Instead of answering, he steered me toward a knot of people. I could see Alexis sitting next to a tall, older man, her back to me. I recognized her French twist from when I’d seen her walking toward the theatre as we got out of the car. Jack leaned over and finally answered, “I was in a smash-up on the freeway with this really intriguing woman that I thought I ought to get to know a little better.” He smiled and then walked in front of me, taking my hand and pulling me behind him as we moved into the row behind Alexis. As a group they turned in their seats to greet us. I shook hands with Alexis and her husband and five other people I recognized, and I wondered if Jack was finding his thought to be worth the trouble.

The movie was standard romantic-comedy fare: funny and sweet, and thoroughly enjoyable. When the lights came up at the end of the credits, I stretched lazily and smiled at Jack. “Not bad, Harrington.”

He smiled that white-teeth smile that I had just seen illuminated larger-than-life onscreen. “Thanks. Would you mind going over to some of the critics and convincing them of that for me?” I laughed and shook my head. “Humph, well then, what good are you?” he mock-pouted before winking and retrieving my purse for me from the floor. As he handed it to me, he leaned over the armrest and whispered, “Are you up for that party at Alexis’s? Or would you prefer to go home?”

“It would be such an inconvenience for the driver to have to come all the way back to get you after dropping me off, I’ll just—”

“Wait. Huh?”

“What?”

“The driver!” He laughed, then swore. “Grace, I wouldn’t send you home alone! I’d take you back, I’d go with you—how rude would that be, to just send you home?” He shook his head. “No, if you want to go back, I would go with you. And it would be no big deal, honestly. The party will go on forever, I’d make it back and still have more than enough time there. I just want you to be comfortable, that’s all.”

“Oh. Well … would you be comfortable with me there?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know. Because I’m not part of this crowd, or”—I waved my hand to indicate the event we were in the midst of—“I have no idea what to expect, what to do—you know better whether or not I’d fit in.”

“Personally, I think you’ll be great. I would love to have you come.”

I shrugged and smiled. “All right then, I will!”

“And whenever you want to leave, we’ll leave. No big deal.”

“Okay. Thank you.”