Dani thought back to the list she kept on her phone, which she’d reviewed earlier, in her office, in preparation for having to see Vince. Things I Will Never Again Do for a Man. Not that there was any danger of falling back in with Vince. Dani was done with Vince. Or would be once she finally managed to divorce his ass. But she believed in owning her mistakes, confronting her lapses in judgment. That was the only way to make sure they never happened again. Hence the list. She’d made it the day after Vince’s affair with Berkeley came to light. In the beginning, she’d looked at it every day. Now it was more about future-proofing herself. It reminded her, in stark black and white, what her priorities were going to be in the post-Vince world.

As it related to Sinéad, the relevant list item was #8: Neglect my friends.

Sinéad raised her eyebrows in a way that was meant to communicate Holy shit, girl.

Dani raised hers back and hitched her head slightly to send a return message: Meet us at the bar. Here was the perfect opportunity to work on that number.

Max’s hand stayed resting lightly on Dani’s back as they made their way through the crowded room. Dani nodded and said a few hellos to colleagues as they passed but didn’t stop. Better to let them wonder.

At the bar, she ordered a Diet Coke, and Max tried to order a negroni. When the bartender looked at him blankly, he shifted gears effortlessly. “On second thought, I think I’d prefer a glass of red wine.”

“Hel-lo.” Sinéad sidled up to the bar, let her gaze roam Dani, and pressed a hand to her heart. “Don’t you look smashing?”

“You, too.” She really did. She was wearing a blue suit—like Max, except hers was tailored to hug her curves and she wore it with an open-necked white silk blouse and red stilettos.

Dani kept the introductions brief. “Max, Sinéad. Sinéad, Max.” She was probably supposed to introduce Max as “His Honorable Lord Baron McSnootypants” or something, but she was not going to do that.

After Sinéad ordered a Guinness, she flicked Max’s blue-black-and-red-checked tie. “Burberry?”

Max raised an eyebrow. He probably wasn’t used to people touching his clothes. Or commenting on labels. Both were no doubt exceedingly low-class. “Indeed.” He reached over and flicked the cross-body briefcase Sinéad wore. “Vuitton?”

Dani chuckled. These two dandies were perfect for each other.

“Knockoff,” Sinéad said cheerfully. “I’ll be paying off my student loans until I die.”

“Ah, yes, the puzzling American tradition of bankrupting its young people before they even begin their careers.”

“Hang on.” Sinéad pointed at Max. “You’re the duke. The Depraved Duke.”

“Baron, actually,” Max said. Dani noticed he didn’t dispute the “depraved” part.