his restored boat, a crooked grin spreading across his face as she approached. “Don’t you need to check your calendar first?” She twisted one of her curls around her finger, doing her best to not seem overeager.
“Oh, that’s a good idea.” Josh tapped a finger to his temple, and his eyes rolled toward the ceiling. “All clear.”
She shook her head but couldn’t hold back her smile. He could tease all he wanted. In fact, now she was picturing joking around as the two of them prepared his boat for the ceremony. Plus, she wasn’t lying about how much she loved planning. “Does that work for everyone else?”
Everyone answered that it did, so Danae penciled it in, along with the names Josh gave her.
Then she held out her open palm to him. “Hand me your phone, please.” When he hesitated, she added a finger wiggle. “I just want to see for myself that it gets added to your calendar.”
After acting like he was going to relinquish it, only to yank it away, at long last, he relented. She opened up his calendar, scheduled the christening, and set an alert the week before, two days before, and the day before.
One more for good measure. An alert for thirty minutes before, and she called it good and returned his phone to him. Her inner prankster laughed at how hard he’d roll his eyes and grumble during each and every alert.
Their entrées arrived, the aromas causing her mouth to water, and she slipped her planner in her bag so it wouldn’t get food on it. No surprise, the many glowing reviews were spot on. The restaurant was every bit as good as they claimed.
After dinner, everyone split off to go sightseeing. Danae hung back to settle the check and enter it into her expense spreadsheet. She exited the restaurant, slightly disappointed that no one had waited for her.
Okay, mostly that Josh hadn’t waited for her.
But then there he was, leaning against the white railing. He straightened as she approached. “Hey,” he said. “I figured it’d be best if we followed the buddy system. Even though you probably have at least three apps that could safely direct you back to the harbor.”
“Is any app as safe as a personal guide who’s familiar with the area, though?”
One side of his mouth kicked up. “Not if I’m the personal guide.”
Together, they headed in the direction of the shore. With the sun dipping low in the horizon, the clouds were turning varying shades of orange and pink. Lights began clicking on across the city, a flash here and a glimmer there, tiny squares that glowed brighter the closer it got to dusk.
“For the record,” Josh said, “Vanessa was going to wait for you until I informed her I would do the honors. Hope that’s okay.”
It meant Vanessa would be asking twenty questions tonight in their cabin, but too much happiness was coursing through Danae to care. “It’s perfect.”
Too late, she worried that had come out sounding too bold. She contemplated leaping into a discussion about the boat christening, but then her fingers and Josh’s brushed together.
Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, rendering her speechless.
With their arms loosely swinging and the narrow sidewalk, it wasn’t like it was a big deal. Surely he wouldn’t think she was making a move on him.
His fingers grazed hers again, and dozens of butterflies swirled inside her.
Josh curled her hand in his, nothing accidental about the move. In this moment, holding Josh’s hand and nearing the beach around sunset, she wanted to be bold.
Her heart ticked out of control as she spread her fingers apart and laced them through his. It galloped faster as he tightened his grip so their palms perfectly aligned.
None of this had been in the plans. While it felt like free-falling, it was all thrill, that instant when you let go and give in to gravity and its pull. It didn’t happen very often—especially in her life—so she shut off her overly analytical side in favor of embracing the here and now.
As they reached the beach and her pink heels sank into the sand, she bent, undid the ankle straps, and held the shoes in her free hand. Down shore, the light from the Brant Point Lighthouse flashed, nearly as pink as the sky behind it.
“Your dress matches the sky,” Josh said. “It even glitters like the lights across the harbor.”
For some reason, she lifted one side of her skirt and curtsied. Before she could try