“Be-because.” Apparently I needed to voice the obvious. “It’s absurdly fast, for one. I mean, you and I… We only just…”

“Met?” A smile played at the corners of his mouth.

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I.”

The passionate turn our night had taken, while surprising, felt like a wondrous and perfect next step. But marriage required consideration and planning. Practicality.

I moved to sit upright with the sheet to my chest. “You have college to finish,” I reminded him.

“And I will, in less than a year.” His chest muscles shifted as he brushed a strand of hair from my shoulder, cluttering my focus.

“That’s dandy…for you. But I have plans too.”

“Which is why,” he contended, “after graduation, I say we start our lives in New York. Just picture it, Fen. Out east, I’ll build the grandest tunnels and bridges the world’s ever seen, and you’ll break into the biz and become a huge star. Broadway must have the best stages anywhere, wouldn’t you think?”

“Well, yeah. Sure.” Performing in New York would be splendid, eventually, but going there straightaway seemed entirely overwhelming. “I’ve always figured, though, on starting off in another city. Some place like”—I struggled to remember—“Chicago.”

He gave this some thought, a chance for me to ground myself, I hoped.

“All right,” he said. “Chicago it is.”

“Don’t be silly. You can’t make a decision that fast.”

“I just did.”

“But…you shouldn’t.”

“Fen.” He sat up fully to face me, his tone firming. “Do you love me?”

I hedged, looking away, exasperated by the diversion. “It’s not that simple.”

Gently he cupped my cheek, guiding me back to him. “Just answer me. Do you?”

Though it was a truth he already knew, I conceded, “Of course I do.”

“Then everything else? They’re details.”

I sighed, still grappling with reservations.

After a moment, he lowered his hand, and I watched his fingers link with mine. “Tonight, at the show,” he said, “that was me being afraid. Afraid of changing what we’ve had. Afraid of losing you. I’ve felt like that for a while, but to finally be with you like this… It’s worth all the risk.”

His thumb caressed my palm, and I couldn’t help softening. When I lifted my gaze to his, he went on, “So you see? We can still do all the things we’ve ever dreamed about, with our careers and big cities. But we’ll do it together, someday even with a family of our own. I love you, Fen, more than anything. And I can make you happy, if you let me.”

He made it all sound so alluring, so plausible. Easy, even.

“Please,” he said. “Say yes.”