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respectability that probably showed better beside Andi at her various fund-raising functions and dinners than a weather-beaten photographer husband.
    Ben forced away the dour expression he could feel forming on his face. He said, “So what’s up?”
    Kurt flashed him a quick smile to acknowledge the question had been asked, but he didn’t answer. Something Ben had seen more than once at the office, but something he appreciated even less in his own former study.
    Kurt poured coffee from a white carafe for all of them, and Andi laid out a plate of bagels and fruit. Ben sat back and watched. This was Kurt all the way. Andi was many wonderful things, but an organized hostess she was not. Kurt had a precision about him at the office that apparently extended into the weekend. Although he wore jeans and a simple cotton shirt, there was a crease in the jeans showing they had been ironed. His white leather running shoes didn’t show a single grass stain.
    “Will you be following up on the publicity possibilities for yourself on this thing?” Kurt asked politely. Andi settled in on the love seat beside him.
    Ben’s heart sank. He could feel what this was about and he found himself talking, not wanting to hear their words. “Not too much,” he said. “I’m not that comfortable being on that side of the lens.”
    “You won’t be in the public eye for long, take advantage of it.” Kurt’s voice was rich with assurance. The businessman telling the artist how to cash in on his talent and luck. “I know Peter will do a wonderful job with our coverage itself. And I’ll assure you latitude as other opportunities come up.”
    “I appreciate that.”
    “Speaking of Peter, I know he wants to work with you on some of his projects coming up. Why don’t the two of you get together and talk them through and come back to me with a plan.”
    Ben nodded. Kurt knew full well the way he and Peter worked and this was just his way of trying to regain some control. Ben told them about the book, as much to keep from discussing the real issue as anything else. “The offer is now firm. We’re still negotiating money—it won’t be huge, it never is for photo books. But I can take from my existing body of work and anything new I want to shoot. Develop my own themes.”
    Andi’s hands flew to her mouth and Ben was gratified to see her pleasure was genuine. She said, “It’s what we always wanted.”
    “You were going to write and edit it,” he said. And then, because he suddenly realized it was so, he added, “You still can.”
    He saw her lower lip tremble ever so slightly and he knew what was coming. “Look,” he said, gently. “Whatever’s happening here, we still have those two upstairs to see through life. We might as well stay friends. We always had that.”
    She looked down, smoothing her skirt. When she looked up, she said, simply, “Kurt and I are getting married.”
    Hearing the words felt like getting punched in the stomach.
    Ben paused. “I figured that.”
    He saw the light of victory in Kurt’s eyes and the slightest smile touched his mouth before he forced it away.
    Ben forced himself equally hard to keep his face calm. That, and to not stand up and kick the guy onto his ass.
    Kurt said, “I expect this must be hard to hear.”
    “You expect right. When?”
    “Tomorrow,” Kurt said.
    Ben looked between the two of them, not sure he’d heard right. “What?”
    “Tomorrow,” Kurt said. “The kids and us here at the house with the justice of the peace. We’re anxious to begin our new life.”
    “When did you two decide this?”
    “What difference does that makes?” Kurt asked.
    “It didn’t correspond with me walking into that barn, did it?”
    “Of all the ego …” Kurt said.
    But Andi’s face blanched.
    “Jesus, Andi,” Ben said.
    She kept her voice low. “We need someone who’d think about us before taking a suicidal risk just to impress a piece of film. Kurt loves us in a way that doesn’t