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“Absolutely.” Chuckling, I nodded. “Your proposal just took me by surprise.”
“Then to answer your question.”
“What question?” Immersed in the moment, I forgot all else.
“You asked if Mateo and Marianna have moved on.” His grip tightened. “With us getting married, we’re tying up the last of their loose ends. What else could keep them from moving on?”
I gazed into his face, seeing him through Marianna’s eyes. “Four generations later, Marianna and Mateo are together again.”
“History’s repeating itself.”
I breathed in the moment. Thrilled at the prospect of marrying him, I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him close. Then as a thought gripped me, I flinched.
“Uh-oh, I know that expression.” Luke held me arm’s length. “What’s wrong?”
“What else could keep them from moving on?” I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. “Their time together was short, and their love life was so convoluted.” An earlier conversation came to mind. “As Marianna’s great-great-grandson, and Mateo’s great-great-granddaughter, we’re their first descendants to be attracted…”
“We’ve already established that…” His eyes narrowed.
“Their first descendants to be attracted?” I paused. “You were attracted to Bea, who’s also Mateo’s great-great-granddaughter.”
“The emphasis is on were.”
“That didn’t work out, so—”
“So don’t borrow trouble.” A deep V between his brows relaxed as he paraphrased Ecclesiastes. “This is a time to laugh…a time to dance.”
“But what if history’s repeating itself? Instead of tying up Marianna and Mateo’s loose ends, what if we’re only continuing their saga?”
****
The next morning, I stretched in bed and grinned at my engagement ring as memories of the proposal surged through my mind. I turned and twisted my hand, capturing the ring’s sparkle in the morning light, while I tried on new names. “Mrs. Luke Kaylor.”
Teddy cocked his head.
“Mrs. Lucas Kaylor.”
He wagged his tail.
“Which name do you like, Teddy?” I scratched behind his ears. “What about Maeve Jackson-Kaylor?”
He woofed, then panted and pranced by the door, begging to go out.
Unlocking the door, I laughed. “Priorities…”
****
Ten minutes after Luke arrived for breakfast, a knock sounded at the cabin door.
I checked, but no one was there. “That’s weird.”
“Maybe it’s the wind”—he shrugged—“a branch hitting the door.”
“Probably…want more coffee?” I topped off our cups and was about to sit when the knocking sounded again. “Is someone playing a joke?”
“I’ll get it.” He flung open the door as if to catch a prankster. “No one.” He stepped outside, looked left and right, and scratched his head. “That is strange.”
The tapping sounded a third time.
