“Do you think I’m safe with him?” I mock-whispered to Martin, realizing the martini had made this all quite a bit more fun.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered back. “I put a dime in your purse in case you have to call me from a pay phone.” He winked.
We made our way down Fifth Avenue, and stopped in front of the Viceroy. For a moment, I was nervous that he was taking me to a hotel room, which would be about the seediest thing that could happen. But when the elevator opened, he pushed the button that would take us to the Roof, which was, in my very limited opinion, New York’s best rooftop bar. Martin must have filled him in on that.
As Harris opened a door, I could already picture how crowded it would be, but, instead of the throngs of people I was expecting, the Roof was completely empty, save one table, two chairs, and a ton of candles.
“Am I onThe Bachelor?”
Harris took my hand. “It’s a new concept. A cross betweenSurvivorandBachelor Pad.”
“Harris, honestly, this is a hair extravagant.”
He nodded. “Oh, I know. Next date is pizza and boxed wine.” He grinned as he popped the cork of a bottle of Veuve.
I didn’t think of myself as a girl who was swept up in romance. In fact, I could hear myself speaking with disdain about this very thing. But I couldn’t help but be. Here I was with this man I really liked, on a stunning rooftop with a peerless view of Manhattan, in a vintage gown, holding a glass of champagne.
Harris raised his glass and said, “Here’s to diving headfirst into the great unknown.” He paused and added, “Again.”
We both laughed and clinked glasses. And I had to hope that my second foray into the great unknown this year would turn out a little bit better than my first.
ParkerALL RIGHT
THE TATTERSALLS LIVED IN Ahistoric Palm Beach stucco home that was completely invisible from the road, obscured by mature bougainvillea. They had been the McCanns’ best family friends since the beginning of time, it seemed, and when Greer lost her mother, she turned to Kathie Tattersall for comfort and advice. I think losing Greer had hit Kathie almost as hard as it had hit George and me. Or maybe it was that Greer’s death had compounded Karen’s death.
I thought back to those failed embryos, and I realized that I understood how that felt. That second loss had compounded the first.
Greer had loved this time in Palm Beach—“the season.” She loved the parties and dressing up, loved that the population doubled. Over the past three years, going out without Greer on my arm, where she had been for so many years, hadfelt impossible. But, little by little, my father in law had asked me to attend functions for some business purpose or another and I had agreed. He had lost his wife and his daughter, and his other daughter, who was not close to the rest of the family, was all the way in California. It wasn’t fair to make him face the world alone.
Kathie greeted me at the door. All the ladies in Palm Beach marveled at Kathie’s agelessness—although no one credited her good genes. Everyone had a half-dozen plastic surgeons on speed dial. But plastic surgery was like cologne: easily overdone. Kathie always stayed on the right side of that line, or so they said.
Greer always said that no one did Palm Beach chic decor better than Kathie. I never knew exactly what that meant, but I knew it was a very nice, colorful house with a great dock. As I pulled away from Kathie, a tall blonde caught my eye. When she turned, locked eyes with me, and smiled, I realized it was Lindsey.
George leaned in. “You’re right, son.Sea & Skyis the perfect move. I’ve made an offer, and I think they’ll accept.” He winked. “Or they will if they know what’s good for them.” He was wearing the ridiculous slippers.
“Great news.” This meant I was going to have to go to New York. I’d have to tell Amelia. I didn’t want her to be ambushed again.
But I couldn’t worry about that as Lindsey sashayed over to me, her heels so high I didn’t know how she walked inthem, in a green dress. She put her arm in mine and said, “Let’s get you a drink, boss.”
“Not until Monday,” I quipped.
She smiled at me disarmingly. “Are you saying that you might change your mind?” She laughed like that was completely impossible, and I realized that she was right. I couldn’t wait to see what she could do.
She steered us to the bar and said, “I’ll have a glass of rosé, and Parker Thaysden always has an old-fashioned with one ice cube.”
I laughed. “How do you know that?”
She shrugged. “I do my research.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked, noticing that the crowd skewed decidedly older than me and certainly older than Lindsey.
“My parents and the Tattersalls have been friends forever.”
Oh. Of course. “So why didn’t you just have Kathie call George or me when you wanted the job?”
She shrugged. “Because I knew I didn’t need to cheat. Eventually you’d see how perfect I was for the job and make the right decision.”
I turned and caught my father-in-law’s eye. He winked at me. Could he think that I was interested in another woman? He raised his glass to me, and I raised mine back. I thought back to our embryo talk in his office, and I realized that George McCann, mogul, titan, and father-in-law, had justgiven me some sort of blessing to move on. But he was reading this one all wrong.
