They waited for their drinks before finding a table. By then, Tobias was in the corner, playing darts with Maddox, a beautiful pregnant woman Harper didn’t recognize—she guessed it had to be Maddox’s wife from the way they touched—and a man in a wheelchair she’d never seen before. She had no idea who he was or how he was connected to the group and tried not to glance over there every few seconds, but it wasn’t easy. The way Tobias looked in his jeans made her remember certain things she was trying to forget—like how impressive he was without them.

Fortunately, for a change, her eagle-eyed sister didn’t notice her preoccupation. It was Terrance who seemed to realize that something wasn’t quite right. He watched her closely as Karoline helped the waitress clear away the glasses left by two previous customers.

“So? How’d it go with Axel?” Karoline asked as the waitress finished wiping the table and they sat down.

“Has something changed with him?” Terrance asked in his typical even tone.

Harper shook her head. She didn’t want to get into that. “No, nothing new.”

Ice clinked against Karoline’s glass as she brought it to her lips. “What are you talking about? He’s been so resolute throughout the divorce. Until now.”

“True.” Harper had been hoping he’d have second thoughts. It had seemed far too easy for him to walk away, made her wonder if he’d ever really cared about her.

“Matt called earlier to tell Harper that Axel’s freaking out, doesn’t want to continue the tour,” Karoline confided to Terrance.

He raised his eyebrows. “Why’s he freaking out?”

His wife offered him a conspirator’s smile. “Harper mentioned that she’s been seeing someone else.”

Terrance looked at Harper. “Who? The guy you went on a date with last weekend?”

Harper didn’t like talking about that date because it wasn’t the date part that had set Axel off. “Axel’s just getting homesick,” she said. “He’s been abroad for weeks. All that travel would have to get old at some point—no matter how much success you’re having.”

Karoline rested her elbows on the table. “Is that what he said?”

Harper had called Axel after she and Karoline returned from the store but before they’d gotten ready to go out for a drink. He’d said he was conflicted about the divorce, but that was more than she planned to reveal.

Only a week or two ago, that would’ve been such welcome news. Harper had waited forever, it seemed, to hear him say those words. She would’ve told him to come back to her, that she still loved him.