“I don’t hate it. I’m afraid he’s going to hate me.”

“It’s been almost three years, Mare. If it were possible for Shepley to do anything but worship you, I doubt it would be over a pair of dirty socks.”

I pulled my knees up to my chest, almost wishing it were him in my arms. I often wondered when being around Shepley or even thinking about him would stop making me feel so much, but the passing time had only made my feelings stronger.

“We graduate next summer, Abby. Can you believe it?”

“No. Then we really have to be adults.”

“You’ve been an adult since you were a kid.”

“True.”

“I keep thinking he’s going to ask me to marry him.”

Abby arched her brow.

“If he says my name a certain way or we go to a fancy restaurant, I think it’s going to be it, but he never does.”

“He did ask you, Mare, remember? You said no. Twice.”

I winced, remembering that morning on the beach and a few months later with the candlelight glinting in his eyes, the homemade pasta, and the supreme disappointment on his face. “But that was last year.”

“You think you missed your chance, don’t you? You think he’ll never get up the nerve to ask you again.” I didn’t answer, but she continued, “Why don’t you ask him?”

“Because I know it’s important to him that he ask me.”

Proposing to Shepley had crossed my mind, but I remembered what he’d said about the news that Abby had popped the question to Travis. It had bothered him almost as much as the realization that his feelings on the subject were so traditional. Shepley felt it was his place as the man to ask. I hadn’t realized that if I wasn’t ready when he proposed, he would stop asking.

“Do you want him to? Ask you again?”

“Of course I do. We don’t have to get married right away, right?”

“Right. So, what’s your hurry to get engaged?” she asked.

“I don’t know. He seems bored.”

“Bored? With you? Didn’t he just text to check on you?”

“Yes, but—”

“Are you bored?”

“Bored isn’t the right word. He’s uncomfortable. We’re stagnate, and I can tell it bothers him.”

“Maybe he’s waiting on a signal from you that you’re ready?”

“I have been dropping them right and left, except for mentioning America’s Famous No. We have an unspoken agreement to leave it unspoken.”

“Maybe you should tell him you’re ready when he’s ready to ask again.”

“What if he’s not?”

Abby made a face. “Mare, we’re talking about Shep. He’s probably struggling with not asking you every day.”

I sighed. “This isn’t about me. I’m here for you.”

She frowned. “I almost forgot.”

The doorknob jiggled, and the door burst open.

“Pidge?” Travis yelled. His expression crumbled when he saw the food on the table, and then he looked over at us sitting on the couch together.

Abby’s eyes lit up as he rushed around the couch and knelt in front of her, wrapping his arms around her middle and burying his face in her lap.