Dena shook her head. “He’s a very sweet man. Believe me, if I thought for a second there was a chance with him, I would be all in. But there isn’t. He’s not over Adriana. I’m not sure he’s ever going to be. And after Christmas, he’s leaving, and I’ll never see him again.”

“That makes me sad.”

“Me, too,” Dena admitted. “I’m trying to be smart and not get too involved, but it’s difficult. He’s just so amazing.”

“And sexy.”

Dena grinned. “Yes, there is the sexy part.” She looked at Reggie. “Men are just so difficult.”

“Tell me about it.”

It was time to face the Christmas cactus again, Reggie thought, holding a watering can and a spool of ribbon. All sixty plants needed to be watered, and then she was going to tie bows on every container. Why couldn’t her mom have chosen custom cookies, delivered in a lovely little box? With them, all she would have to do was put on a sticker. She was good at stickers. But alas, no.

She watered the plants, careful not to overfill the—

Her cell phone rang. She reached for it, hoping for pretty much any distraction.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Reggie. It’s Jake.”

Unexpected, she thought. “Hi. Ah, how’s it going?”

He chuckled. “About how you’d imagine. My mom has me decorating the house. I never noticed how many Christmas trees she likes to have up. Did you know she has one decorated in little china teacups? They’re all painted with a Christmas theme and they hang by ribbons. Oh, and some are from different countries, so they have little flags on them.”

Reggie tried not to laugh. “I didn’t know that. You’re a good man for helping her.”

“The holidays are still tough for both of us. I’m glad I can be a distraction. I just wish there weren’t, you know, teacups.”

“I would love for you to text me a picture.”

“So you can mock me? I don’t think so.”

She gave in to laughter. “Oh, Jake. Trapped with a wild woman who loves teacups. The things our parents make us do. My mom has decided every couple who comes to her wedding is taking home a Christmas cactus. I had to repot them all, and now I’m about to tie on a little ribbon.”

“Still not worse than teacups.”

She giggled. “You might be right.”

“So, I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner together tonight.”

The change in topic caught her off guard. Dinner with Jake?

Her mouth dropped open. “Are you asking me out?”

“Yes.”

“As friends or as a date?”

“I was thinking more date.”