Karen shook her head and smiled at me. “Do you see?”

Peter said, “What’s the smile?”

Karen held her purse with both hands and let out a deep breath and looked at him. She said, “Peter, I’m not the same person you knew. I’m not a little bubblehead who wants to be an actress and is impressed when you talk about image density and emotional composition. I’m also not impressed by your success. I don’t want your money.”

“Hey, who said you did?” Defensive.

“Because I’m not the same, I won’t respond to you the way I used to. If I had never seen you again, it would’ve been fine. But you’re Toby’s father, and Toby has a right to meet you and know you and judge for himself. I’ll work to that end, but don’t expect anything more.”

Peter made a big deal out of spreading his hands. “I don’t understand this hostility.”

“Think about it.”

He said, “Hey, I’m not looking to get you into the sack. We were married, for Christ’s sake. That should mean something. We have a son.”

She stared down at him, her face without thought or consideration. “No, we don’t,” she said. “I do.”

She brushed past me and walked across the bar and out the door.

Peter stared after her, his face sort of pinched and confused, and then he shook his head. “I can’t believe it. She didn’t look happy to see me.”

“She wasn’t.”

He looked at me. “Maybe you were right. Maybe I should play this a little easier.” He was nodding to himself. “You’ve seen this a lot. You know about this.”

“Sure.”

“Okay, you were right. Peter Alan Nelsen can admit when he was wrong and you were right.”

I spread my hands.

He suddenly leaned forward and looked hopeful again. “This didn’t go too badly between me and Karen, did it? Not for a first meeting?”

I shook my head. “No,” I said. “It went great. She could’ve shot you.”

Chapter Twenty-three

Twenty-three

Pike and I had an early dinner, then went back to our rooms for a fun-filled evening of TV news and East Coast sports. Peter and Dani and Nick and T.J. took three adjoining rooms on the opposite side of the Ho Jo, but didn’t join us for the dinner or for the sports. They left in both of the limousines. Taking advantage of the night life, no doubt.