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earlier rather than waiting until lunch, and it would catch him even more off
guard if I brought you all along. Which would have the added benefit of
helping me to avoid any one-on-one time with him. Igobe s headquarters aren t
far from the club, and there s a mall nearby where we can hang out while
you re at tennis.
The opportunity to confront Iggie in person was tempting, and, after the phone
call we d witnessed, we could all appreciate why Abigail would want to trade
her intimate lunch with Iggie for a group event. And after I d finished
telling everyone about Clay and Camilla and their matching keychains, everyone
agreed it made sense for more reasons than one to try to talk to Iggie
directly, although Luisa s decision probably had more to do with Abigail and
the mention of a mall than anything else.
If Iggie has any shame, he ll be embarrassed he lied to me about meeting with
other banks first, I said. That might give us some leverage when we ask
about Alex. We can also ask him if he has any ideas as to who might want to
spoil his IPO. Maybe the keychain guy is a disgruntled employee.
I suspect Iggie s surrounded by disgruntled employees, observed Luisa.
And he doesn t have much shame, said Abigail. But it can t hurt to ask.
Ben offered to try to pull a few more strings to procure a list of Lamborghini
owners in the area, and Peter volunteered to pick everyone up at the hotel in
the morning, assuming his parents could spare a hybrid.
Unless it would be more convenient for Abigail if we picked her up at home,
I said. Abigail, would that be more convenient for you?
Luisa shot me a murderous look. What she and Abigail planned to do after we
left was none of my business, especially if it involved Abigail not waking up
in her own bed, but I couldn t resist the opportunity to get back at Luisa
just the tiniest bit. I d been insufferable, as well, but it was important to
keep the score even on the insufferability front.
That s all right, said Abigail easily. I ll meet up with you here. Thanks,
though.
Yes, Rachel. Thank you, said Luisa, but there was a menacing edge to her
voice that made me glad we weren t alone.
It was fortunate that Peter remembered where he d parked the car, because I
didn t. A few minutes later we were buckled in and heading back across the
city to Pacific Heights. He gave up trying to find anything of interest on the
radio once it became clear nothing could be heard over my yawning.
We ll be there soon, he assured me. There shouldn t be any traffic at this
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time of night.
Good, I said, but it came out muffled by yet another enormous yawn. Ouch.
What s wrong? he asked.
My jaw cracked.
He laughed. Life with you is always an adventure.
He said it affectionately, and I knew he meant well, but the words reminded me
of what I d been too busy to think about for the past few hours namely, that I
was merely his way of getting over Caro after she d broken up with him, a sort
of palate-cleansing interlude of oddity that would last until she either took
him back or he found someone else comparably normal. And thinking about this
only made me more anxious than I d been already, between trying to track down
Hilary, ingratiating myself to Peter s parents and making sure I didn t
completely screw up my career.
I could feel myself being sucked into the preliminary loops of a doom spiral.
I really needed someone to talk to, but my usual confidantes were either long
asleep on the East Coast, missing, or too gripped by nicotine withdrawal to be
of any use. Luisa s specific brand of calm rationality would have been
particularly comforting, but she was too scary right now even to contemplate
seeking her out for emotional support.
Since nobody appropriate was available to discuss my relationship with Peter,
I decided I might as well use this time productively and ask Peter about
another relationship. He might have been in denial about Caro and whether
fifteen years together could be interpreted as serious, but perhaps I could
figure out what was going on between him and the fourth member of our little
tennis klatch. Assuming tennis had klatches.
What s with you and Alex Cutler? I asked.
What do you mean?
Why do you keep defending him? Is it because you re brothers?
Brothers?
Frat brothers. Like Bluto and Otter.
He laughed. How many times have you seen Animal House, anyway? Trust me,
Bluto and Otter wouldn t have had anything to do with us. Even the Kevin Bacon
character would have stayed away.
Then is it just because you ve known Alex for such a long time? We were
stopped at a traffic signal, and red light spilled through the windshield. It
was a good color for Peter, but it probably wasn t the best look for me. The
light turned green, and the car moved forward.
No. I mean, we were friendly, and he always seemed like a nice enough guy,
but he wasn t one of my closest friends.
Then why did you invite him to the party?
He glanced over at me. Do you really want to know?
Sure.
It s sort of silly. You promise you won t laugh?
Why would I laugh? If Peter laughed at every silly thing I did, he d be in
perpetual hysterics.
Well, he said, sounding unusually awkward, I was hoping I could set him up
with Caro.
Set him up with Caro?
I thought they might make a good couple. Do you think they d make a good
couple? That is, if he ends up not being the sort of guy who goes around
abducting your friends?
That s a pretty big if, I said, and it was, but inwardly I was trying to
figure out why Peter would want to play matchmaker in this particular
situation.
What kind of man cares enough about the woman who broke up with him after
fifteen years, no less to set her up with someone else? Either Peter really
was too good to be true, or he was so in denial about what a perfect couple he
and Caro made that he d gotten himself completely turned around mentally and
was trying to sidestep the obvious by fixing her up with Alex. The poor guy
had definitely been spending too much time with me: it was exactly the sort of
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convoluted combination of suppressing certain emotions while misdirecting
others into self-defeating action for which I was famous among my friends.
Caro hasn t really dated anyone since we I mean, since she broke up with me.
And she and Alex seem to have a lot in common, Peter was saying. They ve
known each other for a long time, but maybe it just hasn t occurred to either
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