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She laughed. “There is that. Does he abandon you a lot?”

“I’m getting used to it. I knew it would happen. I just thought it would be later.”

They stood to let a family into their row. Seats were filling up.

She looked around the theater. “They’ve remodeled this place. The seats are new.”

“Wait until you hear the sound system. It got an upgrade, as well.”

“While I appreciate better sound, one of the things I like about Wishing Tree is how much stays the same. I like the traditions and that I can count on certain things whenever I come home.”

“Do you come back often?” he asked.

She wrinkled her nose. “Yes, although you wouldn’t know it by my recent behavior. Until this trip, I hadn’t been back in over a year.”

“Why?”

“The Jake thing.”

Right. Because Jake had broken her heart.

“I thought there would be a lot of talk and I couldn’t handle it,” she admitted. “Ironically, no one has said a word. Not counting my mother, of course.”

“Do you want me to talk about him, to make you feel better?”

She laughed. “That’s very sweet, but no. I’m good. I just wish I’d come home sooner. I usually make the trip several times a year. I love seeing my folks and Dena. They came to visit me, but it wasn’t the same.”

“You’ve broken the ice, so to speak, so now you won’t have an excuse not to come home.”

“You’re right. I’ve been hanging out with Shaye,” she added. “I like her a lot.”

“Me, too. She’d good in the store. She’s waiting to establish her year of residency, and then she’s going to college. If she does as well as I think she’s going to, I’ll be moving over some of the marketing work for her.”

He paused, not sure why he’d told her that. He hadn’t told anyone.

“She’ll be thrilled.” Reggie patted his arm. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.”

He believed her. Reggie had always been good at keeping secrets. She’d seen plenty of bad stuff between him and his dad, and she’d never once mentioned it. The only time they’d talked about it had been when he’d brought it up.

“You were a good girlfriend.”

Her eyebrows rose. “An unexpected leap, but thank you. You were a good boyfriend.”

Until the end, he thought. Not that he’d betrayed her the way she’d thought, but she’d still ended up with a broken heart. And then she’d shattered his. How would their lives have been different if they’d been able to sit down and talk about what had happened? He would have told her why he had to get out of town. She was still in high school, so she wouldn’t have come with him, but they might have stayed in touch. If he’d known Reggie was waiting for him, how would everything have been different?

The overhead lights lowered as the previews started. The theater had filled up, and the noise level around them barely dimmed as the first trailer played. Reggie shifted, moving the coats to the other side of her and sliding onto the seat next to him. Without considering what he was doing, he automatically pulled up the armrest. She moved closer still as he put his arm around her.

This, he thought, noting what was the same and what was different. This was how it had been all those years ago. Just him and Reggie. They’d had so many firsts together.

But it hadn’t lasted forever, and now they were different people. But for this moment, it was nice to pretend that nothing had changed.

Reggie studied the lines of the red dress. There were challenges when it came to designing for a Great Dane, or possibly any dog. Reggie’s experience was limited to Belle. She’d decided against sleeves. She wanted something simple but dressy. Belle was going to be a flower girl at the wedding. Her mother was still on the fence about Burt, but had already bought a little tuxedo jacket for him to wear.

“I’m not sure about the lace,” she murmured, holding it up against the neckline of the dress.

Belle sat patiently, waiting for Reggie to be done.

“You’re a good girl,” Reggie told her. “Thank you for enduring my indecision. It’s just I can’t concentrate this morning.”