“I should get moving, too,” Jake said with some hesitance.

“Will you be okay? Do you want to call someone to stay with you?”

“I’ll be fine,” Rachel replied. “I’m a lot tougher than I look.”

A faint smile tipped his lips. “So I’ve noticed. You paint, you plow snow, you run a successful business, and you even make a decent cup of coffee. I’m impressed.”

“Don’t be,” she said, smiling. “It’s all smoke and mirrors.”

“No, it isn’t,” he returned. “It’s all you.” Then out of the blue, the night seemed to shrink around them, his gaze softened when he looked at her. “You’re an extraordinary woman, Rachel.”