A waiter wove his way through the standing patrons to their booth. Miles said, “A beer, please, whatever pale ale’s on tap. How about you, Mia?”

She started to nod, then ordered the house white. She leaned forward and raised her voice so he could hear her. “So what’s going on, Miles? Has Alex—Mr. Harrington asked me to call him that—decided to drop out of the race? Get married now in Tahiti? What?”

He laughed, a nice full-bodied laugh that fogged up his glasses. He took them off, wiped them on a napkin, slid them back on. “Mr. Harrington asked me to check in with you, and I was glad for the opportunity. We met only briefly at the fundraiser, didn’t get a chance to talk when you were at campaign headquarters yesterday. I have quite a bit I’d like you to be aware of for your article—Mr. Harrington’s hopes, his campaign, his plans. He also wanted me to ask you whether your trip to Boston went well, what your impressions were.”

Mia nearly smiled. Right out of the gate, down to business, no pretending over a social drink, and that was a pleasant surprise. She said on a grin, “He could have sent me an email.”

“I prefer a more personal approach. How else can I be sure you understand what’s really important to him—his program for minority schools, gun control?”

She saw then he looked tired. “A lot of late-night strategy sessions with Mr. Hughes and Alex?”

He gave her a singularly sweet smile. “Sure, and it’ll only get more intense as the election heats up. I’m used to that, but what I’m not used to is this cold. When will it warm up around here?”

Their waiter magically reappeared through the packed-in crowd, a small tray held up high, and expertly set their beer and wine in front of them. “Might warm up in April, sir, if we’re lucky. Sorry I can’t stay. Holler when you’d like more.” He disappeared again, weaving his way through bodies, too graceful not to be a dancer.

“Here’s hoping for April,” Mia said, and she clicked her wineglass to Miles’s beer.

Time to bait the bear. “I had a nice conversation with Pamela Barrett, Alex’s fiancée, and of course with his professors at Harvard he’d picked out for me to talk to.” She sipped her wine. “Turns out Boston was very informative, particularly my interview with Juliet Ash Calley, Alex’s former fiancée.”

Miles showed no hesitation, no sign of alarm. “I never met Ms. Calley but Cory told me she’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. I looked her up, and I agree, she could give all the L.A. girls a run for their money. I read she’s a concert pianist, though I’ve never heard her play.”