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She also hadn’t slept much the night before, and both problems were Toby’s fault.

They’d had a good time together. Being with him in the theater, his arm around her, had reminded her of how things had been all those years ago. After the movie, the three of them had gone to dinner and had spent most of their time laughing. She enjoyed his company, and Harrison’s, and she’d spent the rest of the night alternating between wishing he’d kissed her and playing a silly game of what-if.

Funny how she hadn’t thought of him in years and now she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She wanted to spend more time with the new grown-up Toby. Everything she’d seen so far—how he was with Harrison, how he interacted with everyone during their knitting sessions—told her he was still someone she could like a lot.

“Complications,” she murmured, dropping the lace to the floor and pulling the dress off Belle.

“Thank you for helping,” she told her dog. “I’ll pick this up later when I’m able to make decisions.”

Belle moved close, and Reggie wrapped her arms around her.

“You’re a good girl,” she whispered. “My best girl.”

Burt watched from a safe distance away. Ever since Belle had growled at him, he’d been treating the Great Dane with more respect.

“See what happens when you stand up to a bully?” Reggie pointed out. “When someone does you wrong, you need to be brave.”

She had more life lessons to share, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the basement stairs.

“Reggie, darling, you have a visitor,” her mother said, stopping halfway and motioning for whomever was following her to continue.

Reggie scrambled to her feet, surprised to see Toby. Her heart gave a little jump, and she suddenly didn’t know what to do with her hands.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” her mother said pointedly as she started up the stairs.

“Thanks, Mom,” Reggie called after her before turning to Toby. “She needs to get a life.”

Only Toby didn’t smile at her attempt at humor. It was then that she noticed his shoulders were stiff and he wasn’t looking at her.

Belle gave him a quick sniff, then retreated to her bed.

“What’s wrong?” Reggie asked when Toby continued not to speak. “Is Harrison all right?”

“He’s fine. He’s at school. Why would you ask?”

“You’re upset about something.”

He looked at her then, his gaze unreadable. “I’m not upset. Guys don’t get upset.”

“Well, you’re something. Is it Judy?”

“Everyone’s fine. That’s not why I’m here.”

There was an edge to his voice—something that warned her they were about to head into a place she wasn’t going to like. She couldn’t explain the feeling except that when they’d been dating, she’d known Toby as well as she’d known her own family members. She’d been able to read his mood even before he could articulate it himself, and right now, he was going to say something that would make her uncomfortable.

She pointed to the sofa. “Want to take a seat?”

“I’ll stand.” He looked at her. “I’m not getting married.”

What?

“What?”

Not getting married. That was certainly an unexpected statement that made no sense. She wanted to respond with something equally weird like There are fish in the cracker box, only she didn’t think this was the time for humor, and—

The reason behind his statement clicked into place. Annoyance and some embarrassment settled in the center of her chest.

“And you obviously feel it’s necessary to specifically warn me that you and I aren’t getting married.”