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“Reggie!” Dena glared at her, then turned to Micah. “She’s kidding.”

“I could do that,” he said slowly, as if considering the possibility.

“No,” Dena told him. “Just forget she said anything.”

Reggie gave her an arch smile, then looked at Micah. “How are you enjoying Wishing Tree?”

“It’s a great town. The traditions are fun. I like the holiday enthusiasm.” He shoved his hands in his jeans front pockets. “Last year I was in a bad car accident. My wife was killed and I ended up in the hospital for several weeks, followed by a lot of rehab. I kind of missed the whole holiday season. Being here this year is a great way to get back into the spirit.”

He smiled at them both. “I’ll leave you two to your conversation.” He lightly touched Dena’s arm before heading out to the main dining room.

“He likes you,” Reggie said when he was out of earshot. “He likes you a lot.”

While Dena wanted to believe her, she knew her luck wasn’t that good—not when it came to the guy department.

“We’re friends.”

“Who kiss.”

“It’s not like that. I think he’s still in love with his late wife. You heard him. He loved and lost her, and she was the one.”

“He never said she was the one.”

“He wouldn’t have married her if she wasn’t. He lost his one true love.” She wondered why she hadn’t seen that before. Of course he had. He couldn’t write, and he was emotionally lost. He was looking to heal, not to replace her. She would be foolish if she hoped otherwise.

“I don’t believe in your theory of one true love,” Reggie said flatly. “I was in love with Jake, and now I’m not. People change. Hearts heal. His heart has definitely healed.”

“You don’t know that. I think he’ll mourn Adriana forever.”

“I’m not saying he won’t still love her. It’s not as if their love died with her. I’m just pointing out that he’s moved on, and he’s ready for a relationship.”

While Dena wanted that to be true, she knew her sister was wrong. She needed to be careful and protect her heart or she was going to find it broken in a way that might not ever be repaired.

Chapter Nineteen

Reggie told herself not to get too excited about her dinner out with Toby—a somewhat difficult task considering she’d been thinking about him all day. Worse, they’d spent most of their afternoon knitting session looking at each other and smiling. It was like being back in high school all over again.

Which was part of the problem, she thought, crossing the street on her way to Buon Natale, the incredible Italian restaurant in town. High school. There were too many good memories, too many habits and patterns to fall back on. She had to keep reminding herself that adult Toby was different. Oh, his character was similar, and she was definitely attracted to him, but she had to be smart and remember that he’d been very clear about not wanting to have a serious relationship with anyone. This was just dinner with a friend, and if she made it more than it was, then shame on her.

“I can do dinner,” she murmured as she opened the door to the restaurant. “I eat several times a day. I’m good at it.”

Her musings were cut short by the scent of garlic and basil and other delicious ingredients. Immediately her mouth began to water and her stomach grumbled, reminding her that not only had lunch been light, it had been hours ago.

The décor was simple, with dark walls and white linens. Classical music played on the sound system, and the atmosphere was both welcoming and elegant. Buon Natale was the kind of place you went when you wanted to celebrate an anniversary or job promotion. They served things like risotto with lobster and truffles or Mediterranean sea bass with carrot puree.

But all thoughts of food fled when she spotted Toby in the waiting area. Gone were the jeans and flannel shirt—he had on black pants and a deep blue shirt under a well-fitting leather jacket. He looked good enough to be the main course with just a hint of bad boy adding spice.

She had a brief moment of gratitude that she’d taken extra time with her appearance, wearing her sexy boots and applying more makeup than usual. His smile told her she’d done well.

“So we’re dining fancy tonight,” she said as she approached.

“Fancy is required when a person messes up like I did,” he told her, lightly kissing her cheek. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you. You clean up nicely, as well.”

The hostess showed them to a table by the window. When they were seated, he leaned toward her.

“I could have picked you up,” he told her. “It’s freezing out there.”