The kiss was slow and unhurried, as if Jill needed to familiarize herself with the taste and feel of Reagan’s lips. She tasted the sweetness of Reagan mixed with the saltiness of tears that had run down both their faces. Her body melted against Reagan because the contact of their lips wasn’t enough. She needed more.

Reagan pulled back before she could deepen the kiss, leaning her forehead against Jill’s. “Do you need to head back to the office?”

“Nope. Just let me do one thing really quick.” She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Ash.

Not coming back to the office. See you tomorrow.

Within seconds, Ash had replied with a GIF of Phoebe and Rachel from Friends clapping and jumping. Jill chuckled and showed it to Reagan. “I think they’re a little excited for us.”

“Clearly. Now take me home. I think we need to get reacquainted properly.”

Epilogue

Reagan sat in the passenger seat as Jill drove to the soft opening of TMG’s fourth restaurant. With a grin, she turned to look in the backseat where her mom was blindfolded. She hoped anyone who pulled up next to them didn’t think they were kidnapping someone. Once she and Gwen had agreed on a name for the restaurant, Reagan had kept it a secret from her mom, a task that had proven to be rather difficult over the past couple of months. Reagan had stopped herself several times when updating her mom on the progress of the renovations. But the day was finally here, and she couldn’t wait for the big reveal in just a few minutes.

Her mom sighed as they turned a corner and she bumped into the door. “This feels completely unnecessary.”

Reagan reached back and squeezed her mom’s knee. “I told you, I have a surprise for you. Now hush. We’re almost there.”

“I know how to keep my eyes closed.”

“I’m sure you do, but I know you, and you would never keep them closed like I asked.”

“Fair point.”

Jill chuckled and shook her head. “You’ll love it, Kathy.”

“She knows?”

“Of course she does. I had to share it with someone. Plus, it’d be hard to blindfold the driver. Safety hazard and all that.”

“You could have shared it with your own mother,” she grumbled.

“Nah. That’s no fun. You can take it off in a few minutes, so find some patience back there.”

Her mom mumbled something under her breath, but Reagan couldn’t make out what it was. She looked over at Jill and gave her an exaggerated eye roll to which Jill replied with a quiet laugh.

As Jill parked in front of the restaurant, Reagan took a deep breath and looked at the scene just beyond her window. Carly, Gwen, Brett, and a handful of friends waited outside the restaurant with wide smiles. “Ready, Mom?”