Page 48 of A Wedding in the Bay

She smiled, but she still felt butterflies of nervousness twirling around in her stomach. She handed him the package, squirming a little. He took it and sat down on the couch, looking as eager as a little boy on Christmas morning. She sat down beside him, clasping her hands together.

I feel so nervous, she thought. And embarrassed. But perhaps he’ll like it.

He carefully pulled off the ribbon, tore open the wrapping paper, and pulled out what was inside. His jaw dropped when he saw what it was.

“Johanna,” he stammered, staring at the sweater in his hands. “Did you make this?”

“I did,” she said, wincing. “Don’t look at it too closely.”

He laughed—his big booming laugh—and she couldn’t help smiling. “This is extraordinary! When you said you couldn’t knit very well, I thought you meant you were still struggling with the basics.”

“Well, Marsha is an absolute saint as far as teaching goes,” she said, blushing. “She’s really helped me along. But as I said, don’t look at this sweater too closely.” She laughed. The butterflies in her stomach had turned into a warm glow of happiness. She was thrilled by how much he liked it.

“It’s wonderful,” he said, holding the sweater up to the light. “It’ll fit me perfectly, and it’s such a nice color.”

“I thought dark blue would suit you,” she said warmly. “I thought it would go nicely with your red hat.”

The two of them exchanged a smile, and he wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug. “I’m so touched,” he told her, and since his face was pressed against the side of her head, she could feel him smile. “It was so sweet of you to make this for me.”

“I wanted to,” she said, biting back a smile as she pulled away from their hug. She felt that it would be too much to come right out and say it to him, but she found herself thinking about him almost all the time, and knitting the sweater had seemed like a great way of channeling that into something productive.

He grinned widely at her, and her heart fluttered. She realized with a jolt that she was falling for this man.

Well, she thought, looking into his eyes and feeling as though her world was turning upside down, I guess I’ll just have to see where that takes me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Alissa took a step back and checked her reflection in the mirror. She frowned and then smiled, deciding that she liked the subtle streaks of blush that she’d applied to her cheeks. Behind her glasses, her lashes had been accentuated by a dark mascara. She didn’t usually bother with makeup, but today was a very special occasion. She and Dane were getting ready to go to Josie’s wedding.

“Honey, where are my black socks?” Dane called from the bedroom, where he was getting dressed into his suit.

“Aren’t they in your sock drawer?” she called back.

“No, they’re—oh yes, you’re right. Here they are.”

She chuckled to herself as she started to carefully comb her hair, making sure to not disrupt her natural curls. She was wearing a tasteful navy dress with long sleeves, since a winter wedding was sure to be on the chillier side, even indoors. It was a new maternity dress, with a fluttery skirt, and she felt excited to get out of the house and onto the dance floor. She wouldn’t be able to dance a great deal, considering how pregnant she was, but she wanted to get out on the floor and sway near her dancing friends at least. She chuckled to herself as she thought of it. She was looking forward to not being pregnant anymore—mainly because she couldn’t wait to have their bundle of joy out in the world.

Dane came out of the bedroom, tying on a navy tie that matched Alissa’s dress. “Okay, I’ll be ready in just a few—wow.” He stopped when he saw her, grinning. “You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

“Why thank you. You look very handsome yourself.” She grinned at him and gave him a kiss. “You know I love you in a suit.”

He took her by the hand and spun her around. “Are you sure you can dance in those shoes?”

“Oh, definitely. My ankles are well supported.”

“Hmm, I think we’d better do a test run, just to be safe.” He waltzed with her for a few steps, and then dipped her back a little.

“Yup, all good,” she said, laughing as he set her back on her feet.

“Are you almost ready?” he asked, standing next to her in front of the mirror as he began to tie his tie.

“Very nearly,” she said. “I’m just going to pin some of my hair back with this pin.” She gestured to an antique hair pin that she owned. It was made of gold and looked very becoming with her brown hair.

“Perfect, me too.” He finished tying his tie and then started back toward their bedroom. “I just need to put on my suit jacket and my shoes.”

A couple of seconds elapsed, and then from inside their bedroom, he called, “What about Jack?”

“Veto!”

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