I looked at my watch. Five fifteen. I couldn’t wait to get to my date, but Harris wasn’t meeting me until eight thirty. There was something decidedly less pleasant I had to do first.

I checked my hair and lip gloss in the mirror and adjusted the high waistband of my pants. Martin said, “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

“Of course I want you to come with me. But I think if I have you there as a crutch and a decoy, I’d just be delaying the inevitable.”

Martin stood up, kissed me goodbye, and said, “You look fabulous. Knock ’em dead.”

As I walked outside, I realized that I still mostly felt like a tourist in New York. And that was a good thing. Every little detail still seemed magical and new. The world was a different place than it had been; I was a different person than I had been. My thoughts wandered to Cape Carolina and to Parker. But I pushed him out of my mind, as I had been doing more and more these past few days.

It distracted me so much that I almost walked right past the Plaza. Abruptly adjusting course, I made my way up the steps and through the revolving gilded door with the pristine Ps. And as I entered the lobby, my eyes fixed on the intricate, gilded ceiling. I passed a giant arrangement of peonies on my way into the Palm Court. I thought I was cool, calm, and collected, but when my eyes met his across the bar, I realized that, sex or no sex, great dates or not, seeing Thad again, here, in what was my town now, felt like a sucker punch. At least he was alone.

When he saw me, he stood up, ever the gentleman—except, of course, when he was sleeping with other people while we were married. He pulled me to him, and I felt his body go limp against mine, the way it used to, even after everything, even after all of it. We weren’t in love. I knew that now. But our bond hadn’t disappeared overnight.

When I finally pulled away, he wiped his eyes, and I realized the shoulder of my top was wet. I climbed up onto my bar stool, and Thad followed suit. He took my hand and said, “I just miss you so much, Amelia. Every day.”

I made eye contact with the bartender and said, “I’ll have whatever you’d make for Eloise if she was all grown-up.”

He laughed, and Thad sniffed and laughed, too.

“I miss you, too, Thad. I really do. I’m angry at you, but I’m happy for you. And I hate going through what we’re going through, but I love you for all the things you taught me about myself.” I paused. Then I finally asked, “Why are we here?”

When Thad had called and said he’d be in New York and asked to meet, I couldn’t imagine why. Our divorce was all but done. The papers would be filed next week. In Florida, they get the job done quickly.