Melissa dropped Melanie off the next afternoon at the airport and was already missing her as she drove back to Riston. It had felt so normal to have her sister around. She hoped that Melanie would seriously consider making the move out west.

Traffic was heavy due to Friday afternoon rush hour and it took Melissa longer than expected to make the trip home. She barely had time to stop at the house and feed Misty before grabbing a bottle of the Cabernet she’d bought in Seattle and driving to Jack’s house for dinner.

Roger came running when Jack opened the door to greet her. He pulled her in for a hug, and Melissa laughed and gave Roger a hug too as he was so excited to see her.

“See, I told you he missed you.”

“I missed him, too,” Melissa said as she handed him the bottle of wine. He looked at the label and smiled.

“This is the one we tasted in Seattle, your favorite.”

“I bought a case of it when I took my sister there.”

Jack set it down on the island and looked around for his wine opener. He handed it to her. “Do you want to do the honors?”

Melissa opened the wine while Jack got out two glasses. She poured the wine while he set out a dish of crackers and cheese. She sniffed the air—something was cooking in the oven.

“Something smells amazing. What is it?”

“The pasta dish and garlic bread. It’s keeping warm in the oven. We both have to have some, so when I kiss you, you won’t notice.”

Melissa laughed. “Who says you’re going to kiss me!”

He laughed, too, but set his wine glass down and pulled her to him. “I was going to wait until after dinner, but I can’t wait. I’ve missed you too much.” He leaned in and touched his lips lightly to hers, kissing her briefly but tenderly before pulling back.

“I just wanted to make sure you missed me, too?”

Melissa smiled. “More than I thought I would.”

Jack held onto her hands and looked her in the eye. “My feelings for you are very real and very serious. Our pretend marriage was the best relationship I’ve ever had. It’s never felt so right for me with anyone else. I just like being with you, no matter what we’re doing.”

“I feel the same way, and it scared me to feel so much so fast. I doubted that it was real,” she admitted.

“It’s very real for me.”

“For me, too.”

The oven timer beeped, and got their attention.

“Are you getting hungry yet?” Jack asked as he opened the oven to check on the bread.

“I am, actually.” Melissa took a sip of her wine.

“Well, everything is ready, so let’s eat.”

They ate in Jack’s dining room. The lemony chicken pasta was so good and the garlic bread that was dripping with butter was, too. They ate their fill and then Melissa helped him to put everything away. Jack topped off their glasses and they settled on his comfy sofa. They didn’t drink much more of the wine, though. Jack put his arm around her as they sat close together on the sofa.

“I have something important I want to say to you,” he began and turned so that he was looking directly in her eyes.

Melissa felt the warmth of his gaze and waited anxiously to hear what he had to say.

“I’ve known this for a while, but I didn’t want to scare you off and I wanted to make sure you were feeling something for me too. I know you had the situation with Cooper to deal with and to process. But the thing is, I love you, Melissa. I do. I felt that way while we were together, but this past week, without you, only reinforced those feelings. I don’t want to be apart anymore. You’re home for me.”

Melissa felt her heart leap and her eyes well up with happiness. “You’re home for me, too. I feel the same way and it scared and confused me completely. I didn’t think it was possible to fall in love with someone so quickly. But I did, with you. Only you.”

“So what do we do now? Can we cancel our break and go back to the way things were?” Jack asked. His tone was light but Melissa could tell he was serious.

“You want to move back in?” Melissa asked.

“Yes, or you could move in here, but I think I like your place better and the yard is bigger. Roger likes your yard better.”

Melissa laughed. “All right then. It’s a shame you just had your kitchen all redone though.”

Jack grinned. “Not really. Now I can sell it for a lot more than I could before. This kitchen is exactly what everyone wants. It makes the house turnkey.”

Melissa realized he was right. “That’s very clever of you.”

“And we can have Bryan do the same thing to your kitchen—or rather our kitchen, if you think that’s a good idea?”

Melissa’s kitchen was very basic and simple. A renovation like what Jack did would make it beautiful. Melissa didn’t care especially, but she could tell it was important to Jack and if he was going to do most of the cooking…”

“I think that’s a great idea.”

Jack grinned. “Well, Mrs. Jennings, I don’t think I’ve given you the full tour of my house. Would you like to see the second floor? We can watch TV after that, or go back to your place, whatever you like.”

“I’d love to go upstairs with you. I’ll go anywhere with you, Jack.”