Chapter 167

I meet Martha for brunch the day after Elijah and I decide to take a real break. She looks sheepish as she waves me over to her table, and neither of us attempts our usual air kiss. I raise my eyebrows at the coffee mug in her hands. “I know,” she says, grimacing. “There’s not even any vodka in it. Look … I wanted to say I’m sorry. For setting you up like that. I was an asshole, and I regret it.” I nod and order my own coffee. She looks and sounds genuinely remorseful, and I wonder how much she knows. “What did he tell you about it?” I ask after the waiter leaves. “That he pitched to you, and you weren’t interested.” Huh. Well, that is certainly one way to describe it. “And you knew that he was going to, ah, pitch to me?” “Yes. As soon as the news broke about you and Elijah, he was … God, Amber, he was enraged. He was so angry with me.” “With you?” I ask, confused. “Yes, with me. Because we’re friends, and I didn’t warn him that the biggest divorce of the decade was about to hit the