“I don’t want to create a bunch of love rivals for you either. Even if they couldn’t hurt you, I’d still hate for them to envy you or harass you.

“Imogen, I belong only to you, in this life and the next. Don’t you dare push me toward anyone else.”

Imogen was silent.

She helped him inside and sat him down on the sofa before saying, “If anything, I should be the one finding a few love rivals for you so you’ll see that I don’t have to settle for you. If I wanted to marry, I could, anytime.”

Dylan immediately grabbed her hand, gazing at her earnestly. “Imogen, I love you. I’ll always love you. Even if you found a mountain of rivals for me, I wouldn’t back down.

“Time tests all things. The longer we’re together, the clearer it’ll be that we’re perfect for each other.”

Imogen pulled her hand back but could not resist pinching his cheek again. “You’re shameless.”

“Zachary taught all us younger ones that the first rule of winning your wife over is to be thick-skinned. We have to be abso