STONE WAS AWAKENED by the bell on the dumbwaiter, which meant that Helene was sending up breakfast and the paper. Last night had degenerated into a drunken jam session, sharing the piano with Laurence, who played better than he did. He and Holly had not gotten to bed until nearly three AM, and they had not gone immediately to sleep, being otherwise occupied.

He kissed Holly loudly on the ear. “Breakfast!”

“Ow!” she howled. “Now I’m deaf.”

“You don’t have to hear to eat.”

He got up and brought the tray from the dumbwaiter to the bed. “Bacon and eggs!” he shouted, and that brought her fully conscious.

She found her remote control and sat her bed up. “That was quite an evening,” she said.

“It certainly was.”

“You were very good on the piano and even better on me.”

“You’re just sex-starved,” he said.

“Right about that! Working late hours isn’t good for your love life.”

“You haven’t forgotten how.”

“It’s like roller skating or swimming—once you learn . . .”

“I’m just a tiny bit hungover,” he said.

“A tiny bit? Then you didn’t drink enough.”

“That’s debatable, but I don’t think I’m fit to fly this morning. Tomorrow would be better.”

“Fine by me. I’m at least as hungover as you are.”

“Again, debatable, but we’ll get an early start tomorrow, and with the two-hour time difference, we’ll be there by early afternoon.”

“I’m looking forward to being a jet-setter. Will you teach me to fly the thing?”

“What sort of avionics do you have in your airplane?”

“Garmin 1000.”

“Then you’ll learn the 3000 easily. After that, you need only sixteen days of training to get your 525 type rating.”

“Sixteen days? I could nearly achieve world peace in that time, and if I ever get that much time off again, I’m not going to spend it in a flight simulator.”

“Then leave the flying to me. You can work the radios while I do the crossword.”

“Deal.”

After breakfast, they made love, then fell asleep again, until Joan buzzed.

Stone picked up the phone. “What time is it?”

“Ten-thirty. What’s your excuse for not being up?”

“A late, liquid night. We’re not leaving for Santa Fe until tomorrow.”

“Good. Ed Eagle has e-mailed you the closing documents for your new house. You can sign online and return them to him the same way. They’re waiting for you in your inbox.”

“Got it. Now can I go back to sleep?”

“You’ve got a stack of documents messengered over by Herbie Fisher, and you have to review them before you leave.”

Stone groaned.

“It’s your own fault, you should have left this morning before they arrived.”

“Herbie would have just sent them to Santa Fe.”

“I know. They’re waiting on your desk.”

Stone struggled from bed and into a shower, leaving Holly to recover on her own.

—