“She inspired me, too.” In everything. I sat across the table and looked at this person whose charm must have gotten her a lot of what she wanted in life. It was going to work for her again. I took a sip of wine and said, “You know what, Lindsey? I might regret this, but I’m going to give you the job.”

She looked shocked.

“Greer would have liked you,” I said. “I don’t know how I know that, but I do. If she were sitting here beside me, she would say, Look, Park, yeah, her résumé isn’t the best one we’ve seen, but she’s smart and she has passion. And sometimes that’s enough. And so I’m going to give you a three-month trial. But I want to be wowed, Lindsey.” I wrote a number on a sugar packet and slid it across the table. “If you make it past the three months, this will go up.”

She nodded. “Wow. Just, wow. Thank you for taking a chance on me. I know I have a lot to learn, but I promise I will learn fast. And I will transform your digital media for a new generation. I swear I will.”

I believed her. I paid the check and walked Lindsey to her car.

She turned and grinned at me, saying, “See you on Monday, boss.”

As I smiled and shook her hand, I realized this lunch had been the first time in four months that I’d been immersed in work, the first time in four months I’d gone more than an hour without thinking about Amelia.

Amelia THE GREAT UNKNOWN

NEW YORK WAS MY FAVORITE place. I couldn’t imagine how, why, and again, how I hadn’t realized how fabulous it was a long time ago. The restaurants, the theater, the people, the job… I mean, yes, going from managing editor to reporter had felt like a step backward. But I was only thirty-five, for heaven’s sake. I had plenty of time to prove myself at a new publication and work my way back up the ladder. I ignored the fact that doing so had taken me twelve years at Clematis.

I was sharing a small but bright two-bedroom with Martin, who had decided he needed a fresh start, too, and, in true BFF fashion, had joined me in my life change. My secret nest egg was funding the venture, but, even still, Martin was footing more than half of the bills. I had protested, but he had insisted. And, much to my surprise, I had given in. He was right. None of the places I could actually afford were suitable for our swanky new start.

As the captain of all things fabulous, Martin was connected to the coolest people. He was the reason I was having so much fun, the reason I didn’t feel lonely. And he was the reason I was going on this damn date tonight.

“Please, Amelia, please,” he had begged. “Do this for me. I promised Harris a smoking-hot date to the premiere.” Harris was Martin’s boss at the PR firm where he was now working, the sister company of his Palm Beach firm. The job was part of the reason that he knew all the fabulous people. The other part was that his soft hair and megawatt smile simply attracted everyone to him like moths to a flame. He was handsome and generous, and he had the best stories—which were at least thirty percent true.