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Alex sets his beer down. “Did you screw it up?”

“No.”

“Did you almost screw it up?”

“Also no.”

Mark raises a brow. “Progress.”

I exhale. A real one this time.

“It was… good,” I say. “Honest. Clear.”

Alex’s grin softens. “Look at you. Using adjectives.”

“She didn’t forgive me,” I add. “She didn’t promise anything.”

“Good,” Mark says immediately.

I nod. “She didn’t have to.”

Alex studies me. “You okay with that?”

“Yes.”

That surprises even me a little.

Mark leans back. “You’re different.”

“I know.”

“No,” Alex says. “Like… actually different. Not terrifying, but noticeable.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

“You live with it anyway.”

I shake my head, but I’m smiling now.

“She wants to move forward,” I say. “Carefully.”

Alex lifts his beer in a mock toast. “To careful.”

“To not fucking it up,” Mark adds.

“Very much that,” I say.

Alex tilts his head. “You tell her about Chuck.”

“Yes.”

“And the board.”

“Yes.”

“And the fact that you didn’t drink.”

“That came up.”