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which reminded Ted that he had talked to Pattie that week about going skiing with him after Christmas. She had said she’d have to check with her ex-husband about his taking the kids, and Ted was looking forward to taking a trip with her, if they could stay out of bed long enough to get on skis.
    Annie reminded Ted to come home for dinner anytime he wanted and suggested it for the following weekend, but he was vague. She didn’t know why, but Annie had the distinct impression that there was something he wasn’t telling her, and suddenly she wondered again about a new girl in his life. Annie smiled at the idea and wondered if it was someone at law school with him.
    Ted knew only too well, when he thought about it later, that not in a million years would Annie suspect that he was involved with a thirty-six-year-old assistant law professor with two kids. And he knew for sure that he wouldn’t be able to tell her for a long time. First he had to get used to the idea himself.

Chapter 6
    T he days before Christmas were, as always, utterly insane. Annie had five job sites under construction at once, two with completion dates just after the new year. She visited all five of them every day. It snowed twice the week before Christmas, which made it nearly impossible to get around. She had Christmas shopping to do for her nieces and nephew, her assistants, and Whitney and her brood. Two new clients insisted on meetings, and she had to come up with a set of preliminary plans for one of them. It was predictable preholiday chaos, and she was always worried she wouldn’t get everything done. And to complicate matters further, her favorite clients, the Ebersohls, had announced that they had decided to get divorced and were planning to sell the new house. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, since remodeling or building a house brought out the worst in everyone. It was a painful process, and a perfect setting for endless arguments. Alicia Ebersohl had called her in tears to tell her that Harry was filing for divorce. The house on Sixty-ninth Street was completely torn up, which would make it difficult to sell. Annie was disappointed to hear it, but much more so for them.
    And Liz was almost as busy at the magazine. By Christmas, she was finishing up her work for the March issue and already starting on April. She was trying to get everything done before she left for Paris. And she was missing Jean-Louis. He had been especially sweet since his recent trip to New York and was calling her several times a day. He said he could hardly wait for her to come, and she was excited about it too. After spending Christmas with the family, Liz was planning to leave the next day. And Jean-Louis promised that he and his son would be waiting for her. She was bringing the boy a beautiful antique train that had been modernized to run on batteries. And a very handsome watch for Jean-Louis.
    Ted spent every moment he could with Pattie before the holidays. The ski trip they’d been planning fell through, since her ex-husband was going away himself and wouldn’t take the kids, so they were going to be stuck in New York. Ted was planning to spend time with them, but he had strong feelings about the propriety of staying at her apartment when her children were there, and Pattie agreed, although it was a sacrifice for them.
    Ted had final exams and got passing grades, although they were noticably lower than usual. And he was embarrassed when he discovered that Pattie had given him an A in her class that he felt he didn’t deserve.
    “Is that because I earned it,” he asked her honestly, “or because we’re having an affair?”
    “We’re not having an affair,” she answered quietly. “I’m in love with you. But yes, you deserved the grade too.”
    “I’m not sure if I believe that,” but he would never know. And Pattie was always adamant about correcting him when he talked about their “affair” or their sexual relationship by saying that they