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“Just think about it,” Dena said.

“So, what’s new with everyone?” Paisley asked. “My life is boring. I’m working impossible hours with holiday events up at the resort.”

Reggie surprised herself by blurting, “Jake asked me out.”

The small room went silent. Three heads turned in her direction. Paisley and Dena looked two parts surprised and one part annoyed, while Shaye was only curious.

“Jake the ex?”

“That’s the one,” Reggie said lightly.

“He asked you out?” Dena demanded. “You said no, right? You had to say no.”

Her fiercely protective tone had Reggie smiling. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I do. The man was a total jerk. There’s no excuse for what he did.”

Reggie ate a couple of chips. “There kind of is.”

She explained about Iona and how she’d unexpectedly appeared in Jake’s life the morning after their engagement party.

“He was an idiot,” she said. “He should have told me, and we should have talked. But he wasn’t deliberately cruel.”

“That’s a subtlety I can’t get behind,” Dena said flatly. “He had you, he claimed to love you and then he dumped you. There are no second chances after that.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Paisley said, picking up another sandwich half. “Jake’s not a bad guy. Until the dumping, I liked him. He was easy to work for. He was smart and very fair with the staff.”

Dena didn’t look convinced.

“Do you still love him?” Shaye asked quietly.

“No. I’m over him.”

“But you were going to marry him. Is that love gone? Or do you want to give him another chance?”

“Saying I want to give him another chance is kind of more than I’m comfortable with,” she admitted. “But I’m not angry or hurt anymore.”

“I think Shaye’s asking the right questions,” Paisley said firmly, waving her drink. “Dena, I know you’re going to play protective mama bear on this, but it’s not like he cheated or anything. He freaked out, then broke up with her. At least he didn’t go out behind her back. Taking responsibility for making a mistake is huge.”

“Maybe, but it’s not good enough,” Dena insisted.

Paisley raised her eyebrows. “Interesting. What if Toby wants to date her? He broke her heart. Does he get a second chance?”

“That’s totally different. He was a kid, and what happened in high school isn’t his fault.”

“So Toby gets a do-over, but not Jake?”

Shaye leaned toward Reggie. “Are you okay with them evaluating your life this way?”

Reggie smiled. “I’m feeling the love.”

She didn’t mind the discussion. It allowed her to look at her life from a relatively disinterested perspective. She understood Dena’s reluctance to trust Jake and her willingness to give Toby a second chance. In truth, Reggie would rather be dating Toby, but he wasn’t asking. As for Jake, she honestly had no idea how she felt about him.

“Look at it this way,” Paisley said. “You were in love with him, and you wanted to marry him. Isn’t that worth something? At least go on a date with him and find out if any of the old feelings are there. If not, you thank him for a nice evening and you’re done. If they’re still there, then have a go at it. But if you don’t at least try, you may always wonder.”

Dena stared at Paisley. “I hate it when you make sense.”

“I know. Isn’t it great?”