"Thanks for coming over." Rosemary quickly ushered me into the house. "I made pasta."

It took everything in me to keep myself from bringing up whatever it was that Rosemary wanted to talk about with me. She didn't speak while she brought out two plates of pasta and two glasses of water. She remained uncharacteristically quiet while she began to eat.

She cleared her throat. "So, I told you that I needed to talk to you about something."

"Yes?" I tried not to seem too eager to find out what she needed to discuss.

She seemed hesitant to continue. "Um, Lee is the only other person who knows this so you have to promise not to say anything."

With her statement, I began to form an idea of what she was about to tell me. I nodded, promising that her secret was safe with me.

"I'm pregnant."

"Rosie! Congratulations!" I reached over and squeezed her hand.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"But wait. We had wine at dinner the other night."

She shook her head. "I didn't have any. You were probably too distracted to notice." She smirked. "Oh," she gasped. "Speaking of dinner the other night, what was with the comment about the cookies?"

My face warmed. "Um, I might have brought some cookies to Jack last week."

"You baked cookies for him?"

"Not for him specifically. I just had one of those nights where I couldn't sleep, so I baked instead. I figured I might as well bring some to him; I had made plenty."

"You didn't bring any to me." She pretended to pout.

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "I just…had other things on my mind." Other things being Jack. "Anyway, enough about this. So, you're having a baby! That's so exciting, Rosie. When are you due?"

"The end of September."

"So you're about two months along?"

She nodded. "I found out a month or so ago. It's been so hard to keep it a secret."

"I'm so happy for you, Rosie. Lee, too. That little baby has no idea how lucky it is to have you two as parents."

"Thank you for that." She rested her hands on her stomach. "And this little baby is lucky to have you as Auntie Beth."

"'Auntie Beth.' I like the sound of that." I smiled.

...

"Is anyone sitting here?"

I turned, pleasantly surprised to see Jack. "Hi. No, it's all yours." I motioned for him to sit in the pew beside me. I hadn't planned on seeing him until after church, so I was happy to get to spend the morning with him.

He leaned over. "I know I've already said this, but I had a really good time Friday night."

I smiled, feeling heat rise in my cheeks. "So did I."

"I was thinking…" he paused for a moment. "Maybe we could do it again."

"I'd like that."

"Good."

Jack was sitting close enough that our arms were touching. I was distracted by his proximity to me, unable to focus on anything else. Had anyone asked me what had happened during the service, I would have been incapable of giving an answer—except that he reached over at some point during the sermon and took my hand in his.

We stood together at the back of the church after the service ended, trying to come up with plans for the rest of the day.

"Hey, we always go to lunch after church at Abigail's. You're welcome to come."

"Are you sure that's okay with Abigail?"

She walked up and put and hand on his shoulder. "Of course it's okay. We'd love to have you join us."

"Yeah, you know what they say: the more the merrier." I nudged him playfully.

"Okay. I guess I'll see you there?"

I nodded. He gently squeezed my arm and walked away.

Abigail smiled. "I think you were holding back when you told me how your date went."

I shrugged. "I told you we had a really good time. We're going to see each other again. It's still really new, there's not much else to tell."

She put her arm around me. "Come on, let's get going so we can make sure you get a seat by Jack."

"Abigail!"

Jack was already at the café when Abigail and I arrived, waiting in his car. He and I followed Abigail through the front door. Rosemary, Lee, Clara, and Jesse all entered shortly after.

We sat at a large table in the center of the room, and I proceeded to introduce everyone to Jack while Abigail went to the kitchen to get the food.

"You already know Lee and Rosemary." I motioned across the table at them. "This is Clara, Abigail's daughter-in-law, and her boyfriend, Jesse."

They both waved from the other side of the table. Jack seemed a little confused.

"I'll explain later," I told him quietly. I cleared my throat before continuing. "Then there's Faith." I paused for a moment, feeling like I was missing someone. "Oh, I guess that's everyone. I forgot that Abigail's kids are visiting their aunt this weekend."

"It's nice to meet you all." Jack gave a small nod.

He was quiet at lunch, only speaking when someone asked him a direct question. I could tell that he felt like the odd man out. I hoped that feeling wouldn't last long; I enjoyed having him there with me.

...

I sat beside Jack on the swing on my back porch. His arm rested on the swing behind me, not quite touching me. Bronte walked along the fence line, nose to the ground.

"Hey, Jack? I'm sorry if you were uncomfortable at lunch today."

"Why do you think I was uncomfortable?"

"I don't know." I pulled my knees to my chest. "You seemed kind of quiet. And I know it can be stressful meeting a lot of new people all at once."

"Elizabeth." He moved his hand to my back. "I'm still new in town. I've gotten used to being in situations where I'm the outsider."

"So you weren't uncomfortable?" I looked up, meeting his gaze.

"No. In fact, I was happy to be included in your Sunday tradition."

"I'm glad. I liked having you there." I gave a slight smile. "So is there anything you want to do this afternoon?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't mind just sitting here and talking. It's a nice day. Unless there's something you really want to do."

"That sounds like a good plan to me. I'll just be right back."

My phone was buzzing when I entered my house.

"Rosie? Do you need something?"

"Are you busy right now?"

"Um, well… Jack is here."

"Oh my gosh. I'm sorry for bothering you. I'll just wait for Lee to get home."

"No, it's fine, Rosemary. What do you need?"

"I'm fine. Just go enjoy your afternoon with Jack." I could almost hear her smiling through the phone.

"Okay, but please call me if you change your mind about whatever it is you need."

I filled two glasses with water and grabbed a blanket before I headed back to the porch.

"Sorry that took so long." I handed him a glass of water and returned to my spot beside him. I spread the blanket across my legs, leaving enough for Jack to use if he wanted.

"Are you cold? We don't have to stay out here."

"I'm a little chilly, but that's why I brought a blanket out."

He pulled the remaining half of the blanket over his lap. I hesitantly moved a little closer to him. He smiled and put his hand on my back again.

"Oh, I just remembered that I promised to explain the whole Abigail-Clara-Jesse thing."

He leaned back, more relaxed than I had seen him all day. He absentmindedly traced circles on my back while I spoke.

"Where to start…Abigail and her husband, Noah, had a son, Peter. Clara and Peter dated all through high school, and they got married right after they graduated. A few months later, Peter and Noah were in a car accident. Neither of them survived."

"That's awful."

I nodded. "I didn't know either of them, but from what I've heard, they both sound like they were great men." I sighed. "Anyway, Jesse moved to town shortly after I did, and he and Clara have pretty much been together ever since."

"Wow, that must've been horrible for both of them, losing their husbands like that."

"Mhmm, and Clara was so young. Thankfully, she had Abigail to help her."

"They seem happy now."

I nodded, leaning my head on his shoulder. "They are."

I felt butterflies in my stomach as he took my hand in his. We sat in silence for a while, just enjoying being close to each other. I relaxed into him, focusing on the soft sound of his breathing.

"Jack?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for coming over today."

He squeezed my hand. "Thank you for inviting me."

...

Jack and I saw each other nearly every day that week. Some days, we met for breakfast at Abigail's before work. Other days, we spent the afternoon sitting on the porch swing and talking. It was easy to forget that we had known each other for less than a month.

Friday evening, Jack arrived at my house to pick me up for our second date. He hadn't given me many details, just the time that I should be ready.

When I opened the door, he pulled a bouquet of flowers from behind his back.

"These are for you." He grinned as he held the bouquet out to me.

"Jack…" I took the flowers from him, ushering him into the house. "These are beautiful. Thank you."

He sat down on the couch, watching me as I put the flowers into a vase and placed them on the coffee table.

"I just need a few more minutes, then I'll be ready to go."

He nodded, and I quickly headed up the stairs to my room. I took a deep breath as I put my shoes on, wondering why I felt so nervous again. We had spent so much time together that week, and it wasn't like we were getting ready to go on our very first date. There was no reason for me to be nervous.

He slipped his hand into mine as we walked across the yard. At his touch, my nerves seemed to melt away.

"Jack, where are we going?" I expected to head toward his car, but we walked toward his back fence instead.

"Just wait." He dropped my hand as he opened the gate and led me into the backyard.

A projector screen was set up along the far fence line. A blanket was laid out on the grass, a picnic basket sitting in the middle of it.

"I wanted to take you to a drive-in, but apparently they don't like to be open this time of year."

"This is better," I stated as I sat down on the blanket.

He sat beside me and started to pull food from the basket. "You can take whatever you want. There's plenty."

Once we had both made up our plates and got situated, Jack grabbed a remote and turned on the projector.

I gasped. "The Sound of Music? I love this movie!"

He smiled. "I know."

I looked at him quizzically, eyebrows raised. "How? I've never mentioned it before."

"I might have asked Rosemary what your favorite movies were."

He pressed play, and I felt my lips curl into a smile at the familiar music. I hummed along, almost forgetting that Jack was sitting beside me.

My cheeks flamed when I noticed his eyes on me. "Sorry, I can't help but sing along with this movie."

He put his hand on mine, giving me a wide smile. "Don't be sorry. You have a great voice. Besides, I don't think my neighbor will mind." He winked.

I leaned my head on his shoulder, and his arm slid around my waist, pulling me closer. I relaxed into him, his hand slowly moving up and down my side. I shivered at his touch.

"Are you cold?" His breath tickled my ear.

I shook my head, but he draped a blanket around me anyway.

The moon was high in the sky by the time the movie was over. I was exhausted, my eyelids drooping, but a part of me wasn't ready to leave. I was so comfortable in Jack's embrace.

"Hey." Jack touched my cheek. "I should probably walk you home. You look tired."

I snuggled into his chest. "I don't want to go." The exhaustion was evident in my voice.

"Elizabeth, it's late. We'll see each other tomorrow." He stood and held out his hand to help me up.

"Thank you for tonight, Jack. Next time, we can watch something you like."

"Who's to say I don't like The Sound of Music? Besides, it's the company that I care about."

My cheeks warmed at his statement. "Good night, Jack."

"Good night." He gave me one last hug before I entered my house.

I leaned against the door and sighed happily. It had been a perfect evening.