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lives forever, but Katrina had moved to Far North Queensland. They e-mailed and Skyped often, but it wasn’t the same as hanging out together like they used to. Visiting Katrina would be great, but the thought of running away didn’t appeal to Ally.
    “No, I’m staying right here,” she said.
    “Are you sure?” Jess pulled out bowls and cutlery, a line still creased between her brows.
    A spasm tightened Ally’s shoulder blades. “Do I look like a fragile, neurotic person? Why does everyone think I’m going to fall to pieces just because my ex-fiancé is getting married?”
    Jess worked her lips, seeming uncomfortable. “It has been six years, and you haven’t had another proper boyfriend since.”
    Ally sputtered. “But I’ve been on dates! And—and what about Jackson? Doesn’t he count?”
    “Jackson ended up stalking you. No, weirdos don’t count. And you haven’t been dating much recently. When was the last time you went on a proper date with a man you were interested in?”
    “I don’t know.” Ally picked at the corner of the counter to avoid her sister’s gaze. “Last autumn, I guess.” She’d gone to dinner with a teacher and spent the entire evening regretting saying yes. It wasn’t that she’d had anything specific against him, but it had felt as if she was just going through the motions, agreeing to a date just to prove to herself that she could still catch a man’s attention. Thinking back, she realized over the past six months she’d lost more and more interest in dating. It was as if gradually she’d given up on men. “He was okay, but I wasn’t interested in taking it further.”
    “That’s what you always say about your dates. Is it any wonder we think you’re still subconsciously hung up on Seth?”
    “We?”
    “Me, Brian, Nana, your friends.”
    A splinter of ice twisted into Ally’s heart. She’d never really considered how other people viewed her, but now it dawned on her that they must think she was still heartbroken over Seth’s betrayal, that her life had never moved forward after that aborted wedding day. She was a modern-day Miss Havisham, a bitter, jilted spinster trapped forever in her moment of misfortune. A creature to be pitied.
    She tossed back her hair. “It’s kind of you to be concerned, but you don’t have to worry. I really am over Seth, and if I haven’t found another steady boyfriend, well, maybe I’m just choosy. I don’t want to make the same mistake twice. I want to be sure to pick someone right for me.”
    “But maybe that’s the trouble. Maybe you’re looking for the man to spend the rest of your life with, whereas you should be just going out there and having fun.”
    “Having fun?” Ally gaped at her happily married sister who’d been Brian’s sweetheart since the age of twelve and had never spared a glance for another man. “You’re telling me to go out and have fun with just any guy I happen to pick up?”
    “I’m not saying be a tramp.” Jess toyed with a wooden spoon, seeming hesitant but determined at the same time. “Just maybe…loosen up a little.”
    Loosen up a little. Ally crimped her lips together. So her sister thought the same thing as Nate. Although she’d never couch it in those terms, she also thought Ally was a prissy Goody Two-shoes.
    Turning, Ally caught her reflection in the darkened glass of the sliding door. She tried to view herself dispassionately. Because she jogged three mornings a week, her figure wasn’t bad—athletic and trim rather than curvy. Her breasts were okay, her legs better. Her skin was good, but her shoulder-length hair was unfashionably curly and plain brown, not a waterfall of shiny black like Jess’s. The skirt and blouse she wore were suitable for working in the shop, but they were nothing special, and her flat pumps were practical but kind of boring. In fact, her whole appearance was washed out, unremarkable.
    The crack in her heart widened. For the first time in years she was