“Oh yeah, I forgot about them.” She sighed. “Children do make things more complicated. But I’m sure yours want you to be happy, right? You just have to talk to them.”

I decided not to mention Whitney’s suspicious questions last night—mostly because I just didn’t want to think about them. “This whole discussion could be for nothing,” I said. “I mean, Henry might not have any interest in dating me for real. He could have anyone—someone younger and prettier and without kids.”

She smirked. “Trust me. He has interest. Even Noah asked me if you two were fucking.”

“Jeez,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Are we the two least chill people on the planet?”

She laughed. “It’s possible, but hey. Good chemistry is good chemistry. And it’s not easy to find, so don’t waste it. Come on, we should get back to the party.”

* * *

The overhead lights in the barn had been dimmed, and the room was lit only by strings of party lights hung from the rafters. Before I went back to my table, I checked on the kids, who seemed to be having a great time. Even little Winnie was still going strong.

“But Mom, what about the sparklers?” Whitney asked, out of breath from dancing. “I think we forgot them.” She had quite a bit of makeup on, including some pretty garish teal eyeshadow, but I hadn’t felt like arguing with her tonight. And she was clearly having fun—I felt a little more optimistic.

“Oh, that’s right! I need to run home and get them.” I patted her shoulder. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Okay.”

I walked back toward my table, where Henry was sitting alone. One ankle was crossed over his knee, and he leaned back in his chair, sipping his drink as he watched me approach, his eyes on fire. It struck me like a punch in the gut how handsome he was. How sexy. How strong. How good. Something in me ignited.

“Hey,” he said, rising to his feet to pull out my chair. “I was beginning to wonder if you found someone better to sit next to.”

“Impossible,” I said, tossing my purse onto the table. Then I rose on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. “Want to sneak away with me for a minute or two?”

He closed his eyes. “Sylvia. Don’t do this to me.”

“Do what?”

“Tempt me.” His eyes opened and seared into mine. “I promised myself I’d be good tonight because we’re in public.”

“So let’s go somewhere private and be bad.”

“Respectable gentleman. Respectable gentleman. Respectable gentleman,” he mumbled.

“What?”

“You’re killing me, Sylvia. Everyone will see us leave. Our entire table knows we’re screwing around. Probably because I can’t stop staring at your ass in that skirt.”