“Well, Ma, see... there's this girl."Silence.He checked to make sure the call hadn't been dropped. "You still there, Ma?"A sniffle."You can't be crying already," he said. "I haven't told you anything about her yet.""It doesn't matter, Nick," his mother said through her tears. "Those are the three words I've been waiting thirty-four years to hear.”

“Jordan couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Yeah, I like this guy. He rescued me from a crazed man with a gun, he makes me laugh, and he calls his mother Ma. I’d say he’s a keeper.”

“Are you sure you’re not too tired?” Taylor taunted, lacing her fingers through his hair and pulling him between her legs. “Although you do seem to have a lot of energy for a thirty-nine-year-old.”Jason grabbed her by the back of the neck, pulling her mouth to his. “Thirty-eight, smart-ass. I have a December birthday.”

“I'm still trying to decide how I feel about the fact that you knew about this before I did.""Don't be disappointed," Jack said. "The fact that I've been ridiculously proud of you for days doesn't change how excited you should be about this. Besides, I pretty much know everything. You should probably just start getting used to it.""And on that note, I'm hanging up," Cameron said."Rushing me off so you can call Collin next?" Jack teased."No" she said emphatically. Damn, he really did know everything.”

“If you think it means I'm asking you to move in with me, you'd be right." Her expression turned more serious. "If you also think it means that I wake up every morning wondering what I did to deserve having you back in my life, well, you'd be right about that, too."Jack just sat there for a moment, just... stunned. No one had ever said anything like that to him."Come here," he said huskily. He grabbed her chair and pulled it toward his. He kissed her, softly at first, then his hand moved to her back and pushed her close as his emotions got the better of him. He pulled back to hold her gaze. "I love you, Cameron. You know that, right?"She kissed him back, whispering the words in his ear. "I love you, too.”

“I will never, ever regret stopping you from walking out of my life a second time, Kyle," she said in an emotional voice. "And I can prove it."She reached for the buttons on her trench coat and undid them, one at a time. Then she opened the coat and let it drop to the floor.And even if she didn't say a single word more, Kyle knew he would never again doubt the way Rylann felt about him.She was wearing his flannel shirt."You kept it," he said softly. "All this time."She nodded. "For nine years, I've held on to this darn shirt, literally dragging it across the country and back."Kyle touched her cheek, gently brushing away a tear with his thumb. "Why?"She paused hesitantly, and then with a tender smile, finally put it all on the line, too. "I guess I always hoped you'd come back for it someday.”

“Great. Okay. That, uh... was easier than I thought."Jack cocked his head. Wait a second... He couldn't decide if he was pissed or really impressed. He hooked a finger into the waistband of the workout pants she'd changed into and pulled her closer. "Did you fake me out with those tears, Cameron?"She peered up at him, defiantly, seemingly outraged by the suggestion. "Are you kidding? What, after the day I've had, I'm not entitled to a few tears? Sheesh."Jack waited."This wedding is very important to me--I can't believe you're even doubting me. Honestly, Jack, the tears were real."He waited some more. She would talk eventually. They always did.Cameron shifted under the weight of his stare. "Okay, fine. Some of the tears were real." She looked him over, annoyed. "You are really good at that."He grinned. "I know.”