What time are you leaving for New York? he asked conversationally. She was going to meet a very important bestselling author. His agent had asked her to represent him for a film deal, and she had set up a number of other meetings in New York as well. She was going to have a very busy week, and expected to be involved in some serious negotiations.

I'm taking a four o'clock flight, she said, sounding sad, but he didn't seem to notice. She still had to pack, and she wanted to drop by and see her mother, if she had time, or at least call just to make sure she was all right after the night before. And she thought she should check on Carmen. I'll be at the Regency in New York.

I'll call you.

Good luck with your trial.

I wish I could get him to make a deal, it would go a lot better for him with the prosecutor if he would. But he's very stubborn, he said about his client.

Maybe he will at the eleventh hour, Allegra said hopefully.

I doubt it, and I've done all the groundwork by now. As usual, he was wrapped up in his own world, his own life, and Allegra felt as though she had to fight for his attention. I'll see you next weekend, he said, sounding regretful suddenly. I'm going to miss you. He sounded surprised, and she smiled at the phone. Those were the little hooks that kept her attached to him, ever hopeful. He was capable of loving her, he just didn't have much time, and he was so traumatized by his ex-wife. That was always the excuse. Trauma caused by Joanie. Allegra had explained it to everyone a thousand times. And there were instances when it was so obvious to her, and equally obvious to her that he loved her.

I miss you now, she said, her feelings raw, and there was a long beat of silence.

I couldn't help it, Allie. I had to come here this weekend.

I know. But I missed you last night. That was important to me.

I told you. I'll be there next year. He said it as though he meant it, and she smiled finally.

I'll hold you to that. But where would they be next year? Would he be divorced? Would they be married by then? Would he have overcome his fear of commitment? They were questions that still had no answers.

I'll call you tomorrow night, he promised again, and just before they hung up, he reached out and touched her heart. I love you, Al, he said softly.

I love you too, she said, squeezing her eyes shut. He was there for her, he just had his own fears and obligations to contend with. She understood that. Take care of yourself this week.

I will. You too, he said, sounding as though he was really going to miss her. It made her smile wistfully as she hung up. What they had wasn't easily acquired, but they were getting there, despite what other people thought. She just had to be patient. He was worth it.

She called her parents after that, congratulated her father again, and extended Brandon's congratulations. And then she asked to talk to her mom, and she could still hear the edge of sadness in her voice when she answered.

Are you okay? Allegra asked sympathetically, and Blaire smiled, touched that she had called her.

Oh, no, I'm going to slash my wrists this afternoon, or maybe I'll just stick my head in the oven.

You'd better hurry up, Allegra said with a grin, pleased to hear her joking about it, before they rip out the kitchen. Seriously, Mom, you deserved that award again this year, and you know it.

Maybe not, dear. Maybe it's time to give someone else a turn. We had an awful lot of trouble with the show this fall. One of the stars had quit, tired of it after nine years, and several of the others had asked for enormous raises when they renewed their contracts. Some of the other writers had left too, and as usual, all of the burden of the changes had wound up on Blaire's shoulders. Maybe I'm just over the hill, she added, sounding humorous, but something about the way she said it worried Allegra. It was what she had seen in her mother's eyes the night before too, and it scared her. She wondered if her father was aware of it, and if it concerned him.

Don't be ridiculous, Mom. You've got another thirty or forty years of hits ahead of you, she said optimistically.

Oh, God forbid. Blaire groaned, just thinking of it. And then she laughed and sounded like her old self again. I think I'll shoot for another twenty and then hang it up for good.

I'll settle for that, Allegra said, feeling better about her again, and about Brandon. She was in a much better mood than she had been the day before, and she almost wished she didn't have to leave and go to New York without seeing him. She would have loved to have spent a night with him before leaving.

She told her mother about the trip to New York, and that she'd be back at the end of the week. She always let them know where she was going.

We'll see you when you get back, her mother said, and thanked her for calling. And after that, Allegra called Carmen. She was not yet hysterical, but she was panicking fairly quickly. The press had laid siege to her front gate, and she said there were hordes of them, waiting to pounce on her if she moved a foot out of her house. After winning her award the night before, she was a hot item. The guards Allegra had hired were there, but Carmen was afraid the press would storm the house if she opened the gate to go out. She was a prisoner in her own home, she hadn't been able to go anywhere since that morning.

Isn't there a back gate for deliveries? Allegra asked, and Carmen said there was, but there were photographers waiting there too, with television cameras from several of the networks.

Is Alan coming by? Allegra asked her pensively, trying to figure a way out for her without a major confrontation with the media.

We talked about going to Malibu last night, but he hasn't called, and I didn't want to bother him, Carmen said, sounding hesitant, but Allegra had an idea, and she was sure Alan wouldn't mind helping Carmen.

Do you have any wigs that don't look like you?

A funny black one I wore for Halloween last year.

Good. Hang on to it, you may need it. I'll call Alan.

And together they worked out a plan. He was going to come to the main gate, in an old truck he had and rarely drove, so no one would recognize it unless they ran the plates, and by that time they'd be gone. And Allegra suggested he wear a wig too. He had lots of them. She told him to drive to the back of the house and act like he was picking up the maid, and then just drive off again, and hopefully no one would figure out who he was, or that Carmen had left with him.

I can let her use the house in Malibu for a few days if she wants, till things settle down again, he offered helpfully, and Allegra thought Carmen might like that.

He said he'd pick her up at one o'clock, and Allegra called to tell her, and all of a sudden Carmen was shy and embarrassed about Alan picking her up. She said she didn't want to take advantage of Alan's kindness.

Go ahead, take advantage of him, Allegra teased. He'd love it.

He showed up on schedule at one, they reported to her afterward, wearing a blond wig that made him look like a hippie, and the Chevy truck was so old and dilapidated that no one paid any attention to it at all when he picked up the little Mexican maid with the short black hair, wearing a tank top and bell-bottom blue jeans. She was carrying two paper shopping bags for her days off, and they went back out the gate without anyone giving them a second glance or taking a single picture. It was the perfect escape, and they called Allegra from a gas station ten minutes later.

Well done, she congratulated them. Now have fun, you two. And don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone. She reminded Carmen that she'd be at the Regency in New York, and back in L.A. the following weekend, and before they hung up, she thanked Alan for taking care of Carmen.

It's not exactly a sacrifice, he said honestly to his old friend. I'd be lying to you if I said it was, he said gently. He was surprised by how much he liked her. He had no idea where it would go between them, but he loved the idea of taking care of her in Allegra's absence. They hadn't even brought her bodyguards. It was going to be just the two of them, at his beach house.

You won't get crazy, will you? While I'm gone, I mean. She's a nice girl. ‘ She's very religious, and she's a good kid. ‘ She's not like the rest of the girls we know. Allegra was groping for the right words, suddenly afraid that he was going to have a wild affair with her and drop her.

I understand that, Al. You don't need to spell it out for me. I know. I get it. I'll behave. I swear ‘ more or less, anyway. He was looking at Carmen longingly as she wandered around in her jeans and tank top just outside the phone booth. Look, Allie ‘ she's different, I know. ‘ I've never met anyone like her ‘ except maybe you, and that was a long time ago. She's kind of the way we were when we were young, honest, sincere, unspoiled, before we all got cynical and grown-up, and somewhat fucked-up by the people who didn't live up to our expectations. I'm not going to hurt her, Al. I promise you that. I think ‘ never mind’ . Just go to New York and mind your own business. And one of these days, when you get back, we'll have a talk about our lives, like the old days.

You got it. Take good care of her. It was like entrusting him with her younger sister, but she knew what a good man he was, and something in his voice and what he had said to her told her that he cared about her.

I love you, Allie. I wish you'd get someone who'd be good to you one of these days, instead of that jerk with the permanent ex-wife and the lifelong divorce. That's not going anywhere, Al, and you know it.