"Is this your way of proposing?"
To her surprise, he immediately denied it without even thinking,
"Of course not!"
Proposing was such an important thing—how could he make it so simple? Since he had decided to start over, he wanted to make everything unforgettable for her.
Clarisse was a little stunned. She had been planning to accept if he had said it was a proposal, but since he denied it so firmly, she could only ask,
"Then what do you want to do?"
Before Jonathan could say what he had in mind, the doorbell rang. It was probably Samantha bringing Josie back. Jonathan glanced at her and turned to answer the door. It was just as well not to tell her now—he could give her a surprise later.
Sure enough, outside were Samantha and Josie. Jonathan reached out and scooped the little girl into his arms. Josie, wearing a fluffy hat, leaned in with her soft lips and gave him a kiss on the cheek, calling sweetly,
"Daddy."
