e’d proposed at the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day.

He knew it was a cliché, but weren’t all proposals something of a cliché? There were, after all, only so many ways he could do it. He could do it sitting, standing, kneeling, or lying down. He could be either eating or not eating, at home or someplace else, with or without candles, wine, sunrises, sunsets, or anything that might strike someone as vaguely romantic. Somewhere, sometime, Jeremy knew that some guy had already done it all, so there wasn’t much sense in worrying whether she would be disappointed. He knew, of course, that some men went all out-skywriting, billboards, the ring found during a romantic scavenger hunt. But he was pretty sure that Lexie wasn’t the type to require total originality. Besides, the view of Manhattan was breathtaking, and as long as he remembered to hit the highlights-why he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, the presentation of the ring, popping the question-Jeremy figured he had it pretty much covered.

It wasn’t as if it were a total surprise, after all. They hadn’t specifically talked about it beforehand, but the fact that he was moving to Boone Creek, coupled with various bits of we-type conversation in the last few weeks, had left no doubt that it was coming. As in, We should go shopping for a bassinet to put by our bed, or We should visit your parents. Since Jeremy hadn’t contradicted those statements, a case could be made that Lexie had already sort of proposed to him.

Still, even if it hadn’t come as a complete surprise, Lexie was obviously thrilled. Her first instinct, after wrapping her arms around him and kissing him, was to call Doris to let her know the news, a conversation that lasted twenty minutes. He supposed he should have expected that, not that he minded. Despite his outer calm, the fact that she’d actually agreed to spend the rest of her life with him was overwhelming.

Now, nearly a week later, they were in a cab on the way to his parents’ house, and he noted the ring on her finger. Being engaged, as opposed to dating, was the Next Big Step, one that most men, Jeremy included, rather enjoyed. He could, for instance, do certain things with Lexie that were pretty much off-limits to anyone else in the world. Like kissing. For example, he could lean across the backseat right now and kiss her. More than likely she wouldn’t be offended. She’d probably even be pleased. Try that with a stranger and see how far it got you, Jeremy thought. The whole concept left him feeling rather good about what he’d done.

Lexie, on the other hand, was glancing out the window and appeared troubled.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“What if they don’t like me?”

“They’re going to love you. What’s not to love? And besides, you had a good lunch with my mom, right? You said you two really hit it off.”

“I know,” she said, sounding unconvinced.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“What if they think I’m taking you away?” she asked. “What if your mom was just being nice, but deep down she feels resentment?”

“She doesn’t,” he said. “And I’m telling you not to worry so much. For one thing, you’re not taking me away. I’m leaving New York because I’d rather be with you, and they know that. Trust me, they’re happy about this. My mom’s been hounding me to get remarried for years.”

She pursed her lips, thinking about it. “Okay,” she said. “But I still don’t want them to know I’m pregnant yet.”

“Why not?”

“They’ll get the wrong impression.”

“You know they’re going to find out anyway.”

“I know, but it doesn’t have to be tonight, does it? Let them get to know me first. Give them a chance to come to grips with the fact that we’re getting married. That’s enough shock for one night. We’ll deal with rest of it later.”

“Sure,” he said. “Whatever you want.” He leaned back in the seat. “But just so you know, even if it does slip out, you won’t have to worry.”

She blinked. “How would it slip out? Don’t tell me that you’ve already told them.”

Jeremy shook his head. “No, of course not. I might have mentioned it to Alvin.”

“You told Alvin?” she asked, her face paling.

“Sorry. It just slipped out. But don’t worry, he won’t tell anyone.”

She hesitated before finally nodding. “Okay.”

“It won’t happen again,” Jeremy said, reaching for her hand. “And there’s no reason to be nervous.”

She forced a smile. “Easy for you to say.”

Lexie turned toward the window again. As if she hadn’t already been nervous enough, now she had to deal with this, too. Was it really that hard to keep a secret?

She knew Jeremy didn’t mean any harm, and that Alvin would be discreet, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that Jeremy didn’t quite understand how his family might view this sort of news. She was sure they were very reasonable people-his mother seemed nice enough-and she doubted that they would accuse her of being a harlot, but still, just the fact that they were getting married so quickly was going to raise eyebrows. Of that, she had no doubt. All she had to do was see it from their perspective. Six weeks ago, she and Jeremy had never even met, and-after the whirlwind of all whirlwinds-they were now officially engaged. That was shocking enough.

But if they found out she was pregnant?

Well, now they’d understand. They’d make the assumption that Jeremy was marrying her simply for that reason. Instead of believing Jeremy when he said that he loved her, they’d simply nod and say, “That’s nice.” But as soon as Jeremy and Lexie left, you could bet they’d huddle to discuss the matter. They were family, a close, old-fashioned family that got together a couple of times a month. Hadn’t he been telling her that? She wasn’t naive. And what did family talk about? Family! Joys, tragedies, disappointments, successes . . . close families shared all of it. But if Jeremy slipped again, she knew what would happen. Instead of the engagement, they would talk about her pregnancy, if only to wonder aloud whether Jeremy really knew what he was doing. Or worse, that maybe she’d trapped him somehow.

She could be wrong, of course. Maybe they’d all be delighted. Maybe they’d find the whole situation completely reasonable. Maybe they’d believe the engagement and the pregnancy had nothing to do with each other, because that was the truth. And maybe she’d just flap her arms and fly all the way home.

She didn’t want in-law problems. Granted, as a general rule there was nothing you could do about them, but she wasn’t eager to get off on the wrong foot.

Besides, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, if she were Jeremy’s family, she’d be skeptical, too. Marriage was a big step for any couple, let alone a couple that barely knew each other. Though Jeremy’s mother hadn’t put her on the hot seat, Lexie could feel her sizing her up as they got to know each other, as any good mother would do. Lexie had been on her best behavior, and at the end, his mother had hugged and kissed her good-bye.

A good sign, Lexie admitted. Or a good start, anyway. It would take time for the family to fully accept her into the clan. Unlike the rest of the daughters-in-law, Lexie wouldn’t be around on the weekends, and she’d probably be on a probation of sorts, until time showed Jeremy hadn’t made a mistake. Probably at least a year or two, maybe more. She supposed she could speed up the process with regular letters and phone calls. . . .

Note to self, she thought. Buy stationery.

If she was completely honest, though, even she was a little shocked at how fast things were moving. Was he really in love? Was she? She’d asked herself those questions a dozen times a day over the last couple of weeks and always came up with the same answers. Yes, she was pregnant, and yes, it was his child, but she wouldn’t have agreed to marry him unless she believed they would be happy together.

And they would be happy. Wouldn’t they?

She wondered whether Jeremy ever questioned how fast this all seemed to be happening. Probably, she decided. It was impossible not to. But he seemed so much more relaxed about it than she did, and she wondered why. Maybe it was because he’d been married once before, or maybe it was because he’d been the pursuer during his week in Boone Creek. But whatever the reason, he’d always seemed more certain about their relationship than she was, which was odd, since he was the one who called himself a skeptic.

She glanced at him, noting the dark hair and dimple, liking what she saw. Remembering that she’d found him attractive the first time she’d ever seen him. What had Doris said about him after meeting him the first time? He’s not what you think he is.

Well, she thought, she was going to find out, wasn’t she?

They were the last to arrive at the house. Lexie was still nervous as she approached the door and stopped on the front steps

“They’re going to love you,” he reassured her. “Trust me.”

“Stay close, okay?”

“Where else would I be?”

It wasn’t nearly as bad as Lexie had feared it would be. In fact, she seemed to be more than holding her own, so despite his earlier promise to stay close, Jeremy found himself standing on the back porch instead, bouncing from one foot to the other with arms crossed in an attempt to ward off the chill in the air, watching his father hover over the barbecue. The man loved to barbecue; the weather outside never entered his thinking. As a child, Jeremy had actually seen him shovel snow off the barbecue and disappear into a blizzard, only to reappear inside half an hour later with a platter of steaks and a layer of ice where his eyebrows were supposed to be.

Though Jeremy would rather have been inside, his mother had told him to keep his father company, which was her way of telling him to make sure his father was doing okay. He’d had a heart attack a couple of years ago, and though he swore he never got cold, she worried about him. She would have done it herself, but with thirty-five people wedged into a small brownstone, the place was a madhouse. She had four pots going on the stove, his brothers took up every seat in the living room, and the nephews and nieces were continually being shooed from the living room back to the basement. Glancing through the window, he made sure his fiancée was still doing fine.

Fiancée. There was something odd about that word, he decided. Not that it was odd to think of having one, but rather how it sounded coming from the lips of various sisters-in-law, since they must have said the word at least a hundred times already. Immediately upon entering, before Lexie had even removed her jacket, Sophia and Anna had come rushing toward them, peppering practically every statement with the word.

“It’s about time we get to finally meet your fiancée!”

“So what have you and your fiancée been doing?”

“Don’t you think you should get your fiancée something to drink?”’

His brothers, on the other hand, hung back and avoided the word completely.

“So you and Lexie, huh?”

“Has Lexie enjoyed her trip so far?”

“Fill me in on how you and Lexie met.”

It must be a woman thing, Jeremy decided, since he, like his brothers, had yet to use the word. He wondered whether he could do a column about it, before deciding his editor would probably pass, claiming that it wasn’t quite serious enough for Scientific American. This from a guy who loved articles about UFOs and Bigfoot. Even though he’d agreed to allow Jeremy to continue writing his columns for the magazine from Boone Creek, Jeremy wouldn’t miss him.

Jeremy rubbed his arms as his father flipped one of the steaks. His nose and ears had turned red in the cold. “Hand me that plate, would you? Your mom left it on the rail over there. The hot dogs are just about done.”

Jeremy grabbed the plate and returned to his father’s side. “You know it’s pretty cold out here, right?”

“This? It’s nothing. Besides, the coals keep me warm.”

His father, one of the last of a dying breed, still used charcoal. For Christmas one year, Jeremy had purchased a gas grill, but it ended up gathering dust in the garage until his brother Tom finally asked if he could have it.

His father started piling hot dogs on the plate.

“I haven’t had the chance to talk to her much, but Lexie seems like a nice young lady.”

“She is, Pop.”

“Ah, well, you deserve it. I never did like Maria very much,” he said. “Right from the get-go, she struck me as wrong somehow.”

“You should have told me.”

“Nah. You wouldn’t have listened. You always knew everything, remember?”

“How did Mom like Lexie? Yesterday at lunch?”

“She liked her. Thought she would be able to keep you in line.”

“And that’s a good thing?”

“Coming from your mother? That’s about the best you’re gonna get.”

Jeremy smiled. “Do you have any advice?”

His father set aside the plate before finally shaking his head. “Nah. You don’t need any advice. You’re all grown up. You make your own decisions now. And besides, there’s not much I could tell you. I’ve been married for almost fifty years, and there are times when I still don’t have any idea what makes your mother tick.”

“That’s comforting.”

“You get used to it.” He cleared his throat. “Hey, maybe there is one thing I could tell you.”

“What’s that?”

“Two things, actually. Number one, don’t take it personally if she gets angry. We all get angry, so don’t let it get to you.”

“And number two?”

“Call your mother. A lot. She’s been crying every day since she found out you were moving. And don’t pick up one of those southern accents, either. She wouldn’t tell you this, but she had trouble understanding Lexie sometimes.”

Jeremy laughed. “I promise.”

“It wasn’t so bad, was it?” Jeremy asked

Hours later, they were on the way back to the Plaza. With his apartment in disarray, Jeremy had decided to splurge on a hotel room their last night in town.

“It was wonderful. You’ve got a special family. I can see why you didn’t want to move away.”

“I’ll still see them quite a bit, whenever I have to check in at the magazine.”

She nodded. As they headed into the city, she stared at the skyscrapers and the traffic, marveling at how large and busy everything seemed. Though she’d lived in New York City before, she’d forgotten the crowds, the massive height of the buildings, the noise. So different from where they would live now, another world entirely. The entire population of Boone Creek was probably less than the number of people on a single city block.

“Are you going to miss the city?”

He gazed out the window before answering. “A little,” he admitted. “But everything I’ve ever wanted is down south.”

And after one final, wonderful night at the Plaza, they began their new life.