I heave a sigh. “A few things. First, I really enjoyed working with you at the firm.”

“You did?”

I nod. “I did. I liked rolling up my sleeves and tackling deals.”

He nudges me. “You angling for a job now?”

I laugh. “No. But it reminded me that I like striking deals and doing market analysis, and not to blow my own trumpet, but I’m also quite good at it.”

“You’re tops at what you do.”

“Thanks.” I scrub a hand across my chin. “I think I’m going to keep doing it.”

He squints in question. “So you do want a job?”

“No. I believe I’ve just made myself a consultant.”

“Ah, so this is what retirement looks like? Working your arse off?”

“I’d hardly say consulting is working my arse off. In fact, I think it’s the perfect balance. I don’t get too consumed by it, but it gives me the chance to keep my feet wet. I’ll do a little translation, and I’ll do a little high-level consulting, especially for companies looking to enter new markets.”

“I think that sounds brilliant.”

“And that brings me to my other point.”

He tenses. “What’s that?”

It’s not his fault that everything with Elise went tits up, but I need him to know the score. “First, I wish you’d have told me before you made your deal with Jandy.”

He frowns. “I’m sorry I didn’t. I thought you might talk me out of it because of how much money I’d lose by paying her off,” he says, a note of guilt in his voice. “And I was determined to go through with it.”

“I get it. I do. I still wish you’d have told me, because I wouldn’t have tried to talk you out of it. I wish you knew that.”

“You wouldn’t have?”

I laugh. “Of course I wouldn’t have. It’s your choice. I understand why you did it. Why you needed to. It’s your heart and your life. And I’m proud of you for finding a way to move on.”

He smiles. “Thanks. It’s been total shite, but this is the best I’ve felt in more than a month.”

We both stare at the river for a bit, then I turn to him again. “There is one little matter, though, that ticks me off a bit.”

“What’s that?”

“I really wish you hadn’t told Elise I didn’t love her.”

His eyes bug out. His jaw falls open. “What?”

“Because that’s actually the complete opposite of the truth. I’m pretty much madly in love with her, and now she thinks I don’t love her, and I have no clue if she might love me back. But seeing as I helped you sort out your love life, it’s time for you to help sort out mine.”

He frowns. “I’m so sorry my big mouth fucked things up.”

“It’s okay. I know you meant well.”

He shakes his head. “I’m a bit of a clueless jackass sometimes. But I can also be a determined bastard when it comes to fixing my mistakes.” Erik smiles. “I like Elise. I like her a lot. Let’s get your girl back.” He rubs his palms together. “What’s the plan?”

Laughing, I say, “I don’t know. That’s why I rang you. To devise one.”

He furrows his brow, but a minute later, he offers a fantastic idea.

39ELISE

“That was great. Thank you so much for making all this time,” Nate says the next day as he walks me to the elevator banks at his offices in Midtown.

“I’m so excited to get started. These meetings were invigorating. We’ll have materials to show you within a week.”

“Can’t wait.”

We say goodbye, and I shoot down to the ground floor, delighted the partnership is starting so well. Even when I leave, I hold my chin up high, determined to enjoy my time in New York. Two days of meetings have been exhausting but energizing.

As I walk up Fifth Avenue, I feel the pull of Central Park, but I’m going to heed another call. That of friends. Last night I fired off emails to some of my favorite women in the city, and I’m meeting them at a bar called Speakeasy.

I reach the establishment, push open the door, and find my redheaded friend Nicole waiting for me. She waves me over. “You’re back!” she shouts as she pulls me in for a hug.

“Not to stay, but for now.”

She punches my arm. “C’mon. New York is way better than Paris. Don’t you want to move here?”

I laugh. “And the campaign to have me relocate begins.”

“New York is awesome. We need you here.”

“Yes, we do.”

I turn in the direction of the new voice. It’s Abby, a tiny little blonde I adore. I hug her too. “My New York girls.”

After we order, I tell them I require chapter and verse on where they’re at with their husbands and children.

“My little angel is finally sleeping through the night. Only took eight months and three weeks to reach that glorious milestone,” Abby says, then bats her eyelids as if she’s falling asleep.

Nicole pats her knee. “Sleep is the new sex, isn’t it?”

Abby laughs. “Yes, but am I greedy to want both sleep and sex?”

I raise a glass. “I see no reason you shouldn’t have it all.”

Nicole weighs in. “My oldest is finally at nursery school, and he’s already an incorrigible flirt.”

“Well, he is adorably handsome,” I say, since her four-year-old son is the cutest creature on earth.