Not even twenty-four hours after I arrived back home, I got a call from Julie.

"Julie? I just saw you. What's going on?" I was a little worried, given that she was calling so soon after I left.

"Oh, don't worry. Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to know how things went with you know who when you got home. Have you seen him yet?"

I laughed. "You make it sound like I'm dating Voldemort. That's about as far from Jack as you can possibly get."

"Wait. Dating? Present tense? Are you back together?"

"Mhmm." I held the phone away from my ear as she squealed. "He was waiting at my house when I pulled up last night, so we talked things through. Everything's good now."

"You sound happy."

My lips curled into a smile. "I am. I'm very happy."

Just minutes after I ended the call, there was a knock on my door. Jack was working late, so I knew it couldn't be him. I was only a little surprised when I opened the door.

"Oh hi, Rosie, good to-"

She pushed her way into the house.

"…see you," I finished

Rosemary didn't even greet me before she started speaking. "Okay, I'm going to need you to bring me up to speed with everything. You left town suddenly, and then Jack came looking for you, saying you broke up with him. What happened?"

I was honestly getting tired of explaining my actions, but I knew that Rosemary wouldn't rest until I told her everything. "Well, first, you need to know that we're back together."

"Oh, thank goodness." She let out a sigh of relief. "But why on earth did you break up with him in the first place?"

"The short version is that I got scared. Scared of losing him because of his job, scared of how much I care about him." I shrugged. "And then I left, because I knew it would be too hard to see him after I ended things."

"But you're back together now?"

I nodded. "Yes. My week away gave me a chance to think, and then Jack and I talked when I got back. I realized that I was being ridiculous."

"You were just doing what you felt was right for you, that's not ridiculous."

"Thank you for saying that, Rosie. But you have to admit, running away because I was scared of how much I care about my boyfriend was a little ridiculous."

She grinned.

I looked at her curiously. "What?"

"You just called him your boyfriend."

"Well," I felt a blush rise in my cheeks, "that's what he is."

"I'm just so happy for you, Elizabeth. Both of you. You seem happier than I've seen you in a long time."

"Thank you, Rosie. And thank you for inviting me and Jack to that dinner. I needed that little push."

"Just remember to invite me to the wedding." She winked.

...

Monday morning, Jack slid into the booth across from me. "Good morning."

The corners of my mouth turned up. "Good morning to you, too."

"Are you busy this weekend?"

"We're skipping the small talk today?" I smirked.

"You hate small talk."

I nodded. "I do hate small talk. But to answer your question: no. I'm not busy this weekend."

"Okay, good." He reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "We're going on a little overnight trip."

Butterflies filled my stomach at the thought of staying the night with him.

"Don't worry, I got us separate rooms." Sometimes it was as if he could read my mind. "I didn't want you to be uncomfortable."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. But Lee and Rosemary are coming, too."

"Can I at least get a hint?" I tried to muster up a pleading look.

Jack just laughed. "Nope."

I leaned across the table and kissed him. "What about now?"

"Why, Elizabeth Thatcher, you are very persuasive, just not quite persuasive enough. I'm still not telling you." He smiled and wrinkled his nose. "Okay, I have to get to work, so I can't stay for breakfast. I just didn't want to wait until this evening to see you."

"Be safe, Jack."

"I will." He came around the table and leaned down to kiss me quickly before he left the café.

...

Jack knocked on my door Saturday morning. He kissed me before he stepped into the house.

"Good morning. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes. Do you want some coffee to take with you?"

"Yes, please."

I grabbed two thermoses from the counter and handed one to him. "You still aren't going to tell me where we're going?"

"Nope."

I caught up with Rosemary outside while Lee and Jack loaded up the cars. "Rosie, do you know where we're going?"

She shook her head. "Lee won't tell me anything. All I know is that he and Jack have been planning this for a little while."

Jack and I dropped our dogs off at Abigail's house for the weekend. Her son, Cody, was so excited to watch them.

We got on the highway; I still had no idea where we were going. Jack held my hand as he drove, his thumb brushing across my fingers.

I looked over at him, thinking about a few weeks prior, when I almost pushed him away. I couldn't imagine my life without him.

I had been scared by how quickly things were moving between us, but now, I looked forward to a future with him. I could see myself spending my whole life with him, and the thought made me smile.

He glanced over at my out of the corner of his eye. "Are you staring at me?"

"Sorry." I turned my gaze to our hands resting on the console between us, laughing softly.

"What are you thinking about?"

I looked back up at him. "How much I love you."

He lifted my hand to his lips. "I love you, too."

...

An hour and a half into the drive, I pulled out my phone to check the map, hoping to figure out where we were going.

"What are you doing?" Jack shot a quick glance at me before returning his focus to the road.

"Um, I'm just texting Rosie." I knew my fib was unconvincing.

"Elizabeth Thatcher! You're looking at a map!"

"No, I'm not!" I turned my phone screen away from him, laughing.

"You'll find out where we're going soon enough."

I looked at the map. We had been traveling northwest, passing through Tulsa. Now we were driving down curving backroads and through towns not much bigger than Hope Valley.

"Jack, are we going to Pawhuska?"

He didn't respond; he just smiled.

"We are, aren't we? Are we going to the Mercantile?"

"Are you surprised?" He reached over and took my hand.

"Very. But why did you tell me to pack something fancy?"

"You already figured out one surprise. I'm not telling you the rest."

"There's more?"

He nodded. "It is an overnight trip, after all."

...

The four of us sat around a table in the restaurant area of the Mercantile, finishing up an amazing meal.

"Oh my goodness, I think that might have been the best food I've ever tasted." I pushed my plate away, feeling stuffed.

Jack looked down at his almost-empty plate. "I don't think I'll need to eat again for another week."

We laughed, feeling the same way as we noticed all the empty plates on the table.

"I'm pretty sure I look about seven months pregnant now instead of four." Rosemary placed her hands on her stomach.

After we ate, we spent time meandering around the store. Jack and Lee stood off to one side, far less interested in shopping than Rosemary and I were.

We left with full stomachs, a few kitchen items, and some cupcakes and pastries from the bakery.

Mid-afternoon, we pulled up to a hotel in the heart of downtown Tulsa.

"Jack Thornton, what do you have planned?"

He just gave me a wink and a smile as he took our bags from his car. Lee and Rosemary were already in the lobby, having arrived a few minutes before us.

Jack handed me my room key after he got us checked in. "I got us adjoining rooms. I hope that's okay."

I nodded, and the four of us made our way to the elevator. Rosemary and Lee were in a room on the other side of the hallway, so we parted ways.

"See you two in a little while." Lee gave Jack a knowing look before walking with Rosemary down the hall.

"I'm guessing the fancy outfit you asked me to bring is for tonight?"

"You guessed correctly. We have about an hour before we need to leave, so you should have plenty of time to get ready."

I squeezed his hand. "Well, I guess I'll go make myself pretty now."

He leaned in and kissed me. "You're already beautiful, Elizabeth."

I touched his cheek and gave him one last kiss before stepping into my room.

I laid out my dress and heels on the bed, making sure everything still looked decent after having been packed away all morning. My navy blue, knee-length dress had only been worn once or twice before, and I was excited to have the opportunity to wear it again.

An hour later, Jack knocked on the door connecting our rooms.

"One second." I finished doing up the zipper on my dress before I opened the door.

"Wow." Jack let out a breath. "You look amazing, Elizabeth."

I felt my cheeks color, and I nervously smoothed down my skirt. "Thank you. So do you." I cleared my throat. "I just need to put my shoes on, and then I'll be ready to go."

"I told Lee we'd meet them in the lobby."

We stood just inside the door to the hallway. Jack seemed to hesitate.

"Jack, shouldn't we get going?"

"I just need to do one thing before we go." He put his hands on my arms and pulled me into a kiss, leaving me breathless. He smiled. "You really do look beautiful, Beth."

...

Jack and Lee took us to see a show at the performing arts center, just a few blocks from our hotel. Rosemary was ecstatic, reminiscing about her musical theater days while we waited for the show to start.

I hummed along with the songs, having heard the soundtrack a few times before. I could see Jack smiling at me from the corner of my eye. He reached over and squeezed my hand.

After the show, we walked slowly toward our hotel. Although the sun had set, the night air was still relatively warm, even for April.

"I don't know about you guys, but I could go for some pie now." Rosemary rubbed her stomach and laughed.

Lee turned to Jack. "We should've thought about that earlier and gotten a pie from the Mercantile."

"I was so stuffed after that lunch, I didn't even want to think about dessert. But now…"

"I guess you're lucky that I convinced you to check out the bakery." I scrunched my nose at him.

"Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes and nudged me with his elbow.

Rosemary sighed as we approached the hotel. "It's such a beautiful night. It's a shame it has to end."

We all nodded in agreement.

...

Jack and I stood in the hallway outside our rooms, having bid Lee and Rosemary good night at the elevator. "Thank you for today, Jack. It was amazing."

He pulled me into his arms, kissing my hair. "You're welcome." He sighed. "I don't want to say good night yet."

"Me neither."

"Hey, are you hungry? We still have the cupcakes we got earlier."

"Mm, that sounds amazing right now. Can I change into something more comfortable first?"

"Of course."

I quickly changed into a T-shirt and sweatpants before washing my face and running a brush through my hair.

Jack opened the door to his room as soon as I knocked. He had changed into a pair of athletic shorts and a T-shirt.

"Come on in." He ushered me through the door. "You'll never guess what's on TV right now."

I glanced up at the TV hanging on the wall. "Sound of Music!" I quickly covered my mouth, realizing how loud my outburst was.

Jack laughed and pulled me down beside him on the couch. I stretched my legs across his lap, and he handed me one of the cupcakes we had gotten earlier. We ate them in silence as we watched the movie.

I licked the icing off of my fingers. "I've had so much fun today."

"I'm glad you enjoyed everything."

I leaned in and kissed him. "I enjoy everything when I'm with you."

Suddenly, he began to sing along with the movie in a goofy falsetto.

"Jack! Shh!" I reached out, covering his mouth with my hand. "While I think your singing is beautiful," my voice was dripping with sarcasm, "I don't know if everyone else in this hotel will appreciate it."

He just laughed and pulled me closer to him.

I woke a little while later, curled up with my back against Jack's chest. His arm lay across my body, holding me close. The TV was still flickering.

"Jack," I whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Jack, wake up. We fell asleep." I slipped out from under his arm and stood. "I'm going to go back to my room."

He rubbed his eyes sleepily. "You can stay in here if you want. I don't mind."

"Jack…" I felt my cheeks color, thankful that he wouldn't be able to tell in the dim light of the room. "You got me my own room for a reason. I should use it."

"Okay." He got up and wrapped me in a hug. "See you in the morning."

I nodded into his chest as he tightened his arms around me. "I love you, Jack."

"I love you, too." He kissed me softly. "Good night, Elizabeth."