I laughed aloud and shook my head. This was nonsense. I’d just call, ask her point-blank if she wanted to go, and if there was already someone in her life she’d say it, and I’d thank her anyway and hang up. How could I be expected to know?

I picked up the phone, dialed all but the last digit, and then took a deep breath and hit the last button. I couldn’t remember when I’d last felt nervous about talking to a woman.

One ring. Two rings. The beginning of a third, and then a click as the line was picked up. I heard laughter in the background. “Hello?”

“Hello, is Grace there, please?” My voice sounded salesmanlike to my ears. Why couldn’t I just talk normally?

“This is she.”

“Grace, hi; this is Jack. Harrington.”

“Oh! Jack. Hi!” The laughter on the other end of the line suddenly went silent. “How are you?”

“Good, thanks. Hows the car? Driving it yet?”

“Yes, its fantastic. I can’t thank you enough.”

“It was my pleasure. You’re all healed up now?”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. Everything’s in working order.”

“That’s good; I’m glad to hear it.” I took a deep breath. “Well, the reason I’m calling is because I have a movie coming out next month, and the premiere is on April 15. I was wondering if you would like to join me as my, ah, guest.” I choked at the last second and couldn’t bring myself to say date. I was starting to wish I’d scripted this out.

For a moment there was silence on the other end. Then she said in an endearingly awestruck voice, “Oh my goodness, are you serious?”

I swallowed down a chuckle, not wanting her to think I was laughing at her. “Yes, I’m entirely serious. I know it’s quite a ways down the road, but I wanted to make sure I got the offer in before your calendar filled up.”

She laughed and said dryly, “Yeah, fat chance of that. Wow, I am so … I would love to go. Is there anything special I need to know, or do, or … whatever? How exactly does this work?”

“Ah, well, let’s see … There really isn’t anything special. Red carpet starts at six, so knowing what the traffic going into the city is like on weeknights, I should probably be at your place by 3:30. Would that be all right?”

“Wait, hold on a second. I need to grab a pen and write all this down, or I’ll forget.” I heard a thunk as the phone was set down, and I forced myself not to laugh when I heard someone in the background squeal. “Okay, 3:30, April 15. Got it.”

“Is that all right?”