Another affirmation of her love and commitment came, and Edric could not stop the swelling in his heart. Was it possible to know he'd found the right woman after a mere two and a half months (and with one of them spent almost entirely out of her reach)? An assumption that he'd never find a woman like February Lynch after knowing here for such a short time was a brash assumption to say the least, but as he neared thirty-seven years of age, he knew to test that theory would be to test fate itself. She could be happily married to another and he some unhappily confirmed bachelor within two or three years if he didn't seize the opportunity in front of him.

To love a woman and be able to act on it in any sense of permanency was something many men - his father included - never had the chance to do, so despite a part of him screaming to be sensible, he could not stop himself:

"Marry me, then. No more hypothetical situations." (And no more time for him to ruin this again.)

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