There was a huge four-poster bed in the middle of the room that sat on plush cream carpet next to a deep bay window with a cushioned perch. It was surrounded by mahogany furniture. A giant TV hung on the wall opposite the bed. Everything was spotless, of course.

Robert’s room. Vivian hadn’t meant to say that. But Robert had tagged along on a couple of London Fashion Weeks, always staying with his wife. Apparently their cohabitation had limits.

It wasn’t surprising that Robert and Vivian hadn’t shared a bedroom by the end of their marriage. Or had it been like that since the beginning? Vivian did like her space. Maybe she and Robert had only shared a bed when…

Then Jules looked at the bed. Oh God. It was entirely possible that she was going to sleep somewhere Vivian Carlisle had had sex.

It should have been the most horrifying thought of all time. Instead, Jules suddenly pictured Vivian lying on the bed before her, wearing a negligee and a come-hither look. Reaching out to her partner. Beckoning.

Come here, imaginary Vivian murmured. I want you here. Right now.

Jules’s face got so hot that she put her hands to her cheeks, like that was going to help. She must be more tired than she’d thought. So, so, so much more tired.

She took a second to get herself under control, then flopped down on the bed, pulled out her phone, and called her parents. Her mom picked up after the first ring.

“What took you so long?” she asked without preamble. “I checked online and your flight got in hours ago!”

“I’m sorry, Mom. As soon as I got in the car, the driver told me he was taking me straight to some luncheon. This is the first free minute I’ve even had. I swear.”

“A luncheon. I was ten seconds away from calling you in case you were dead in a ditch somewhere, and she wouldn’t even care if you were missing!”

“Oh, she would have noticed I was missing,” Jules said. “Trust me.”

“Is she there? You know what I’d like to do? I’d like to talk to her.”

Jules’s mom was usually very pleasant unless she got riled up…and it looked like she hadn’t calmed down much since Jules left. “Okay, that’s not happening.”

“What if someone treated her new baby this way? How would she feel about that? Your father told me. I think this is ridiculous—”

“On that we agree,” Jules said. “Sure. But—”

“She’s got no right to treat you like this. You graduated summa cum laude from Penn. I mean, my God!”

“Is Dad there?” Jules asked desperately.

Thankfully, at that moment she heard her father’s voice saying, “Okay, calm down, Laura,” then the sound of the phone changing hands.