By the time dinner ended, no one mentioned Sienna's marriage or Zachary again.
The heavy conversation had quietly faded into the background, and the shift into lighter topics clearly helped Sienna relax. Little by little, she returned to her usual self, smiling more often and easily and joining in every joke without forcing it.
The four of them lingered around the table long after they had finished eating. Empty plates were pushed aside, fresh glasses of water replaced the drinks they had already finished, and the conversation wandered from embarrassing college memories to office gossip, old classmates, and Riley's latest failed attempt at cooking.
"I'm telling you, the recipe lied," Riley said, looking completely serious.
Ava raised an eyebrow. "Recipes don't lie. You just thought 'a pinch of salt' meant half the container."
"It wasn't half."
"It was."
"It definitely wasn't."
Mia laughed so hard she nearly spilled her water. "Riley, didn't the smoke alarm go off?"
