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“Adriana was lucky,” she said, turning back to the bins. “You loved her a lot. I’m sorry you lost the great love of your life.”

It took him a second to realize what she meant. Dena was assuming he was saying that because there had been Adriana, there couldn’t be anyone else, which wasn’t what he’d meant at all. But given that he was only in town for a few weeks, and he wasn’t sure how much he’d healed from the loss of his wife and son, it was probably best not to correct her. For his sake as well as hers.

Chapter Eleven

Reggie circled her mother, taking in the lace overlay and long sleeves of the traditional wedding gown. It wasn’t too fancy, and the fit was good. Her mother’s devotion to Zumba and long hikes had kept her in excellent shape, so the V-neck sheath style should have looked amazing.

“I don’t love it,” Reggie admitted, stopping behind her mom and looking at her reflection in the full-length mirror. “I should. It’s pretty, you’re pretty, but it’s just not . . . something.”

Her mother sighed. “That’s what I said. I look okay, but not great, and I don’t feel good in it.” She pointed to the open boxes on the bed behind them. “The others are the same. They fit, they’re what I expected, but they’re not right somehow.”

“Maybe with your hair up,” Reggie said, knowing she sounded doubtful.

Leigh shook her head. “That’s not going to help. I don’t know what the problem is.”

“Why a traditional wedding gown?”

“Because I didn’t wear one when we eloped. I wore a white suit that I hated.”

“Is the goal to wear a traditional gown or to look and feel fabulous?”

“The latter.”

“Then let’s try something else. Why don’t you change back into your regular clothes, and I’ll go online and see what I can find that’s going to make you happy?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. I’m going to look at party dresses on the Nordstrom website.”

“Okay, but remember, I’m not twenty-five anymore.”

Reggie feigned shock. “You’re not?”

“Ha-ha. Fine. Go look. I’ll meet you in the kitchen in ten minutes.”

Reggie started out of the room. Belle got up off the bed and followed her. As they walked into the hallway, Burt appeared from nowhere and darted toward Belle. He must have gotten close enough to nip, because she yelped and immediately danced backwards, bumping into the wall, then spinning as if to see who else was attacking her.

“Burt!” Reggie said, getting between them. “Pick on someone your own size.” She stomped her foot to get his attention, but Burt was unimpressed.

“Put her back in with me,” Reggie’s mom called.

Reggie guided Belle into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. She glared at Burt.

“You think you’re so big and brave, don’t you? Belle is emotionally delicate. Why can’t you be friends?”

Burt shot her an incredulous look before sauntering back toward the stairs. Reggie went into her own room to collect her laptop and headed for the kitchen.

She went onto the Nordstrom website. A quick search showed her that maybe party dresses weren’t what her mother was looking for. They were all cute, and there were several Reggie would have liked to put in her own closet, but nothing really appropriate for a woman approaching sixty.

She tried mother-of-the-bride dresses next.

“Bingo,” she said, scrolling through the collection.

When her mother walked in, Belle at her heels, Reggie patted the seat next to her.

“I think I’ve found a few really great options, Mom. The wedding colors are basically red and green, to take advantage of the holiday decorations in place. You’ll want your dress to stand out.”

Her mother wrinkled her nose. “Not black. I thought about that, and while I love a black dress, not for the wedding.”