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“Maybe that’s part of it,” I say. “But I appreciate that. I know you’ll be fair, too, and I wouldn’t want you to lie to protect my feelings.”
He nods. “I didn’t think you would.”
“But I know it’s not just me, either. Jenna and Toby have worked really hard on this. All of us want to blow you and your team away tomorrow.”
“Of course you do.”
“All projects are important to me, and I love my job. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say this one feels even more so, because it’s you, and it’s your company.”
“Sophia,” he says, and there’s a faint smile to his lips. “You’ve already impressed me.”
“Yes, but that’s on a personal level.”
He shakes his head. “No, not only. I was impressed by your work ethic before...thishappened. Before we happened.”
That makes me smile. “Thanks. You know, when I realized you were the same man I’d met in the hotel lobby that night, it made me want to prove myself.”
“You did, not that you had to.”
“But I’ve always had that drive,” I say.
“I know,” he says, and I know he does, because I’ve seen the same thing in him. I might be an outsider, a foreigner in New York, and I was a novice in my husband’s world. I needed to prove myself. Isaac Winter, on the other hand? He had been born the heir to an empire and probably had a monogrammed pacifier. And yet… it hadn’t made him entitled.
“It’s always been the same for me,” he murmurs. Proving that he deserves it all. Proving that he’s up to the task.
I reach out on the table, my palm up. He doesn’t hesitate in taking it. “How do you think working together will be,” I say, “afterthis?”
“I don’t know,” he says. “I’m not looking forward to it.”
The straightforward admission makes my chest tighten.Me neither. I don’t want to lose the easy confidences and conversations.
“Not being able to pick your mind will be hard.”
His leans forward. “This doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing situation. If you want to talk after tomorrow, I’ll always be available.”
“I don’t think I could resist even if you weren’t.”
“Good,” he says. “Sweetheart, I’ve been thinking. There’s another opt—”
A shadow falls over our table and Isaac’s words come to an abrupt stop. Percy and Scarlett are standing by our table.
In Isaac’s grip, my hand goes limp.
“Hello, you two,” Percy says. “Sorry to interrupt like this, but—”
“We never got to say a proper goodbye at the tennis tournament!” Scarlett’s smile is wide enough to show off her molars. It’s a complete 180 from when I’d seen her across the room at the benefit, a few weeks ago. “Thanks for a great game, you two. You looked like such a great team.”
My stomach sinks. Isaac. That’s what this is about. She’s from this world, her parents are friends with the Brownes, and she went to college with Percy’s friend group.
And I’m now, in her view, seriously dating Isaac Winter. That’s a brilliant social connection to have, neatly connected through two ex-spouses.
“Thank you,” Isaac says. His voice is steady, but there’s a hint of hostility beneath the cool surface. “Are you here for dinner?”
“Yes, we’re just heading to our table now, but we had to stop and say hello.” Percy’s eyes shift to mine. There’s an emotion in them I can’t read.
That surprises me. I used to be able to so easily.
Now I just want them to leave. My last night with Isaac, and here they are? Why had we gone to Salt in the first place? The entirety of New York City is available to us. We could be at a diner in Brooklyn or at my little ramen place, having the time of our lives.
