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“This woman and her red. Inseparable,” Helen said, coming up behind Leighton and placing a hand on each shoulder. “Hi, Baby Bear.” Leighton smiled up at Helen and accepted a kiss on the lips.Splendid. This whole thing was turning out to be just a fantastic idea. Jamie could tell by the way her stomach turned uncomfortably. She forced herself to beam at the happy couple, well aware of Tegan’s puzzled look as she watched Jamie’s profile. Maybe Jamie was beaming too brightly. She adjusted to medium-beam, as Helen with her dark curls, dancer body, and beautiful eyelashes slid into the chair across from her. “Hello there, you two. Glad we’re doing this.” She and Tegan exchanged introductions, wine arrived, and they were off and rolling.

“So this sneak peek of Hyland Wade’s new season was beyond. Fantastic sample sale, too. Hyland is a gem.” Helen declined the bread that Leighton offered. “Too many carbs.” Back to Jamie. “Do you know him?”

“Hyland? No. I don’t knowHyland,” Jamie said, exaggerating his name. How many sips of wine had she consumed? She glanced at her glass. It irked her to a level that it shouldn’t have that Helen was dropping names after two minutes at their table. It honestly was a mild offense.

“Oh,” Helen said quieter. “That’s okay. It was a nice afternoon, though.” Jamie saw Leighton cover her hand and give it a squeeze.

Then Leighton refocused. “So, Jamie, how’s your mom?”

She dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “She’s thinking of taking up knitting because that’s what she hears retired people do. She wants to donate little knitted creatures to the hospital, so I’ve set her up with Genevieve.”

“I knit,” Tegan said, which was surprising because Jamie neverwould have imagined that. She didn’t seem the type. Though knittingwasmaking a fairly large cultural comeback. The cool kids knitted these days. She’d seen it firsthand in both cafés. “I’d be happy to lend a hand in teaching her.”

“Oh, are you to that point yet?” Leighton asked. “Meeting the parents is pretty serious.”

“I think my mom would love to meet Tegan.” She turned to Tegan. “She’s a fantastic cook. I have a feeling you’d love her chicken noodle soup. It was my dad’s recipe.”

Leighton folded her arms. “I can vouch. She’s made me a take-home batch.”

Jamie flicked an annoyed gaze to Leighton. “It’s true.”

“She sounds great,” Helen said. She turned to Leighton. “I wish I’d gotten to meet your mom.”

“But you got to meet her dad, though, didn’t you?” Jamie took a bite of bread. Warm and amazing.

Helen swiveled to Jamie in surprise and then back to Leighton. The look of betrayal that crossed her features spoke volumes. She clearly wasn’t aware that Leighton had confided in Jamie about the fundraiser debacle. Leighton then turned to Jamie with alook. Icicles prickled Jamie’s veins.

“Yes. I’d known him from before. Of him.”

“Right. Of course,” Jamie said. Another sip of wine. She should have left it there but couldn’t seem to. “But I thought she’d told you about him before the fundraiser. Unless I have that backward. Ignore me.”

“Yeah,” Leighton said flatly. “Let’s do that.”

“Are we ready to order?” Aldo asked. No one answered for a moment.

“I’ll take the lasagna special,” Tegan said.

Jamie nodded. “Me, too.”

“And I have a headache that I can’t shake. I think we’ll just take the check,” Leighton said, checking in with Helen who nodded that was okay. “Please forgive me,” she said specifically to Tegan, leaving Jamie out of the conversation pointedly.

“Not a problem at all,” Tegan rushed to say. “Maybe another time.”

“I’d love it.”

“I’ll take care of the bill,” Jamie said.

“Wonderful. Then we’ll sneak away,” Leighton said, still not looking Jamie in the eye.

Well, this certainly hadn’t gone well. Shell-shocked and horrified at her own behavior, Jamie tried to rally, but found herself flailing.

Once they were alone, she turned to Tegan. “I’m so sorry about all that.”

“It’s really okay. But can I ask you a question?”

“Anything.”

“How long ago did the two of you date?”