Chapter 143

We arrange to meet in Greenwich Village. The village is perfectly pleasant, but not a place we usually socialize. That’s the whole point—if we were really having a top-secret affair, there’s no way we’d risk being seen together in our usual haunts. He messages me the address, and it all feels so exciting and mysterious. Normally, if we were meeting up at night, he’d send Gretchen to collect me. He’s always been very protective like that, from the very first day we met. He walked me home after every date and made sure I was safe on campus. A complete gentleman in so many ways, just as his mama raised him. Even in more recent times, when we’ve been at our coldest toward each other, he maintained that level of concern for my physical safety. Tonight, he doesn’t send Gretchen, but when I leave the house and go to find a cab, I discover one already idling outside with its engine running. The driver’s window winds down, and a familiar face gazes up at me. “Mrs. Smith? Hey, is that you, Amber