Six months earlier

Amory stood in her kitchen, staring at her husband. “You did what?” She was so surprised at Steven’s announcement that she wasn’t sure she and heard him correctly. She set down the mug she was rinsing and leaned against the kitchen sink.

“I quit the firm.” Steven crossed his arms, indicating he would brook no argument.

The thing was, Amory didn’t want to argue. She liked the idea. “Why?” He’d been with Keller, Thomas, and Lewis for more than 15 years. Amory knew he was unhappy that he hadn’t made partner, but he hadn’t made partner because of a minor dalliance with Mrs. Keller—a fact she wasn’t supposed to know but did, thanks to the country club grapevine.

He cocked his head, studying her, as if he hadn’t expected this reaction. “I was offered a better job. It’ll be much more money.”

Amory waved her hand. Money wasn’t an issue. “No, really, why?”

Steven dropped his arms. “Because I’m never going to get anywhere in a firm as big as Keller. I’ve been treading water long enough.”

So he feels that way, too? Amory knew if she waited, he would go on.

He crossed the kitchen to where she was standing. “Look, Amory, this is a big chance for me, for us.” He put his hands on her hips. “I could really go places.”

Once, she would’ve known where those places were. Now, she wasn’t so sure. “Tell me more.”

“I’d be an in-house lawyer—one of two—for a corporation I worked with this fall. The company is growing, and they liked the work I did for them. David Abernathy said he could use my particular skill set.”

This was important to him. Amory could tell because he didn’t pace as he usually did when he tried to persuade her about something. Instead, he stayed where he was, looking her in the eye.

She put her arms around his waist, and it occurred to her this was the closest they had been to each other in a few weeks. “Abernathy? The name sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. The job sounds promising, though.”

“You didn’t meet him. Actually, I’ve only talked with him on the phone. You’ve met their other in-house lawyer, John Marker.”

“Oh, now I remember.” She recalled that evening last fall when they had gone to dinner at an upscale restaurant in Philadelphia. Steven had asked Amory to be her usual charming self, which actually meant he wanted her to be as quiet as possible. That hadn’t been very hard. John Marker creeped her out, with his toothy smile and oily charm.

Steven knew how she felt about Marker because he had admitted being unsettled himself. “I won’t actually be working with John. He’s based in New York. I’ll be working with Abernathy.” His smile wavered.

“Working directly with Abernathy? Doesn’t he live in Ireland?”

“Yes.” He was too perky, and that meant this was the part he thought she would balk at. “That’s where Love Spot is headquartered, in Dublin, but they have offices in London and New York. They want to branch out into other regions of the world, which is why they want me.”

No surprise. Steven was a wiz at international corporate law. “So, you are going to work as in-house lawyer for a sex toy company based in Ireland?” She just wanted clarification.

“It’s an adult product company, but, yes.” His expression begged her to agree.

She liked the idea. A lot. Amory nodded. “Okay. We can do this. Do you want to sell the house or rent it out?”

Steven stepped back, breaking her hold on him. “Sell the house?”

“We can rent it out instead, you know. Would you want to buy or rent in Dublin?”

“I was thinking I’d rent an apartment.” He looked past her and out the window, where there was nothing to see but a barren February landscape.

“It’s called a flat there, and what do you mean you’d rent an apartment?”

Apparently, the closed pool was the most fascinating thing ever, because he still didn’t look at her. “It’s just...it would be a lot of work to sell this house, and where would Carter go on college breaks?”

“No, no, no. Don’t you try that. Carter is nineteen. Your parents live ten minutes away. Mine are twenty. He’d have places to go. You’re not going to leave me here while you go live in Ireland.”

He sighed as he always did when he thought she was being difficult. “Amory.” He drew out her name, enunciating all three syllables. “You aren’t being practical. What would you do there?”

“The same things I do here. Look, I have always wanted to live in England or Scotland or Ireland. You know that.”

“You have.”

“This is a good time for us to move. Carter is in college, and he’s talking about studying abroad this summer anyway. Maybe he’d come live there with us.” Amory could see Steven wavering.

“I have to begin work no later than April. That’s not a lot of time.”

She put her arms around his waist again. “You’ll have to find a place to live at least temporarily, whether or not I am there. How about this? I’ll stay here until the house sells. Then I’ll join you. And I’ll handle the whole house selling part, so you can focus on your job.”

Steven pulled on his bottom lip. He always did that when thinking. “That’ll work. I really thought you would fight me on the new job.”

“I think this will be good for us. Can you take the afternoon off?” He had only come home for lunch, but perhaps he would want to stay awhile, like he had in the old days when Carter was young and it was nap time.