“I should have seen that. Particularly as I had plenty of anger of my own. I focused all my energy into being there for the girls. And then I met you.” He paused. “You were the brightest, most hopeful thing that had happened to me in a long time and I was terrified.”

“Terrified?”

“Yes, because it was too soon, the wrong time, the girls had to be my priority—you name it, I felt it. I didn’t intend to ask you for a coffee that first day, and I didn’t intend to ask you to meet me for lunch every day after that. But being with you felt so good I couldn’t end it. It would have felt like denying yourself water when you’re thirsty. But I knew it was too much.”

“Too much—for me?”

“It was never going to be a simple relationship. It could never be just about you and me.”

“I knew you had the girls, Jack. I knew it from that first day.”

“I was afraid to get too close, and afraid to let the girls get close after Becca.”

“Grief makes you fearful of losing the other people in your lives. It’s something we don’t generally think about. We mostly go through life feeling we’re immortal, but death forces us to accept that we’re not.”

“I still need to decide how much to tell Molly, but that can wait for now.” He glanced at her and shook his head. “I can’t believe you swam.”

“I wanted to swim because—” Should she tell him? Was this the right time? “I hope we’ll carry on coming back here every year and I want to be able to join in.”

“Really? You want to come back?”

“Yes. I love it.” She stared out at the water, seeing only the beauty and not the menace. “It felt like a real step forward. I’m guessing you and Izzy have taken a step forward, too.”

“We have.” His fingers tightened on hers. “What about you? Us? You didn’t sign up for this crazy, complicated family life. I know you hate conflict.”

She smiled. “What I hate even more than conflict is being shut out. Being on the outside. But now I’m on the inside. When the girls ran into the water I realized I am part of your family, your crazy, complicated family, even if we’re all still figuring out what that means and how it looks. And I’ve never been happier.”

Relief spread across his face. “Really? I thought I’d blown it.”