“And I don’t want pulverized porterhouse.” Peter lifted the mallet out of her hand. “He made a mistake, Karen. An error of judgement.”

“Having sex with his wife’s best friend, getting her pregnant and bringing the child into his marriage is not an error of judgement! It’s duplicity and treachery.”

Peter tossed the diced salad ingredients into the bowl. “I’m not defending what he did. I hate what he did, but calling it treachery’s a bit rough. I think Nick’s been trying to do the best he can in an untenable situation. Surely the fact it’s made him sick must count for something.”

“Nonsense! He wasn’t being made ill by anything honorable or noble. It was fear of Libby finding out.”

“I don’t know.” Peter sounded doubtful. “He seems genuinely remorseful.”

“Well, bully for Nick!”

Throughout their marriage, Karen and Peter often found themselves on opposite sides of a debate. Sometimes Peter genuinely disagreed with her, but mostly he played devil’s advocate. He knew she needed it to reassure her that, unlike her father, robust discussion with him was safe. She loved him for it, but right now she was furious.

“This situation demands far more than just an ‘Oops, I’m sorry.’ If I were Libby, I wouldn’t accept an apology as being anywhere near good enough. In fact, if I was her, I’d—”

“We’re parents of two adult daughters, Karen. The days where you get to call the shots and make all their decisions for them are long gone.”

“You make it sound like it was a bad thing. You know I was only keeping them safe. All I’ve ever wanted is to keep them safe.”

Peter sighed, the sound old and taut. “Whether we like it or not, we’re going to have to respect and live with whatever Libby decides. And not just for her, but for the little girls too. We can’t badmouth Nick. He’s their father and they love him.”

“I concede no such thing. More than anyone, I know that not every father deserves the love of their child! I never want to see Nick Pirelli again.”

“You can hear how irrational that sounds, right?”

“He’s cut our daughter clean through and destroyed everything she’s ever believed about their life together. You’re her father. Instead of standing there rationally intellectualizing the situation, you should want to call him out.”

“You’ve been reading too many historical novels. Besides, dueling’s not my style.” Peter laughed but when Karen didn’t crack a smile he sobered. “Come on, Kaz. You’ve always said you fell in love with me because I offered you the calm oasis you needed.”