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to be amazed by the rapidity with which information could spread through an office. “How could you know that already? I just finished the meeting about five minutes ago.” She cocked her head. “Did they actually say ‘killed it’?” Admittedly, she’d been trying hard to have a good vibe with the group, but she didn’t want to
look
like she’d been trying hard. Kind of like a good first date. If memory served.
    “Stacy has the desk right outside the conference room,” he said, referring to his secretary. “She tells me that’s what people were saying as they left your meeting.” He winked before leaving. “Can’t wait to hear your plans for the fund.”
    Sidney smiled after he left, thinking that she did indeed have plans. And not just with respect to work.
    This upcoming wedding had given her clarity on a few things.
     • • • 
    AT LUNCHTIME, SIDNEY met Trish at a restaurant between their offices, eager to share her plan with her best friend. But first things first.
    “How’s your first day back at work going?” she asked Trish, who’d just returned to her media relations job with United Airlines after a four-month maternity leave.
    “I’ve already had three crises to deal with. I love it,” Trish said with a laugh. With her blond hair newly cut in a stylish bob, and her navy power suit, she looked ready to take on the world. “But wait, I need to get my hourly fix.” She pulled out her cell phone, and both she and Sidney
aw-
ed at the cute pictures of her son, Jonah, that the nanny had texted that morning.
    “How was the rest of your weekend?” Trish asked, after putting her phone away.
    “Quite interesting. I have some news. Isabelle is getting married.”
    Trish’s expression conveyed her shock. “What? I didn’t realize your sister was seeing anyone that seriously.” Having been best friends with Sidney since the third grade, she’d known Isabelle for years.
    “Actually, she and Simon haven’t been dating that long. She met him three months ago,” Sidney said.
    “Three months? And they’re already engaged?”
    Sidney shrugged casually. Trish was her best friend, and she didn’t like keeping secrets from her. The only thing that trumped that, however, was her loyalty to her sister—which meant keeping Isabelle’s pregnancy news on the down-low. “She says she knows Simon is her Mr. Right. They’re going to get married Labor Day weekend. At the Lakeshore Club.”
    “The Lakeshore Club?” Trish studied Sidney carefully. “That’s a little odd, given your history with that place.”
    Well . . . yes. “Isabelle asked if I’d be okay with her having the reception there.”
    “And
are
you okay with her having the reception there?” Trish asked.
    Yes. No.
Sidney had waffled all weekend on this. But she’d given Isabelle her blessing, so now she would make the best of it. “Sure. In fact, this whole situation has given me extra incentive to get my personal life back on track. I’m kicking this plan to start dating again into high gear.”
    “Glad to hear it,” Trish said enthusiastically.
    “I knew you’d be on board.”
    “Assuming you’re truly ready to be dating again, that is.”
    Sidney pulled back in surprise. “Me? Of course I’m ready. It’s been six months. I’m thirty-three years old, I can’t wait forever before throwing myself back out there. I’ve got plans, desires, biological clocks ticking.”
    Trish raised an eyebrow. “And that’s all that’s driving this new ‘extra incentive’ of yours?”
    “Yes.” Sidney saw Trish’s look and conceded. “Okay, fine. Admittedly, given the circumstances, I would prefer
not
to show up dateless to my younger sister’s wedding. If I do, somebody is going to give me the ‘Poor Sidney’ head-tilt. And you know how I feel about the head-tilt.”
    “That I do.”
    The “Poor Sidney” head-tilt was her nickname for the look her former New York colleagues had given her after she’d ended her