Ashley smiled. “I’m sure he still remembers you.” She leaned against the counter. “But I bet what you wanted was to see if he was posting anything about me and him.”

Jess nodded. “Yeah, I guess. Not that I thought he’d be overt about it, but he might say something. And maybe there’d be some clue about other relationships. And photos.”

Ashley smiled. “So you wanted to see if there are any hot pictures of him.”

“Guilty.”

“And I think you’re being a bit of a softy. I bet you were hoping there might be some photos with him and Helen, or her mom. Or maybe that they’re talking on Facebook.” Ashley grabbed another plate and dried it. “Even though you claim that it doesn’t bother you that we’ve lost touch with Helen, I think you were hoping to see how she’s doing.”

Jess unplugged the sink and, as the water drained away, she started putting away the dishes Ashley had set on the counter.

Jess pursed her lips. “If that’s the case, then why don’t you think I’d just friend Helen?”

Ashley squeezed her arm and smiled. “Because I know you and I get that you don’t want to be the first to break the silence between the two of you. Requesting to be her friend would make you vulnerable if she refused.”

Ashley realized that Jess had also made herself vulnerable to Dare’s rejection.

“Oh, Jess, is that what happened with Dare? Did he refuse your friend request?”

“No, he actually accepted.”

“That’s good.” Ashley was glad Dare hadn’t rejected her friend. She grabbed a cloth and wiped the counter as Jess put the leftovers in the fridge.

“So, did you find anything interesting on his page?”

This time Jess smiled. “You mean, did I find anything about you?” She laughed. “No, not a thing. So that’s good.”

True, Ashley was glad he wasn’t spreading it around that she was being his submissive, or that he was training her—that would be so embarrassing—but, of course, he wouldn’t. It would be nice, though, if he’d mentioned something about having met an interesting woman or started an interesting project, or anything at all that referred to what they were doing.

But, of course, she was just being silly. Saying nothing was the best course.

And she knew Darien Gallagher was a very private man. In a way, she was surprised he even had a Facebook page. But in this day and age, of course he would.

Jess grabbed a second bottle of wine and opened it, then poured two glasses. Ashley followed her into the living room and sat down.

“The thing is,” Jess said, “shortly after that, I got a friend request from Helen.”

Shock shimmered through Ashley.

“Really? That’s surprising … but it’s great that she’s in touch with you again. It’s quite a coincidence.”

Jess lounged back on the couch, the full wineglass in her hand.

“Actually, I don’t think so. I think she saw that I became friends with Dare and that prompted her to contact me.”