“They were there. My identity was kept a secret from the media, you know. Nobody knew it was me until last night.”

“Well, you could have told us.”

His dad’s words were muffled. “Let it go, Susan. What’s done is done.”

Sage advice, but easier said than done, and probably not welcome coming from the man she blamed.

Kate left the foggy bathroom, feeling somewhat refreshed, though still sleepy. She should have asked Lucas to order a latte. She walked into the room, where the breakfast food was set out on the coffee table. Lucas sat in the armchair, waiting to dig into his home fries, over-easy eggs, toast, and stack of crispy bacon. In front of Kate’s seat was a plate of fresh melon, granola, and yogurt. Her stomach protested.

She put her dirty clothes in a plastic laundry bag, settled on the couch, and stabbed a berry with her fork, sliding it into her mouth.

“What’s wrong?” Lucas loaded his fork with potatoes and took a bite of bacon.

“Nothing.” The berries were good. Sweet and juicy. Healthy.

“I didn’t know what you liked.”

Of course he didn’t. It wasn’t like they’d dated. He didn’t even know how she took her coffee or that she liked to sleep in. “This is fine. It’s good.” She took a bite of granola to prove it. It was homemade, crunchy and sweet. Just not what she’d been in the mood for.

“Here.” Lucas scraped an egg and half his potatoes and bacon onto the plate his toast had been on.

Her mouth watered. “I’m fine, Lucas.”

He slid the fruit to the side and pushed the plate in front of her. “Eat up.”

They ate quietly, and by the time Kate set her fork down, she’d made up for the meal she’d skipped the day before.

“I went out and got the paper while you were getting ready.”

“Which one?”

“The Mirror and the New York Times.” He produced sections of the papers from the coffee table’s shelf.

Her insides were an ocean buoy in the wake of a speedboat. “Did you read them? What did they say?”

Oh, please, God.

She grabbed the Times first. There they were, her and Lucas, on the cover of the “Style” section. A photo of them dancing. They were looking into each other’s eyes, and the photographer had captured Lucas’s smile.

“See for yourself,” he said.

Her eyes flitted to the article. Its heading read “Dr. Kate Marries Mr. Wright.” She smiled. “Clever.”

“Thought you’d like that,” Lucas said.

She read aloud. “‘Syndicated columnist Kate Lawrence, known to audiences as Dr. Kate, married Nantucket native Lucas Wright in a ceremony last evening on Jetties Beach in Nantucket. The wedding was scheduled to coincide with the release of Dr. Kate’s book Finding Mr. Right-for-You.