“I don’t know. Fortune favors the bold?”

“You don’t hear from him at all?”

“I might never hear from him again. Jonathan’s an opportunist, like Denise, and opportunity presented itself. He’ll never look back.”

“Oh, Denise might have met her opportunistic match in Jonathan, all right. And more than that.” Irene made tsk-tsk sounds and rolled her eyes.

“Do you think . . .”

“I do,” she said crisply. “So does Gordon. But there’s certainly no proof, and absolutely no point in discussing it. Ever.”

“I agree. Leon deserves his happiness with this new Aaron Greene.”

She picked up her handbag. “I have to go. By the way, you look awful. I don’t mean just like you washed out of the ocean like a piece of driftwood, which you did. What happened to all that L’Oiseau d’Or panache? Have you forgotten everything Julia taught you?”

“My L’Oiseau d’Or days are over. The Granville Agency is over. I’m a has-been at the ripe old age of twenty-five.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. You’ll think of something. You were never like the rest of us, just standing around waiting to get plucked and put on the marriage shelf. Oh no, Roxanne, you are complicated, but you are never dull. You are reckless and romantic, but you are always interesting.”

“Not anymore.”

“Well, you would be if you cleaned yourself up and did something with your hair. Get it cut.”

“I don’t go anywhere.”

“Get it cut anyway.”

I put my tanned hand on her pale arm. “Don’t leave. Please. It’s so good to see you again.”

She glanced at her watch. “I have to. I have an appointment with the principal at Junior’s school. They don’t want him back next year, so I have my checkbook at the ready. I can’t bear the thought of finding yet another school for him. Come to dinner on Friday.”

“Gordon won’t much like that.”

“Don’t worry. He may not even be home. Sometimes days go by and I only see him in the mornings, sometimes he’s gone to the studio before I even get up. He’s killing himself. If he is there on Friday, you’ll be good for him, give him something else to get twisted about besides the studio. Besides, you’ll be good for me. Come early and let’s play tennis. You want to come to Tahoe next month with me and the children and Josefina?”

“No. But thanks.”

“Oh, by the way, Carleton Grimes from Paragon Pictures called Gordon asking for your home number.”

“What for?”

Irene shrugged. “Maybe he really does want to have an affair. You could use a good affair.”

“I thought you didn’t approve of adultery.”

“You could use a good affair,” she repeated.

“Not in the mood, sorry.”

“Oh, you will be.”