She had him hang wreaths, showing him how to loop the ribbon around the hooks. He hadn’t realized how many windows there were in the big space, and each one had its own wreath. She took care of the fireplace, centering the dancing bears before filling in with the faux boughs and large glitter-covered glass bulbs.

Little rabbit figures were placed on the coffee table as part of a seasonal forest tableau. Tabletop trees had different themes. There was one decorated in all fish, including three happy and grinning goldfish, and one that was devoted to all things Cinderella. There was her coach, glass slippers and little porcelain Cinderella figurines.

“Tell me there’s a boy tree somewhere,” he said.

“There’s a cowboy one in the dining room. Does that help?”

“Yes. Not that I don’t love a woman in a blue dress.” He frowned, touching one of the ornaments. “Why is her dress always blue?”

“I don’t think it is. You should check it out.”

He winced. “Yeah, I don’t really want anything to do with Cinderella in my browsing history.”

“Afraid people will think you have kinky porn needs?”

“I don’t do porn of any kind. It’s not interesting to me.”

“I suppose in your position, you can get the real thing anytime you want.”

“Speculating about my personal life?” he asked.

She grinned. “I am. Although no one has mentioned women coming and going from your suite.” She tilted her head. “Do you have them drop by one at a time or in groups?”

“If there aren’t at least three or four, where’s the fun?”

“How would four even work?”

He laughed. “Okay, time to shut this conversation down. We’re going places that are weird, even for a former rock star. For the record, I was never into groups. I was into volume, but one at a time, and when I reached my late twenties, I got a whole lot more discerning.”

“Thank you for clarifying,” she teased, her brown eyes bright with humor. “My personal life has been far less exciting, but I’m okay with that. I wouldn’t be a good groupie.”

“That’s not a bad thing.”

“I suppose not.”

They smiled at each other. He liked how comfortable he was with her. Dena was easy to talk to, and she had a positive outlook he enjoyed. Plus the nurturing. She was a natural-born caretaker.

“You must have loved growing up in Wishing Tree,” he said.

“I did.”

“It’s just you and your sister?”

“Uh-huh.” She paused to scan the living room folder. “I think we’re good here.”

He carried bins with blue dots into the dining room, and they got started there.

“How about you?” she asked, placing a display of ice-skating penguins into the hutch. “Brothers and sisters?”