Alexa spent the rest of the week organizing the house, and Edward came over when he had time. He stayed there with her every night. They didn’t tell anyone what was going on. They decided to keep it to themselves until they figured it out. Maybe it wouldn’t last, but it was wonderful for now. Alexa didn’t need or want more than that.

She started her new job and loved it. It was everything she had hoped it would be and more. She loved the excitement and prestige of working for the FBI. And the following week, Edward took her to the White House dinner he had invited her to. They were photographed by news cameras going in, and they made a very handsome couple. The dinner was in honor of the president of France. And the next day, the news ran a clip of the senator going into the White House dinner with a very pretty woman on his arm.

Tom and Luisa happened to be watching the news together when it came on, and because he was the senator from South Carolina, they ran the clip several times in Charleston. Luisa bolted out of her seat like a shot when she saw it, and stood in the study, looking irate.

“That bitch! Did you see that?” She glared at Tom.

Tom hadn’t seen it. He had looked away for a minute and missed it. “Who are we talking about? The First Lady or the wife of the president of France?”

“Of course not! Alexa! Did you see Edward Baldwin going into that dinner at the White House? That was Alexa with him!”

“Alexa? Our Alexa?” Tom looked stunned.

“Your ex-Alexa, thank you! She was his date! She must have picked him up at the wedding.” Luisa was incensed.

“She didn’t pick him up. I introduced them.” He looked as crestfallen as Luisa looked livid.

“Why would you do a thing like that?” Luisa berated him.

“Because we bumped into him while we were dancing, so I introduced them.” And now he regretted it bitterly. He had lost her, but he hadn’t meant to introduce her to the next man in her life. He liked knowing that she was alone.

“She’s a whore,” Luisa said, and turned the TV off.

“No, actually,” Tom said tersely, “she’s not. You were, and I was. She wasn’t. And she wouldn’t do what we did. She wanted nothing to do with me now because I’m married, or even if I weren’t. We’re the whores, Luisa. She isn’t. You slept with another woman’s husband, and I cheated on my wife. Not too pretty, is it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She looked indignant.

“Yes, you do, and so do I. So maybe she deserves the good senator after all.” Luisa said not a word and left the room. It enraged her even more to know that Edward Baldwin had taken Alexa to the White House. She didn’t deserve anything of the sort.

And after Luisa left the room, Tom sat staring at the blank screen, knowing just how much Alexa deserved it. She deserved anything good that happened to her now, to make up for what he’d done to her. And as he thought about her with Edward Baldwin, two silent tears rolled down his cheeks.

“What are we doing about Thanksgiving?” Edward asked Alexa the weekend after they’d been to the White House. Thanksgiving was two weeks away, and she looked blank.

“I hadn’t even thought about it, I was so busy getting organized here. We usually do it at my place, just Savannah and me, my mother, and her friend Stanley. But I don’t know if they’d want to come down here. I’d better call her, and Savannah. Why? What did you have in mind?” She leaned over and kissed him. They were in bed with the Sunday paper all over the bed and the floor and a cup of coffee on the night table on either side of the bed. She loved their life together, and so did he. It was comfortable and easy, and cozy and happy. He was a warm, loving person, and as kind as she had hoped he would be. And he thought Alexa was every bit as perfect as his ex-wife said she was.

“I usually go to Sybil’s. My kids fly in, and we all spend it together. I’d love to have you with us, and I want you to meet my kids.”

“I’ll call Savannah and my mom.” She did that morning, but was startled by what they said. Savannah said that if her mother didn’t mind too much, she wanted to go to Charleston to spend it with her father and Turner, and of course Daisy, Henry, Travis, and Scarlette… and Luisa. She was the only fly in the ointment. Savannah begged her mother to let her do it, so Alexa said yes.

And when she called her mother, Muriel said that Stanley had just bought tickets for a cruise in the Bahamas and she hadn’t had the guts to tell Alexa yet.

“I won’t go if you’ll be alone.” Alexa had just told her about Savannah going to Charleston. In a way, her time in Charleston earlier in the year had prepared Alexa to be without her. It would have been even harder now otherwise. It had broken her in.

“I’ll be fine,” she reassured her mother. “Go on the cruise. You’ll have a good time.”

“What will you do?” Muriel sounded worried.

“Edward just invited me to spend it with his kids and ex-wife.”

“Edward? As in Senator Edward Baldwin?” her mother asked.

“Yes,” Alexa said softly, not ready to say more. She hadn’t told her about dinner at the White House either, and her mother had somehow missed the press on it. Savannah hadn’t and was pleased. She had texted her grandmother about it.

“That’s interesting.” She could tell Alexa didn’t want to talk about it, and wondered if she was with him. “I’ll tell Stan we can go on the cruise, then,” she said with a grin. She could tell that something was going on.

“Looks like we’re all set,” Alexa reported to Edward after speaking to her mother. “My whole family has ditched me.” She was grinning at him. “So I’m all yours for Thanksgiving.”

“Excellent news,” he said, and kissed her. He called Sybil and told her on Monday morning, and she was pleased too. Everybody was happy. Particularly Edward and Alexa, and the fan club rooting for them in secret.

Thanksgiving with Sybil was as chaotic and loving and warm as everything else she did. Instead of turkey, she served a delicious leg of lamb, done French style, with garlic and green beans. They had caviar before dinner, and sautéed foie gras as a first course, and she served pumpkin pie because the children liked it, but she served Baked Alaska too. It was an exceptional even if unorthodox meal. And the wines Edward brought were superb.

All of Sybil’s children were there, and hers with Edward too. Alexa loved his daughter, who reminded her of Savannah and was three years older. His son John was interesting and smart and funny and a little eccentric like his mother. He wanted to be a Shakespearean actor, and was getting decent reviews in London. His hair was almost as long as Alexa’s, and his girlfriend looked ten feet tall and was an actress too.

“It’s a wonder I ever get elected, related to all you people,” Edward teased them. They played charades after dinner, and the dogs barked constantly. The parrot told everyone to go fuck themselves, and several friends dropped by, one of whom was an extremely famous artist.

Being at their home was like being on a movie set, and after things started to calm down a little, Sybil turned to both of them over excellent Château d’Yquem, which tasted like candy.

“So what’s happening with you two?” she asked with a mischievous grin. “I’m dying to know. I think you’re in love,” she said to Edward. “I don’t know Alexa well enough to ask her. She’s not my sister-in-law yet. But will she be?”

“It’s none of your business,” Edward said to her good-naturedly. “When we have something to tell you, we will. Meanwhile, find something else to do, other than meddle in my life.”

“Edward, how rude!” But she was only teasing him, and he was very pleased that his children had obviously taken to Alexa. That mattered to him a lot, and he liked Savannah as well, and he thought his children would too.

“I hope you’ll come to us at Christmas,” Sybil said to her as they left.

“I’ll have to be at my mother’s,” Alexa explained. “But maybe you could all come for drinks,” she added hopefully.

“We’d love it,” Sybil assured her, and Alexa realized that she had to warn her mother of what was about to hit her, even for cocktails. A famous writer, a well-known movie producer, a senator, and five additional children. It was going to be a shock to her mother in her small apartment. But at least it was only drinks. Her mother could never have handled dinner. She could hardly cook for her and Stan. He did most of the cooking. When she was alone, she ate salads she bought on the way home from work. Muriel had never been much of a cook.

Edward and Alexa were staying at the Hotel Carlyle for the Thanksgiving weekend, and they were planning to see his son and daughter again the next day. Sybil and her three younger children and husband were going to their house in Connecticut for the weekend. They were a busy group. But it turned out to be a wonderful weekend. They went to dinners and movies with his kids, went for walks in Central Park and to the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art. By the time the weekend was over, they were all friends, and she told Savannah all about it. She missed her, but Savannah sounded happy. And Luisa hadn’t ruined Thanksgiving for her, which was something. Daisy was thrilled to have her home. Henry had brought his “roommate” Jeff, and Savannah loved him too.

Muriel was in shock when she got back from her cruise and Alexa told her who was coming to drinks on Christmas, and how many of them.

“Are you kidding? They won’t even fit in my apartment.” Muriel sounded panicked. But she wanted to meet Edward and see him with Alexa. And she was curious about his ex-wife and children too. She read all of Sybil’s books.

“Yes, they will, Mom,” Alexa reassured her. “It’s just for a drink, and they’re very casual people. Actually, to tell you the truth, they’re certifiably crazy, except for the kids, but they’re a lot of fun. I think you’ll like them.”