“How long have you owned it?”
“Since I inherited it from my great-aunt. I did most of the renovation myself. Come on. I’ll show you this floor.” He took her through the living room, the dining room, and a garage. Finally he sat her down in the study and produced a half-bottle of Schramsberg champagne from the wet bar.
“Such wonderful woodwork and bookcases,” she said.
“My father built all of them. In fact, you could say that this house saved his career and his marriage. He was going door-to-door in Greenwich Village, doing whatever carpentry work he could find. This house bought him his shop and equipment and made him feel that he could earn a living at what he did best.”
“That’s a wonderful story,” she said.
“I haven’t heard your story yet,” Stone said, “except the part about Delano and Atlanta.”
“Ah, well, there is a bit more,” Carrie said. “After Agnes Scott College I went to the Yale Drama School for a master’s, then went back to Atlanta and married my college sweetheart instead of going to New York when I should have. That went bad pretty quickly, but I did last a few years before I divorced him.”
“How long ago?”
“Three years, when his property development business was at its peak. That improved my settlement. Now he resents me because he’s nearly broke.”
“Wasn’t your fault,” Stone pointed out.
“Tell him that!”
“I hope I don’t have to.”
“Don’t worry; he’s well in my past.”
“So, after the divorce…”
“I danced with the Atlanta Ballet and worked in local theater and studied acting. I enjoyed it, but I wanted to try a bigger arena.”
“I’m glad you chose New York instead of L.A.,” Stone said.
She raised her glass. “So am I.”
“Tell me, where did the Post get the photograph?”
“I directed them to the Atlanta Constitution, which had done a piece on me last year.”
“I think you’re going to do well in this town.”
“From your lips to God’s ear,” she said. “I Googled you and read some of your old press.”
“Not all of it favorable,” Stone said.
“Oh, I don’t know. Like you say, they spelled your name right. I was confused about your connection to a law firm.”
“Woodman & Weld. I’m of counsel to them, which means I handle the cases they don’t want to be associated with publicly. They’re far too prestigious to be representing people who are involved in nasty divorces or have been accused of drunk driving or spousal abuse. Once in a while they throw me a nice personal-injury suit to settle, but I also generate a good deal of my own business.”
“Well, if I’m ever in terrible trouble, I’ll call you,” Carrie said.
“Don’t wait until then,” Stone replied. He looked at his watch. “Perhaps we’d better move along.”
“Yes, we’re already fashionably late,” she said, jumping gracefully to her feet.
They walked out into the spring night, hand in hand.
4
THE PARTY WAS a ten-minute cab ride away, in a large apartment on Central Park South, overlooking the park. A uniformed maid answered the door, and the glitter began.