“I’ve been doing it for about twenty-five years, before everyone knew about it and people started paying a fortune for it. My gallery says I should raise my prices, but then no one will be able to afford it except rich people, and it should be for everyone. What do you do?” She looked like a model to Fiona.

“I sell clothes online. Do you sell your work online?” she asked her.

“I have a website. I do pretty well with it,” she said as she sipped her wine and relaxed a little. She didn’t want to like Theo and she thought the hotel was ridiculous, but she had to admit, her brother was right. Theo was nice, and although she was wearing expensive clothes, she wasn’t pretentious or a phony or a snob. She was a normal person, in fancy clothes and rich surroundings, and she could see why Mike liked her. Fiona did too. They talked about art, and life, and work, and Fiona told funny stories about Mike as a kid.

“He used to lie all the time. Biggest liar I ever knew. He probably still does. But he got all holier-than-thou and honorable when he joined the CIA. He was kind of a pain in the ass for a while, playing Mister Secret Agent, but he’s almost normal these days.” Theo laughed at her irreverent description of him.

“He lied to me too. He told me he was a lawyer when I met him.”

“He does that. I think they tell them to,” she said in his defense, “but if you’re going to go around getting shot, you might as well tell people the truth, otherwise they’ll either think you’re a cop or a drug dealer.”

They ordered dinner then. Theo said the burgers were pretty decent, and the roast chicken was good, but the pasta wasn’t so great. In the end, Mike had a steak and Fiona, who was a vegetarian, had a veggie plate she liked. They had ice cream sundaes for dessert, and Theo told her about their banana split on their first date.

Fiona stayed until ten o’clock, and Theo noticed that Mike looked tired by then. The two women hugged before Fiona left, and Mike hugged Theo after Fiona was gone.

“You were fantastic. She loved you, and you were so nice to her. I never know what she’s going to do or say.”

“She’s terrific.” Theo smiled at him. “The only thing I want to know is how you could let me sell you that red purse for her. She’ll never wear that in a thousand years. I would wear it, she wouldn’t, not in a million years. Did you give it to her?” Theo asked him, and he looked sheepish.

“No, I didn’t. I was so excited to meet you, I’d have bought anything.”