I looked at that table, and I wondered if in a parallel universe there was another Bailey and Griffin sitting at that table. Would they be exchanging romantic musings and touching in a relaxed sort of way? Would happy conversations be stacked up like dinner plates on a Saturday night in one of Henry and Griffin’s kitchens? Would they be free to express their innermost desires?

We got up, and Griffin used the key to unlock the door to the outside. We stood together in silence, listening to the water’s movements, to the cicadas and the occasional breeze.

“Happy?” he asked.

I gave the question some serious thought. “This place is magical, Griffin,” I said, deflecting. I followed him up the stairs, which led to a bedroom. It was designed as cleanly as the restaurant below—minimum fuss with maximum attention to the view.

I walked past the bed, suspended in time. Suspended in this moment, in this place, in this room. Suspended from any fallout that may happen here. Suspended in memories too numerous to count. I felt him behind me. Felt his breath on my neck. I turned around to face him. We kissed. Finally. Deep and full-bodied like the best red wine in the house. We kissed again. I heard and felt him breathing. We smiled at each other as we often did in these moments. A lifetime of collective shared memories. He looked into my eyes and kissed me again. He traced my lips with his finger, as if committing me to memory. I wanted to be with him again. I wanted to feel happy again. As I stood in the doorway of the bathroom, I watched Griffin unknot his tie, take off his jacket, and unbutton his shirt. I closed the bathroom door to begin my own undoing. Unaccustomed to the Spanx, it took me longer than usual.

When I opened the door, wrapped in a towel, Griffin was already under the sheets. I leaned against the door frame. He looked at me for a moment and then looked away. I felt something shift. “Griffin?” He looked at me again and shook his head.

“I can’t do this, Bailey. It’s too late. I don’t want to complicate your life. No.”

If that word had tumbled out of my vocabulary, it seemed to have found its way into Griffin’s. My life with Elliott was very complicated, and this could only complicate it more. But this moment, being with Griffin, seemed natural, seamless, and easy.