“Tolerate?” Julia echoed, giggling. Her laughter subsided as she stared down at him, trying to decide if he meant what it looked like he did. It was Luke, though, so better to ask him directly. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

“Um, no…” He faltered. “Should I be?” Frowning, Luke got to his feet. “See? I told you I would screw up. I was just…” He gestured at the ground. “The kneeling thing, it’s something you always see at the end of romantic comedies, you know?” He held up a hand. “And I’m not trying to pretend we’re in one. This isn’t a game to me.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I simply got this urge to do it, to go on one knee—not to propose—I mean, I do love you…”

“You love me?” Julia blinked. If this were a movie, she would press Pause so she could absorb the moment.

“By now, you must know I do.” He snorted. “I’m not that good at pretending.”

“Maybe neither of us are.” Julia smiled. “Because I love you, too. I tried to tell myself I didn’t, that I’d just gotten wrapped up in the fantasy.” She shook her head. “But that was the lie. Not my feelings for you.”

Luke’s eyes lit with joy. “I love you,” he said again. “And by some miracle, it appears you love me. I want to be with you forever, but … marriage doesn’t make any sense right now.”

“Oh, good.” She breathed a sigh of relief.

“Though maybe,” Luke continued, voice growing contemplative, “this could be a proposal.”

“What?” Her heart stopped. Julia wasn’t sure she could take much more of this roller coaster. “Why?”

“I just said I love you, that I want to be with you forever. And you love me. What’s preventing us from making that happen? After all, Jay asked Penelope to marry him.”

“Your sister is getting married?” Julia tried follow Luke’s leapfrogging thoughts. “Good for her.”

“It is good. She’s very happy.” A tender smile warmed his face. “And Bonnie and Clyde had babies, three of them.”

“The seagulls?” she asked, wanting to be sure she wasn’t misunderstanding him.

He nodded, beaming like a proud godfather for a moment, then sobering. “So what’s my problem? Is it the scared part of me making excuses again?”

“I don’t think you’re scared. I mean, of course you’re scared. I’m scared.” Julia’s heart kick-started back into high gear, beating so fast she felt like she’d just run the Chicago Marathon. “The idea of marriage is a scary thing, especially for two people who haven’t known each other long. Your sister and friend have known each other their entire lives, right?”

“Basically.”

“And we’ve only known each other for about a week.”