“Right from the start.” Alice hugged her. “And I still am. So how are things between you and Nick?”

“Improving.” The word felt wrong, not seeming to account for the massive distance they’d travelled in the last six weeks. “Actually, things are a lot better. I have whole days when I don’t think about her and what she did to us. I’m sleeping better.”

“That’s got to help.”

“Yeah. We still have our moments. It’s embarrassing to realize we’d always congratulated ourselves on our communication, but Dom’s death showed us we had no idea. We’re trying hard to use the tools they taught us at the group. We’re working on really hearing what the other person is feeling instead of pretending to listen while we plan what we’re going to say the moment the other stops talking.”

“Is it helping?”

“I think so. There’s less blame. I know it sounds grandiose, but some days we’re doing marriage better than we’ve ever done it before. The girls are definitely more settled.”

“That’s got to be a relief. And Leo too?”

Everything inside Libby tightened. “Right now, he’s not my concern.”

Alice chewed her bottom lip. “But he will be?”

“Nick and I are having sex again,” she said, desperate to change the subject. The moment the words rushed out she remembered how Alice always got embarrassed talking about sex, which was why she’d always talked to—Her mind recoiled from the thought.

“That’s wonderful.” Alice’s smile wobbled a little at Libby’s expression. “Isn’t it?”

“It feels a lot like make-up sex.”

Alice laughed. “How can that be bad?”

“It isn’t bad. It’s just … different. Before all of this, we never argued enough to need make-up sex. Sometimes it feels like we’re trying too hard.”

“Don’t beat yourself up for trying.”

“Thanks.” Libby hugged her knees. “Thing is, even in my darkest times, when I hated Nick and I didn’t want him to touch me, it wasn’t the intimacy of sex I missed the most. It was sleeping in the same bed. You know, feet and legs entwined and the weight of his arms wrapped around me, keeping me warm and safe.”

Alice made an odd sound and quickly turned her head, staring out to sea.

“You okay?”

Alice sniffed. “I miss that so much.”

“I thought you and Dan—”

“That’s just sex! Rule Four is no snuggling allowed.”

Libby hurt for Alice. “Keep dating. Like you say, it’s a numbers game and eventually you’ll meet someone.”

“The one guy I fell for makes Nick look like a saint.” Alice’s voice thickened. “And now I’m never going to find anyone, because the tea leaves and the tarot cards—”