“No need. I’m only a few cars down. Tell your folks I say hi, okay?”

“Will do.”

They parted with a hug, and Reagan got into her car. Leaning against the headrest, disappointment lingered in the back of her mind. Examining it would only extinguish the last bit of excitement still surging throughout her body. Knowing a kiss like that wouldn’t be happening again, she wanted the feeling to last a bit longer. It was all she had for now, and that would have to be enough.

Chapter Nine

“So, she liked the place setting I suggested, didn’t she?” Reagan asked, her lips curled in a grin.

Jill didn’t expect gloating to be Reagan’s response when she told her which place setting her mother had chosen. But she had to admit, gloating looked damn sexy on Reagan. She could tell Reagan had a small amount of swagger she could probably dole out any time she wanted. Maybe if Jill was lucky, she’d be able to see that again. In a more private setting.

“If you must know, yes she did. I didn’t even have to show her the others,” she muttered. “Happy?”

Reagan shrugged. “Maybe. Does it show?”

Jill scoffed. “You can get off your high horse there, Ms. Murphy.”

Reagan chuckled. “I guess I can do that.”

Her smile made Jill’s breath hitch. Something that hadn’t happened since the night at the bar. Jill met Reagan’s gaze. Probably staring too long as the next noise she heard was the clearing of Reagan’s throat, making her look up to see hesitancy in Reagan’s eyes.

“So, next step will be for us to nail down the menu and organize the tasting. I know you’ve seen our general meal options, but Gwen’s informed me she has a few additional choices for you. I’ll have those plus photos of their platings so we get a better idea of how everything will be presented. How about we have a quick meeting on October seventh? Say, two o’clock?”

Jill looked at the calendar on her phone. “That’ll work. At my office?”

“Sure. After that, we’ll set up a meeting so Gwen and I can have a small tour of your mother’s house. We need to see the room we’ll have available and what the kitchen space is like. Would you like to talk with your mother and find times that work best? Or would you like me to call her?”

“I’ll talk with her.” The less exposure Reagan had to her mother, the better. Jill didn’t even want to talk to her, but the party planning was adding more contact between them than she preferred. Soon it would all be over and she could go back to only suffering during their monthly dinners.