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”

“You're not going to lose me, Joe,” she said softly as they sat down on the sand, and he pulled her close to him. “I love you too much. You don't have to marry me.” She almost felt sorry for him. She had come to understand how much his freedom meant to him.

“Maybe I want to marry you. How would that be?”

“Wonderful,” she said, smiling at him, and he had never loved her more. “Very, very wonderful. Are you sure?” She was stunned. It had finally come.

“Sure enough,” he said honestly. Clarke had made a lot of sense.

He saw something in them that Joe saw too, when he was brave enough to look. A love that was both powerful and infinitely rare. “I don't think we should rush into it or anything,” he said cautiously “Maybe in six months or a year or so. I need time to get used to the idea. Why don't we keep it to ourselves for now.”

“That's fine,” she said quietly. They sat together without saying anything for a while, and then they walked back to the house hand in hand.

THEY WENT BACK TO New Jersey to work side by side, and things changed subtly between them as soon as they decided to get married.

Kate seemed to feel more confident and more secure, and Joe liked the idea for a while. They talked about plans they were going to make, the house they were going to buy, where to go on their honeymoon. But after several conversations, Joe started to look irritated when she talked about it. It was a nice idea, but too much of a good thing made him nervous.

He didn't have time to think about getting married. They were talking about building a second factory, and his business was exploding into new levels, and to new heights almost every day. By the fall, marriage was the last thing on his mind.

Things there were busier than ever for both of them. So much so that they didn't go to Boston for Thanksgiving, but managed to spend a week with her parents between Christmas and New Year's. By then her mother was so upset about their not being engaged that no one dared to mention marriage anymore.

It had become far too sensitive a subject. But Kate was also beginning to realize that as long as she lived with him, there was no particular rush for them to get married. Joe had so much on his plate that she didn't want to press him about their plans. He was just too busy. And too frightened by the commitment he'd made. She could sense it: As soon as he'd proposed to her, he started to back away.