“You know very well that Bee will notice. You know that she’ll look for you, of all people,” Hannah said, giving Rob an extra sting.

“Hannah, I’m sorry. It’s not happening. I’m in Texas.”

He heard her mutter something to herself, but he couldn’t make out the words. “Rob,” she finally said, making his name sound as heavy as a bowling ball, “this isn’t fair.”

“These people are crazy,” Hannah continued, now whispering as if she’d been kidnapped and her captors were in the next room. “Everybody’s on drugs—like, mood drugs. Bee’s mom has been a vegetable. I swear I haven’t seen her once without a drink in her hands. And the best man? It’s this guy named Jimmy Fee, and he’s so stupidly attractive that every time he walks into a room Bee’s mom looks like she wants to drop her pants. And I can’t say I blame her. Thank God he has a girlfriend.”

Rob laughed silently.

“So Donna’s drinking, eh? How does she look?”

“Bee’s mom? I don’t know. She looks like a mom. Listen, I need you. Please find a flight. I can’t do this alone.”

“You’ll survive. Just take pictures—especially if they’re making you wear something low cut.”

“They’re making me wear a pearl necklace. I don’t think I can do this.”

Rob considered all the lewd jokes he could make about pearl necklaces, but he refrained. He could hear the tension in Hannah’s voice and decided it would be best to bring the conversation to an end as quickly as possible.

“Do you know what a pageant coach does, Rob?” Hannah rambled in her panicked whisper. “I bet you don’t. Just guess.”

“Easy there,” Rob said, ignoring the question. “Just hang in there and we’ll talk soon. You can call me if there’s an emergency. Just take a deep breath and try not to take everything so seriously. It will be over in less than forty-eight hours.”

“Fine,” Hannah had said softly. He imagined her pout.

“Keep your head up, kid,” he’d said, just before pressing the “end” button too quickly for her to respond.

Rob had looked down at the blank phone screen and impulsively saved her number, with her name, making her the only official contact in his address book.

He’d gone on to picture her crouched in the corner of a hotel room, or maybe at a hair salon, making calls to him covertly, desperate for his companionship. He imagined what it might be like to be there in Annapolis, at her side, whispering words in her ear that would crack her up, just like he’d done in college.

Although the more he thought about it, Rob had to admit that despite all the times he’d made Hannah laugh uncontrollably, he’d never really been a source of comfort for her. Their secret, passive-aggressive affair, which had lasted the better part of their junior year—Rob’s last year at Syracuse—had made Hannah miserable and forced her to lie to her close friends. Rob was never respectful, showing up at her apartment for attention sometimes as late as three in the morning, but she would always open the door and let him in.