to the ground together.
Ugh. Every subject somehow led her back to Josh, and how was that even possible when she’d only been around him at sea?
Since she’d stared off into space, she shook herself awake, shoved her planner aside and flipped through the reports Mark had brought her. Nothing sank in, but she’d take them home and study them later. Not like she had anything better to do this weekend.
Nope, she’d be pounding a pint of ice cream by herself tomorrow evening while the rest of her team were at Josh’s boat-christening ceremony.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Okay, what next?” Josh muttered, half to himself and half to Jane, Nathan, Tinsley, and Nancy.
George was in the vicinity, but he’d appointed himself official taste tester of the appetizers. Judging from the stack of toothpicks, he’d eaten several of the barbecue meatballs Nancy had made—at least she’d prepared enough for a small army. Meanwhile Mom and Dad were supposed to be arriving any minute. Another alert he hadn’t set in his phone went off, marking thirty minutes till go time. Danae had definitely gone overboard on the alerts, but on top of being sort of useful, they’d served as a reminder of what he was doing all this for.
As Josh scanned the various items he’d bought and tried to recall everything that needed to be done before the party started, he wished he had someone like Danae to help him be more organized, every detail well-planned.
No, not like Danae. He wanted the one and only. No substitutions or exceptions, and what if he threw this entire party and she didn’t come?
“Josh, don’t freak out.” Tinsley looped a white string of lights along the bow of his boat, which was facing dockside for the ceremony. She’d assisted with the Evites and arranged things with the marina, so he’d given her free rein to decorate, twinkling fairy lights and all. “This is going to work. I can feel it.”
Josh’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest when he spotted Vanessa, and he rushed in her direction, his footsteps echoing across the wooden walkway. “Oh, thank goodness, you’re here.”
Vanessa pushed her large sunglasses up on her head, using them as a headband to secure her dark curls as he led her to his slip. “Wow, the ship is beautiful.”
“Compared to Barton’s luxury sailboat, it hardly compares, but—”
“Old doesn’t equate to broken.” Vanessa glided her fingers along the wooden trim of the bow. “I’m at least a decade wiser than you, Josh, so I get it.”
His nerves went from tumultuous to a sloshing sway. “Thank you is what I should’ve said. Both for the compliment and for being here.”
Already the woman was raising her phone to take pictures, most likely about to post them on tons of apps he’d never heard of.
“Everyone, this is Vanessa,” he said as he tugged her toward his mishmash family. “She’s the social media director of Barton Boats, and will be shooting videos and taking pictures as we perform the ceremony.”
After rattling off introductions, Josh drew Vanessa aside, next to the tarp that covered the gold letters he’d applied yesterday. “Danae’s coming, right?”
Vanessa opened her mouth. A squeaky noise that didn’t satisfy any part of him came out, and she shrugged. “I truly believe she’ll show up.”
“Believe?” All morning Josh’s blood pressure had been sky-high, but that sent it screeching into the danger zone. “Didn’t you talk to her? You said you were going to find a way to get her here.”
“We all talked to her yesterday before leaving work. We told her that she had to come along, or how else could we possibly relive our fun trip? She nodded a bunch, so I thought we were getting through to her.” Vanessa grimaced. “But then she said she wasn’t sure she could make it and asked me to take lots of pictures, just in case. I know she wants to be here, but she’s scared.”
Scared. There was that word again. It had been frustrating enough when George and Nancy had used it to describe him, but the idea of Danae being afraid…? Oxygen hissed out of his lungs, leaving his head throbbing from the lack of air. “The entire reason I’m throwing this party is because of her. For her. I made Evites. I went food shopping.” He swung his arm toward the bow of the ship. “There are blinking lights strung across my ship.”
Vanessa gave him a sympathetic look. “I’ll call her. Paige, Franco, and Justin were already planning on swinging by her