They walked to the escalator that would take them down to baggage claim. “You had a good time?”

“I did. Dad’s house is amazing and his wife is nice enough. The girls are annoying. They wanted to hang out with me all the time and they’re not into anything interesting. Dad took me to the studio and that was fun and I met a few movie stars, which was cool.”

He paused to check the board telling him where to get his bag, then put his arm around her. “But it wasn’t as much fun as the bus trip. I missed everybody and my room and stuff.”

“I’m glad you had a good time,” she said diplomatically, secretly cheering that Jeremy hadn’t won him over. Not her finest hour, but she could live with that. “When are you going to go see your dad again?”

“I don’t know. He said something about winter break, but it’s my senior year and I’ll have a lot going on.” He looked at her. “I know he wants to get to know me but I keep thinking I’ve been around for seventeen years. He should have tried before.”

“I don’t disagree with that, but he’s still your dad. It might be nice to have him in your life.”

“Maybe. We’ll see.” He spotted his bag and walked over to collect it. “So what’s been going on while I was gone?”

She led the way to the parking garage. “Funny you should ask.” She held up her left hand.

Cooper stared at it and the diamond ring on her left hand, then looked at her. “What?”

She waggled her fingers. “The ring?”

“It’s nice. Is it new?”

“You’re such a guy. I’m engaged. Coach and I are getting married.”

Coop came to stop, dropped his bag then pulled her close. “For real? You mean it? You’re marrying Coach?”

The intensity of his voice surprised her. “I am. Are you okay with that?”

“Okay?” He drew back and wiped away tears. “Mom, it’s the best. I’ve been hoping for a long time that you and Coach would get together, but it seemed like you only wanted to be friends. Lissa and I talked about how to get you two together, but we couldn’t come up with a plan that wasn’t totally dumb. This is great. When’s the wedding? Are we moving? Our house is too small, but if we move in with Coach, you shouldn’t sell it. You should keep it and rent it out, for income and stuff.”

He picked up his bag. “You know, if you marry Coach, that’s going to increase your income for Stanford. Is that a problem? Want me to ask Dad for tuition? I’d probably have to go see him for a week or something to get it, but I’d do that.”

There was so much love welling up inside of her, she thought she might float away. “You are the best son ever,” she whispered. “I love you.”