“Oh, yes, I sure am!” Sherri jumped out of her chair, feeling dizzy from standing up so fast.

“You haven’t even said hello.”

“Hello, hello!” She hugged him but looked beyond where he stood, paranoid that Arthur would arrive at just that moment.

“That’s more like it.”

She pulled away. “I’m just surprised is all. A happy surprise. I was convinced I’d never see you again. I thought maybe you’d gotten yourself killed on some movie set.” She laughed at herself. “That sounds terrible. What I mean is that I thought you were in LA thinking Sherri who?”

He smiled, revealing perfectly straight, pearl-white teeth. “I didn’t die, and I didn’t forget you. How could I? You’re a blast. Let’s go have some fun.”

She looked at her watch. “Can you hang on a sec?” She stood and gestured for him to sit in her chair. “I’ll be right back.”

She ran into the resort, panicked, and looked around. She knew the right thing to do, but the right thing with Arthur meant a missed opportunity with Mitch. What if Mitch was the perfect guy for her? Besides, Arthur had been gone for ages, and she could see him any old time now that he was back. What was one more day?

Honey sat at a table at the Sidewalk Café reading a book, her beautiful dark hair cascading down either side of her face like black syrup. Honey was Korean. Her real name was Ha-yoon, and she was married to Bill, the Cabaret manager, who was British. The Bunnies were mostly local, but all the managers, it seemed, and even their wives and girlfriends, were from faraway places Sherri knew little about. They never lasted long, because management moved them from the clubs to the resorts in order to get experience.

She spied Arthur stepping into the lobby, looking out of his element, as if he knew he was wrong for the club and couldn’t wait to leave. He walked with his hands stuffed deep in his jeans pockets. Sherri’s heart lurched. She both longed to rush toward him, and run away.

“Can I hide in Bill’s office?” Sherri asked. It felt like it was Honey’s office. Bill was always rushing off to some meeting or other, but Honey was in there all the time.

Honey stood. “I hate it when these creeps won’t leave you girls alone. Hurry!”