“I heard people wear adult diapers because there’re no bathrooms in Times Square.”

“That is the grossest thing I’ve ever heard!”

“Really? I’ve heard grosser stuff than that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you want an example?”

“I want an example.”

“I’m going to think about that and get back to you.”

“Just remember, you have to do better than peeing yourself in frigid temperatures and then walking around with a stinking twenty-pound diaper in your pants in a crowd of a million or more people.”

“It’s a tall order. I’ll give you that, but I’m up to the task.”

“I’ll await your example.”

Smiling like a giddy fool from the entertaining conversation, he said, “I should probably get back to the wedding.”

“Yes, you should. Enjoy the time with your friends, and thanks for calling. You made my day—and my New Year.”

“That’s nice to hear. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Erin, I…” What he wanted to say couldn’t and shouldn’t be said for the first time over the phone. “I really miss you.”

“I miss you, too. Good night.”

“Night, sweetheart.”

With his face flushed from dancing and a smile stretching from one side of his face to the other, Adam McCarthy came into the lobby, stopping when he saw Slim sitting in one of the chairs. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, sure, just had to make a phone call.”

“Right at midnight?” Adam asked, brows raised. “Must’ve been Erin.”

“If you must know, yes, it was her.”

“How’s her dad doing?”

“Better every day.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Sure is. She and her family have been through enough. They were due a break.”

“You like this one, huh?” Adam asked.

“Says the happy newlywed who wants everyone to be as happy as he is tonight?”

“Guilty,” Adam said with a laugh. “But you didn’t answer the question.”

“I like her.”

“This is big news.”

“Could I ask you something?”

Adam sat in the chair next to Slim’s. “Anything.”

“How’d you know Abby was the one for you?”

Adam thought about that for a minute before he began to speak. “We’d been hanging out for a while when I got called back to New York to deal with my business. I was stuck there seeing to the details for a couple of weeks, and the whole time, I was dying to get back to her. That was all I could think about when I wasn’t working. Her. Just her. I need her like I need oxygen, you know?”

Slim nodded because he was beginning to understand all too well. Leaving Erin had been excruciating.

“So is she it for you?” Adam asked.

“I’m starting to think she might be.”

“Oh damn! Never thought I’d see the day!”

“Do me a favor? Don’t tell anyone? We’re a long way from being ready to make declarations.”