“Hello, you two!” I say, compelling myself to sound polite. “Did you have a good evening?”

“We had an early night,” says Alicia. “And this morning we found a tai chi class.”

“Great!” I force a smile. “Lovely. Can I pour you some water? Have you seen Danny’s here?”

As the two sit down, Danny approaches from the buffet. He’s holding a plate piled high with lobster and grapes and nothing else.

“Suze! Darling.” He blows her a kiss. “I’m here for you. I mean, literally. I. Am here.” He points at himself. “For you. Just tell me what I can do.”

“Danny!” says Suze with a ferocious glare. “What the hell do you think you’ve been doing?”

“I flew here as soon as I could,” says Danny proudly. “My assistants and I are at your disposal. Tell me what we can do.”

“I’ll tell you what you can not do!” says Suze. She pulls out one of Danny’s fliers and brandishes it at him. “You can not plaster my husband’s face all over Las Vegas so I get a million people wanting to ‘hook up’ with him! Do you know the kind of calls and texts I’ve been getting?”

“No!” says Danny in delight. “What did they say?” Then he notices Suze’s expression and draws himself up defensively. “I was only trying to help, Suze. Excuse me for deploying my resources to aid you. Next time I won’t bother.”

I can see Suze quivering, trying to get a grip on herself, and after a few moments she says, “I’m sorry, Danny. I know you were trying to help. But honestly.”

“They’re great pictures, though, aren’t they?” says Danny, looking lovingly at Tarkie’s moody gaze.

“I hate them,” says Suze with fervor.

“I know, but they’re still great. You have to admit it, Suze. You’re an artist. You have an eye. Hey, I have a coat from my new collection that’s perfect for you. It has, like, this mammoth ruff neckline? Like Elizabeth the First? You would totally pull it off. Peace offering?”

No one can stay cross with Danny for long. I can see Suze unbending and rolling her eyes at him, and eventually she leans back with a huffing sigh and turns to Alicia. “Alicia, you’ve met Danny Kovitz, haven’t you?” she says. “Danny, Alicia Merrelle.”

“I remember you from Becky’s wedding,” says Danny blandly to Alicia. “You made quite the entrance.”

I can see a flash of something pass across Alicia’s face—anger? remorse?—but she doesn’t reply. Suze has poured out two glasses of water, and the two of them start sipping delicately.

“Where did you go last night?” says Danny to Suze, who shakes her head.

“We didn’t. We stayed in all night. Shall we go to the buffet, Alicia?”

As the two of them get up, Danny leans across the table to me.

“Well, that’s a lie,” he murmurs quietly.

“What’s a lie?”

“Alicia wasn’t in all evening. I saw her in the lobby of the Four Seasons, about midnight, talking to some guy.”