Beth hoped her friend was right. "You'll come with me, won't you?" she asked Heidi. The time was growing closer. At three o'clock, it started to snow. Clouds obscured the sky as dusk fell over the town; by four-thirty it would be completely dark.

"Come with you?" Heidi repeated. "You're kidding, aren't you?"

"Heidi, please. I'm so nervous I'm about to throw up."

"This should be interesting. All you've had to eat is a couple of roasted chestnuts."

"Don't joke," Beth muttered. "I'm serious."

"Okay," Heidi said. "I'll come if you really want me to, but I'm only going to stay long enough for the two of you to meet."

"What if we don't like each other?" Beth asked, feeling a sense of dread. She was bringing so many hopes, so much yearning, to this encounter that she was afraid she'd set herself up for failure.

The night before, as they exchanged instant messages, Peter was the one who'd seemed anxious.

They'd tried to reassure each other. That was when he'd given her his phone number. Online they had so much to talk about, and Beth sincerely hoped the chemistry that seemed to spark between them on the screen translated into real life.

At ten minutes to four, Beth and Heidi made their way toward the gazebo, where Peter would be waiting for her. She'd know him by the long-stemmed red rose and his Seahawks hat.

"This is the most romantic date I've ever heard about," Heidi said dreamily.

Beth slipped her arm through Heidi's. "I'm so grateful you're here."

They stood in the background because Beth was feeling shy and a bit shaky, which could've been low blood sugar, Heidi told her. In any event, her plan was to wait for him and then casually walk up and introduce herself.

"There he is!" Heidi said, pointing toward a cluster of people near the gazebo.

"Where? Where? I don't see him." And then she did.

"Beth, oh my goodness, look at him! He's gorgeous."

Beth froze and her heart sank to her knees. Her stomach pitched wildly. "He's that, all right," she whispered numbly.

"How did you get so lucky?" Heidi was too excited to notice Beth's complete lack of enthusiasm.

"I don't know," Beth said, her voice low and emotionless.

Heidi turned to stare at her. "What's the matter with you? Peter looks like he stepped off the pages of a romance novel."

"He does, doesn't he?" Beth murmured. Then she covered her face with both hands and turned away. Whipping the red hat off her head, she quickly unwrapped the telltale scarf from around her neck, as well.

"Beth, what's wrong?" Heidi asked.

"What's wrong?" Beth repeated. "You want me to tell you what's wrong? That Peter is an imposter!"

"How can he be an imposter when you've never met him before?"

"His name isn't Peter," she choked out. "It's John Nicodemus and he's my ex-husband."

That news seemed to shock her friend. "What?"

"Let's get out of here before he sees me," Beth urged. Heidi couldn't possibly have known what John looked like, because she and Heidi hadn't met until five years ago-and she certainly didn't keep wedding photos at her desk or in her condo.

Together they hurried around the corner and Beth flattened herself against the side of a building.

"What are you going to do?" Heidi asked curiously.

Beth needed to think. At first she'd been numb with shock, but now she was angry. "He planned this. He knew all along."

"Beth, that's not fair. How could he have?"

"We never exchanged last names. And he changed his first name, didn't he? He tricked me."

Heidi shook her head. "Didn't you tell me you shortened your name to Beth after your divorce?"

"I did," she admitted. "I wanted to make a fresh start, so I decided that from then on, I'd just use Beth."

"Perhaps John did the same thing," Heidi suggested.

Beth wasn't willing to concede the point. "His middle name is Peter," she said grudgingly. "It never occured to me..."

"He is gorgeous, though."

"His good looks are the only thing he has going for him," Beth mumbled.

"That isn't what you told me earlier."

"What do you mean?" Heidi wasn't usually this argumentative. Clearly, she was taking Peter/John's side, and that infuriated Beth.

"Don't you remember what you said last week?" Heidi asked. "You told me Peter is everything your first husband wasn't."

"I said that?" What an idiot she'd been. What an imbecile. She'd allowed John to make a fool of her. He knew who she was. He had to have known. How could he not? But maybe...just maybe, he didn't. Could they have found each other online? No one would believe something this random could actually happen. It was more than bizarre. It was completely and totally implausible...wasn't it?

"You can't leave him standing there waiting for you like that," Heidi insisted. "That would be cruel."

Beth didn't respond, still trying to figure out how this had happened. It dawned on her that he couldn't have known, since he'd been the one to suggest she meet him outside the gazebo. If he'd known, he would never have given her the opportunity to see him first and then walk away. Unlikely though it seemed, she had to conclude that he was as much in the dark as she was.

"Did you hear me?" Heidi demanded. "You have to call him on his cell."

"No, you have to," Beth said frantically.

"I beg your pardon?" Heidi looked confused.

"Use my phone." She thrust it at her friend.

"Why me? Beth, you're the one who should talk to him, not me." She refused to accept the phone.

"I can't...He'll recognize my voice." He would, too. It might've been almost ten years since the divorce, but that wouldn't matter. John would know her voice the same way she would his.