“Never mind,” she said. “I know what you mean. And he won’t. He’ll understand.” She came round to face him, and patted his cheek. “Thanks,” she said. “Thanks a lot, anyway.”
“If there’s anything I can do—”
“There won’t be,” Lou said. “You’ll call me, though, about tonight?”
“Sure I will,” Malone said. He hoped that the tentative date he’d made with her for that evening wouldn’t be broken up because of a sudden onslaught of work. “I’ll let you know before five, for sure.”
“Fine,” Lou said. “I’ll wait to hear from you.”
She turned to walk away.
“Hey,” Malone said. “Wait a minute.”
“What?” she said, turning again.
Malone looked judicious. “I think,” he said weightily, “that, considering all the fun we’ve had, and all the adventuring and everything else, the least you could do would be to kiss me goodbye.”
“On Fifth Avenue?”