing up. He shifted his butt in the hard chair and scuffled his feet where they sat side by side on the floor. The closer that minute hand moved to eleven o'clock the tighter he became.

Crash! Someone behind the counter dropped a large plate, and the clatter drew everyone's immediate attention. Only he paid attention when that tiny bell over the door rang out merrily.

She came! Neal forgot to breathe when a tall auburn-haired woman in jeans stepped through the door with a sort of hesitant step. He drank in the sight of her as she came into the room and let the door slide closed behind her. She'd sent pictures and he recognized her easily, though his immediate thought was they didn't do her justice.

Patrons packed the diner now, and with staff and folks passing back and forth she stopped to scan the crowd. Neal watched as she searched for him. He knew her. She didn't know him. She'd never seen a picture of him. A last minute thought--how the hell would she know him from all these other guys milling around?

Her head swiveled toward his end of the diner. As suddenly as she stopped looking around, his heart stopped just as quick. Did she see him? One step forward and he locked glances with her.

She knew him--without a picture, she knew him!