“Club soda.”

Aha. “Not drinking tonight? Scared of revealing yourself?”

Carrigan frowned, cocked his head. Turned all the way to face me, those big blue eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

“It’s an old Bogart quote,” I said, shaking my head a little like I was embarrassed for knowing it. “‘People who don’t drink are afraid of revealing themselves.’ It seemed to fit the bill.”

“Maybe I am a little afraid of revealing myself,” he said. The bartender finished making the drinks and nodded at Carrigan, who slipped her a card. “Excuse me. Enjoy your evening.”

And then he was headed back to his table, his group of admirers, leaving me gaping after him. One shot and I’d missed it. Was I so not Carrigan’s type that he couldn’t spare even five minutes to talk to me? I knew he liked blondes, but surely his tastes weren’t so exclusive.

I tapped the rim of my empty glass, held up two fingers for a double, and the bartender nodded, started to make me another. Had I been too forward? Not forward enough?

Something danced on the bar top in front of me. It took me a moment to realize that it was a cell phone, my cell phone. It was Lou. I held it in my hands for a moment, debated answering. I was scared that if I answered, Lou would hear in my voice that something was up, that somehow I’d telepathically transmit Carrigan’s presence to her. I was scared that if I didn’t answer, I’d never hear from her again. I stared so long, letting the phone ring and ring, that the toothy bartender slid me the drink and asked, “Are you going to get that?”

The phone stopped ringing.

I set the phone down and watched Carrigan’s group in the mirror. He was stoic, serious. Smiled when spoken to but looked, perhaps, a little bit bored. The phone started chirping again. I pictured Lou on the other line, missing me. But probably only missing me because she couldn’t reach me. It didn’t matter. As soon as I pictured her face, I was a goner. I answered, my eyes on Carrigan’s party in the mirror. Leading-man handsome. Maybe Lou really would have come out of retirement for him if Ellen hadn’t intervened.

“Ignoring me?” I heard a smile in Lou’s voice, but it wasn’t toothless.

“Sorry, it’s not a good time.” Behind me, Carrigan checked his watch. Definitely bored. A man that good-looking didn’t need to waste his time in bars like this, I thought. Maybe he was eager to get back to Tana—maybe there really were still husbands like that. But he came to happy hour here with the boys every week, or almost. Maybe he didn’t even know yet what he was looking for here.

“Oh? You’re busy?” A pause. “With Robert?”