“I love you more,” he says, and then his thumb rubs my cheek when his phone rings in his pocket. He takes it out and looks at me. “It’s Casey.”

I look at him with worry as he answers, “Yeah.” He looks at me and smirks. “She’s with me. She’s fine.” He then hands me the phone. “It’s for you.”

I shake my head and grab the phone. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” Casey says. “We are having lunch in twenty, and Mom wants you here.”

“Well, then,” I say, looking at Jacob, “set two more places.”

“No kissy faces at the table.” He tries to sound mad, but the snicker that comes out after ruins it. “We’ll talk when you get here.” In his true Casey self, he hangs up without saying goodbye.

“Well, then,” I say, handing the phone back to Jacob, “we are having lunch at my parents’ house.”

“Good,” he says. “About time we had the talk.”

“Wait.” My heart starts to speed up. “What talk?”

“Well, we need to tell them about Gabriel,” he says, “and then we need to tell them that we’re getting married.” He tries to walk away from me, and I grab his arm to stop him.

“We’re getting married?” I ask. My head is spinning, and just like the old Jacob, he walks back to me and grabs my face, knowing it calms me.

“I’d marry you today if you would have me,” he says softly. “So yeah, we’re getting married.”

“Jacob McIntyre,” I use his full name, “this better not be my proposal.”

He throws his head back and laughs. “On one knee,” I say, and he kisses me, “with roses.” He shakes his head and walks around the truck. “Candles.”

“Anything else?” He looks over the hood at me.

“Champagne,” I say, getting in the truck. He gets in after I close my door.

“Small wedding or big?” he asks, looking over at me.

“Small,” I say. I don’t tell him that I planned the wedding when I was sixteen. It would have been the talk of the town, but now just him there with our closest family members and friends would be perfect. Thinking about it, just the two of us would be perfect.

“Outside or inside?”

“Outside.” A picture of marrying him right under our tree by the creek flashes through my mind.

“Good to know,” he says as we turn into my parents’ driveway. He turns the car off and looks over at me. “You ready for this?”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Not even close.”

“Whatever happens, I’m going to be right there by your side,” he says, and I look up at the house and see my mother coming out with a worried look on her face.