Dick had never really thought about why he was so convinced that marriage was what he wanted. "I don't want to break up with you either, Carrie. I was mostly bluffing. I believe in marriage because... well, I like the complication. Because it is a risk. I want to be with you forever. I say that now. I mean it. But it's still just something I'm saying. If I go out there, and I say to you and to the world, 'No matter what happens, I am going to be with this woman and love her,' I'm taking a chance. I'm taking a risk that you might break my heart into a million pieces, and I can look into your eyes every morning for the rest of our lives and think, wow, that was worth it."
He swallowed and took a deep breath. "And if you don't want to take that risk right now, that's okay. I'm not asking you to. I love you. That's all that matters."