‘‘Yes, you are.’’ When he saw Aubrey fall on Foolish so they could wrestle in the grass, he looked back at Grace, into her eyes. ‘‘Delicate,’’ he said softly, ‘‘like the white china with pink roses we only use on Thanksgiving.’’

It made her heart flutter pleasantly that he would think so, even if she knew better. ‘‘Ethan—’’

‘‘I was always afraid I’d pick it up wrong, break it in half from being clumsy. I never really got used to it.’’

He skimmed his thumb lightly across her cheekbone, where the skin was warm and soft and silky. Then he dropped his hand to his side. ‘‘We’d better pitch in before Anna drives Cam over the edge.’’

GRACE’S STOMACH CON tinued to flutter with nervous delight even when she went about the chore of carting food from the kitchen out to the picnic table. She would catch herself stopping, a bowl or platter in hand, to watch Ethan drive the horseshoe stakes into the ground.

Look how his muscles ripple under his shirt. He’s so strong. Look at the way he shows Seth how to hold the hammer. He’s so patient. He’s wearing the jeans I washed just the other day. The cuffs have gone white and they’re starting to fray. There was sixty-three cents in the right front pocket.

See how Aubrey climbs up on his back. She knows she’ll be welcome. Yes, he reaches back, gives her a little hitch to secure her there, then goes back to work. He doesn’t mind when she steals his cap and tries to put it on her own head. His hair’s gotten long, and the ends glint in the sun when he shakes it back out of his eyes.

I hope he keeps forgetting to go to the barber for a while yet.

I wish I could touch it, right now. Make those thick, sun-bleached ends curl around my finger.

‘‘It’s a nice picture,’’ Anna murmured from behind her and made Grace jolt. With a quiet laugh, Anna set down the enormous bowl of pasta salad. ‘‘I do the same thing with Cam sometimes. Just stand and watch him. The Quinns are very watchable men.’’

‘‘I think I’m just going to take a quick glance, then I can’t stop looking.’’ She grinned when Ethan rose, Aubrey still clinging to his back, and turned slow circles as iftrying to find her.

‘‘He has a wonderful, natural way with children,’’ Anna commented. ‘‘He’ll make a wonderful father.’’

Grace felt heat rise up into her cheeks. She’d been thinking the same thing. It was hard to believe that only a few weeks before she’d told her own mother she would never marry again. And now she was thinking, and wondering. And waiting.