Reagan tapped her finger to her chin. “Hmm. Sounds familiar. I just can’t place it,” she said with a grin.

“Are you trying to say something about me, Ms. Murphy?”

“You? No. Well, not anymore,” she said with a wink. “Your mother…that’s a different story.”

Jill scoffed. “Tell me about it.”

“Wanna get that stuff out of the way? Then I’m all yours.”

“Really? All mine, huh?” Jill asked with a lift of her eyebrows.

“For dinner. I’m all yours for dinner.”

“Mmm. Tasty.”

After replaying her words, Reagan covered her face with her hands. “Shit, that came out all wrong.”

Jill chuckled. “I have no problem with how it came out. Looking forward to it, in fact.”

“Stop.” Reagan playfully shoved her away, pulling a folder from her bag. “Let’s get to work.”

“Fine. Wine?” Jill asked as she held up a bottle.

“Please.”

Jill poured them each a glass and took a seat on the stool next to Reagan.

“First, your mother gave me the final guest list, and she said she didn’t have any changes since her last-minute additions from a week ago. Think that’s the truth?”

“With my mother? Probably not.”

“Perfect,” Reagan mumbled. “Well, we’ll be prepared in case she surprises us with additional guests. Now, let’s move on to timing.”

For the next thirty minutes, she went over every detail of the party with Jill. She made a few notes to share with Gwen, but everything seemed in order. Reagan gathered her papers into a neat stack and placed them in her bag. “Okay, I think that’s it. If you have questions or adjustments you’d like to make before next Saturday, then let me or Gwen know. Sound good?”

“Yes, thank you. I’m sure I’ll be fielding a million questions from my mother during the week. Hopefully she won’t have any outrageous last-minute demands. But she’s known to have them,” Jill said, rubbing the back of her neck. “Ready for some takeout?”

“That sounds great. What are you thinking?”

Jill rummaged through a drawer and held up a few menus. “We’ve got a diner, Chinese, and Italian. What’s your poison?”

“How about Chinese?”

Jill tossed the other two menus back into the drawer and held out the Chinese menu to Reagan. “Let me know what you’d like.”

Reagan held Jill’s gaze firmly and lifted a shoulder. “Surprise me.”

Jill took in a quick breath and bit the corner of her lip. “I will,” she whispered, heading back to her phone.

As Reagan listened to Jill’s soft voice as she placed their order, she topped off their wine and carried the glasses to the living room.

“It’ll be here in thirty minutes,” Jill said as she sat down next to Reagan, putting more space between the two of them than Reagan wanted. “So, tell me how you got where you are. Why restaurants?”