One minute she's talking to Jen, and the next she disappears. My eyes scan quickly through the crowd in the living room after putting Anne's coat in the hall closet. I'm about to start walking to the kitchen when someone touches my arm.

"How have you been?" The question is sincere. Anne looks at me with searching eyes, a faint smile on her face.

This is the first time we've seen each other since I left her apartment to follow Joey to Capeside. She'd taken a leave from work, and our firm has been dealing with the second in command of their company's public relations department during the past few months.

"I'm…" I hesitate, wondering what the hell to say. I followed my roommate right after I left your place and we've been together ever since? "I've been great. Doing a lot of work, you know? Your bosses aren't exactly easy to please," I smile, nodding towards the two men she'd come in with, who were talking to David. "What about you? We haven't heard from you in a while."

"Oh, I'm fine. Went home to Westchester for a while, stayed with my parents. The rest did me a lot of good. Susan's been doing a great job with you guys, though, hasn't she?" Susan is the assistant PR head of their company.

"Yeah, she's been great." I glance up just in time to see Joey coming out of the kitchen with Jen. Our eyes meet and I hold her gaze, smiling. She smiles briefly, then looks away and talks to Jen.

"I always knew that on some level, you guys had something going on."

I turn back to Anne in surprise. She'd followed my gaze and was watching Joey, a bemused expression on her face. "Me and Joey?"

Anne smiles back at me. "You and Joey." Her tone holds a hint of irony, but no malice. I feel bad that things had to end the way they did with the two of us. "It's great, Pace. I'm happy for you."

"Thank you," I reply honestly, relieved that what has happened doesn't have to cause any sort of weirdness among us.

"Anne? Pace?" David interjects. "Why don't we go get something to eat?"

I nod. "Go ahead. I'll be right there." I walk to where Joey is standing and take her hand in mine. "Hi."

She looks up at me. "Hi."

"Well, that was weird." I make the inane comment just to broach the subject.

Joey glances at the group that's on its way to the kitchen. "Weird?"

Oookay. I search her face for a hint of what she's really thinking, but the expression she has on is completely blank. "Yes, weird. You know what I mean, Jo."

"Oh, you mean you didn't know that they were invited?" She asks casually, and I start to feel that sinking feeling I get when I know that I'm in deep shit.

I clear my throat before answering. "Actually, I did, but we never really thought that they'd come, you know?"

She nods thoughtfully. "And you didn't think to share this bit of information with me because…?"

I rake my fingers through my hair and take deep breaths to calm myself down. I know that I should have told her, but isn't this reaction just a little too irrational? "Wait a minute, did I commit some kind of crime here?" I joke, smiling to lighten the mood.

"I guess not." Her face has become a blank mask again.

"Joey, I was just as surprised as you were to see her here, okay?" I'm getting pretty worked up now. "It's not like her showing up means anything. She even said that she's happy for us."

She sighs. "Look, Pacey, you had a serious relationship with this woman. You lived with her. It didn't even occur to you that maybe I'd like to be prepared when I have to face her after you and I have -" She leaves the sentence hanging.

"Why should it matter, Jo? Why are we making this such a big deal? It's just a waste of time and effort."

She looks at me quietly for a few minutes. My annoyance subsides as I watch her eyes search mine. I put my arm around her and pull her close, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Forget it, Jo," I whisper against her skin. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't want you to stress out about it."

Joey closes her eyes and nods, leaning into me briefly before pulling away and giving me a stern look. "I'm still mad at you, you know."

I smile. "How am I going to make it up to you?"

"Hmm," she considers the question carefully. "Let me think about that."