“You’re willing to put up with the hormonal explosions, and the silences, and the constant nagging feeling that you’ve said the wrong thing again? You really want this?”

“I am. I do.” It sounded as if she was saying her vows and she shifted away from him, suddenly awkward. “Well that was—”

He pulled her close and kissed her hard. “Molly already proposed to you, I think. If you’re expecting tact and finesse forget it. You don’t get that with a seven-year-old around the house. You get whatever comes out of their mouths.”

She laughed, realizing that if she could find enough courage to swim in the lake, then she could find the courage to tackle awkward situations. “I’m not waiting for you to propose, Jack. All I need is to be with you. Nothing more or less than that.” And if she ever felt she needed marriage, she’d tell him. Maybe she’d be the one to propose. Why not?

For now, all she needed was his love, and she had that. She understood why he hadn’t told her everything, and she knew it had made him think hard about their relationship, too. In the end it was a reminder for both of them that healthy relationships needed love, thought and care, but they also needed trust.

She shifted in his arms and noticed, for the first time, a large bunch of flowers abandoned on the lawn. “What’s that?” She sat up, wondering how she hadn’t noticed it before.

“Those were for you.”

“You bought me flowers?” No one had ever bought her flowers. She’d always had to buy them herself. She stood up and retrieved them, burying her face in their soft petals and inhaling their scent. “They’re beautiful. I can’t believe you bought me flowers.”

“In the spirit of honesty I have to confess it was Izzy’s idea.”

“Izzy?” She lifted her nose out of the blooms.

“I was all ready to present them to you in the most romantic way possible, but then I saw you in the water and I—well, I’m not sure what happened. I might have flung them.”

“Flung them.” She looked from him to the petals on the ground. “You flung them.”

“What can I say? I panicked when I saw you. Next time I buy you flowers, I’ll make sure the mode of delivery is better. But knowing your love of flowers, I hope you’ll love them anyway.”

“Oh, Jack—” She clutched them, knowing that even missing a few petals this would be the most precious bunch of flowers anyone had ever given her.