“I guess we had our chance and I blew it.”

“No.” She took his hands in hers and squeezed. “No, that’s not on you. If we’d really been each other’s one and only, the feelings would still be there. Hiding, maybe, but they would have come back to life. It’s only been a year, Jake. But they didn’t, which makes me think they weren’t that strong to begin with.”

“Hell of a thing.”

“I agree.” She smiled. “I’m glad we did this. I’m glad we know.”

“Me, too.”

He walked her to the valet and waited until her car came, then helped her inside. As she drove off, she told herself that knowing how it ended was important and that she was stronger with the knowledge. She would never again wonder what would have happened if he hadn’t broken up with her.

Funny how not that much time had passed and yet they’d gotten over each other completely. It wasn’t like that with Toby. Despite the years, he still made her quiver in all the right places. He was—

She stared into the darkness, going slowly around the corners. When she reached the outskirts of town, she pulled into the first gas station she saw and parked over to the side. After taking her phone out of her bag, she sent a quick text, then settled down to wait for a reply.

Just after nine thirty, Toby’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, then frowned. It was late for Reggie to be texting him.

I know it’s late, but I was hoping we could talk for a second. Can I stop by?

The unusual request surprised him, and his first thought was that something was wrong. His second, far more powerful and intriguing, was that she wanted to come over to do anything but talk. His brain immediately supplied dozens of images of him making love with Reggie, fast the first time, both of them driven by passion, then slow the second time, each of them discovering the other until they had no choice but to surrender to the inevitable.

He shook off the fantasies, ignored his instant erection and quickly responded.

Sure.

Be right there.

He put down his book and walked downstairs. Judy had gone to her room about an hour ago, and Harrison was already in bed. The house was quiet.

He clicked on a few lights and waited by the front door. A couple of minutes later, headlights swept across the front of the house. He opened the door and watched as she got out of her car and hurried toward him.

When she stepped inside, he tried to gauge what she was thinking. There were no signs of panic or concern, so he could let his worry go. But she also wasn’t throwing herself at him, so the whole fantasy evening thing was probably a no.