“My apologies. I’ve been out for a few days and I haven’t gotten caught up on everything yet.” Reagan cleared her throat. “Then all that’s left is a final meeting to make sure we have everything in order. It should be rather quick and we’ll want to do it about a week before the party. How about the thirtieth?”

Jill looked at her phone and said, “That works for me. Mother?”

Maureen waved her away. “You do it. You’re more than capable of handling such a simple task.”

“Fine,” Jill replied through clenched teeth.

“I am just going to take these back to the kitchen. Please stay and enjoy the rest of your wine.”

“Where’s the restroom?” Jill asked.

Reagan pointed toward the back. “It’s just down the hallway in front of the kitchen. You can follow me.”

“Thanks. Excuse me, Mother.”

“Hurry. I’d like to leave as soon as I’m done with my wine.”

“Of course.”

Reagan picked up the tray and headed in the direction of the kitchen. “It’s just down this hallway. I’ll be out in a couple minutes to say goodbye.” Without waiting for an acknowledgment from Jill, she pushed open the kitchen door and set the tray down on the counter. “Hey, I heard you already had the tour of the house with our lovely clients.”

“Ah, yeah. Sorry, I thought I’d let you know once you were back. But now that you are, I can catch you up. Okay?”

“That’d be great. Let me go say goodbye to them and see if they have any other questions.”

“Sure thing.”

As Reagan left the kitchen, she stopped when Jill called out to her.

“Hey, Reagan. Can we talk?”

“Yeah. What’s up?” Reagan asked as she met Jill in the middle of the hallway.

Jill reached out to hold Reagan’s hand. “I just wanted to check if you were okay.”

Each sweep of Jill’s thumb across her knuckles comforted Reagan and gave her the strength to be honest with her. “Not really, no.”

“Do you think you should have come back already?”

“I needed to, Jill. I couldn’t take just sitting around at their house and crying all the time. I needed something to occupy my mind.”

Jill caressed her cheek and wiped away a few tears. “Makes sense. You’re sure then?”

“I am. What better way than to deal with a demanding party that needs planning?”

Jill groaned. “Now you’ve gotten to meet her and I’m truly sorry about that.”

“I’m just glad I got to see you,” Reagan said as she gazed at Jill’s lips.

“Is that right?” Jill whispered.

“Mm-hmm.” Just as Reagan was about to close the distance between them, the kitchen door opened and Jill abruptly stepped back.