Polly hushed him. “Libby, it’s after midnight. Maybe you’ve never woken Maggie from a sound sleep, but I have, and she didn’t buy cookies for a month.” She was sober as a judge, but the others were very much the worse for wear, and Anna and Libby started giggling uncontrollably.

Laura said, “It’s OK, Maggie only went upstairs a minute ago.” She took a breath to downshift from the argument with Nick, but her heart was still pounding unpleasantly.

Asher looked at Nick and waved. “Hi there, I’m Asher, I live here.” He paused. “Temporarily, currently, but permanently, previously.”

Nick struggled to make sense of that. “I’m sorry?”

Polly grinned at him. “Don’t even think about it, they’ve had too much to drink and far too many donuts.”

“And artisanal ice cream, don’t forget that,” added Libby, who was swaying slightly but holding on to Anna’s shoulder for balance. He looked carefully at Nick. “I had lavender and rose hip ice cream.”

“Did you?” asked Nick politely, edging toward the front door with his suitcase creeping along behind him. “How was it?”

Libby looked up at the ceiling and gave it some thought. “You know when you pass a laundromat on the street, and the warm air and scent of detergent reminds you of your mom wrapping you in clean towels after bath time?”

Nick had never thought of laundromats in those terms, but he was in no mood to fight a poet. “Sure,” he said.

“Well, it tasted like that,” concluded Libby, “and it turns out that though it’s an enchanting smell, it’s an incredibly horrible taste.” He shuddered and made a noise like a dog with a leaf in its throat.

Anna reached up and patted his hand. “We washed it away with two nice donuts, remember?”

“I can still taste it,” said Libby dolefully. “I’m going fragrance-free from now on.”

Bob’s door opened, and he appeared wearing boxer shorts and a T-shirt. His hair was sticking up and wet, and Laura ached suddenly at the sight of him. How was it possible to be so deeply happy to see someone after only a few weeks of knowing them? He didn’t look all that happy, however; he was frowning and looked at his wrist. “It’s nearly one in the morning, some of us have to get up in five hours.”

“Sorry, Bob,” said Laura quickly. “Nick was leaving and then everyone else arrived.”

Bob looked at her and saw something in her expression that softened his “No worries, I’ll probably survive.” He pulled back into his room, but not before he saw Nick lean over and kiss Laura soundly on the lips.