It was a gorgeous day, full-on May glory, the lilacs blooming below, their scent heavy in the air, the wind gentle off the water. She still felt like throwing up.

“Right. Well. You said some things the other night,” Oliver began.

“Listen, I—”

“No, no. My turn. It’s only fair, isn’t it?”

She nodded. Sat down on the sofa and tried not to cry.

Oliver took out a piece of paper.

“Do you want to sit down?” she asked.

“No. Please. Just let me read this.” He cleared his throat. “Dear Juliet, you told me you were tired of trying to be perfect and that you were afraid I would cheat on you if you were anything less than one hundred percent. Please allow me to share the following with you.” He glanced at her, frowning, and her toes curled in her shoes.

“The first time I saw you at Yale, you were standing in the rain at the corner of York and Elm, and I stopped in my tracks because I knew the world had just changed. Then, rather unfortunately, a cabbie blew past you, soaking you, and I felt it would be ungentlemanly to approach you.”

Oh, God. She remembered that. She’d been drenched to the skin with filthy gray water, and the driver hadn’t so much as tapped his brakes.

“The second time I saw you, you were buying tampons at the CVS just off the green, and again, the time didn’t seem right to engage in witty conversation with you, because, knowing me, I’d have said something less than clever, such as ‘Oh! I see you’re menstruating! How wonderful!’ and you rightly would’ve dismissed me as a wanker.”

She felt a smile start in her heart.

“The third time I saw you, you were going into a party in Saybrook, and I begged my former flat mate to get me in so I could be in the same room as you, and when I saw you, my heart was pounding so hard, I thought I might vomit, and I was terrified you’d turn away and talk to your extremely good-looking and fit boyfriend, who would no doubt go on to become president of the United States or cure cancer. But you didn’t turn away, and you didn’t have a boyfriend, and you graciously said yes when I asked you out after forty-five agonizing minutes of mindless chatter, the subject of which I still have no recollection.”