For a long while I struggled with how to respond when someone politely and sincerely declined an invitation. “No big deal”, “Forget about it”, etc never seemed to do justice. My wife recently share an article with me about cuddle party etiquette. One of the many learnings was to thank a person for taking care of themselves when declining an invitation.
Moving forward, my reflex when someone rejects my offers, will be to sincerely and enthusiastically reply “Thank you for taking care of yourself.”