Page 61 of A Wedding in the Bay

“Well, I’m nervous about what it all means. Everett just blurted that we’re in a relationship before we’d talked about sharing that with people. It isn’t that I don’t want to tell people—I do—but I’m finding myself questioning whether we’re really ready for that next step. And I’m questioning why he said it in the first place.”

“Hmm,” Marsha said, her kind eyes glittering with curiosity. “Why are you questioning whether or not you’re ready?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Johanna sighed and looked out the window. The snow in Marsha’s yard gleamed a dazzling white in the sunlight, and beyond it, the ocean looked serenely blue. It was a calming scene, and it helped steady the way her nerves were still buzzing. “Taking the next step like this implies that we’re getting serious. And as much as I like him, that makes me jittery. It all felt so fun and easy before, but now I’m questioning whether or not I’m ready.”

Marsha nodded. “Getting serious may feel scary, but think about how you would feel if you stopped seeing him. If he feels ready for this next step, then it’s your job as his girlfriend to try to meet him where he is.”

“But that’s the other thing.” Johanna clasped her hands together. “What if he isn’t really ready either? What if he just said that I’m his girlfriend because he was reacting possessively because another man wanted to dance with me?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” Marsha said. “Besides, there’s a way you can find out for sure if he’s ready or not.”

“There is?” Johanna asked, leaning forward. “What is it?”

“You can ask him,” Marsha said, lifting one brow.

“Oh.” Johanna sat back in her chair, feeling a little silly. Her stomach knotted with nervousness again. “What if he says he isn’t?”

Marsha chuckled. “What is it about love that makes us all start acting like teenagers all of a sudden?”

“Are you saying I’m acting like a teenager?”

“Yes, indeed I am.”

Johanna chuckled and then let out another sigh. “You’re right. I’m acting absurdly silly. Do you think he’ll be honest with me if I come right out and ask him all that? Do men answer those kinds of questions honestly?”

“I don’t know about every man,” Marsha said, “but I feel confident that Everett will be honest with you. And trust your instincts! You know him better than I do. Don’t you think he’ll be honest with you?”

Johanna smiled, looking out the window again and thinking about Everett. She thought about a time that he had told her she had frosting on her nose without hesitation, and another time when he’d confessed that the dents in his front door were from when he tried to move a table into his house by himself and ran into a great deal of trouble. He’d never seemed to shy away from honesty in the least, so why should she expect him to shy away from it now? “I do. You’re right. I do think he’ll be honest with me.”

But what if, when she asked him, he said that he had jumped the gun a little bit and he wasn’t feeling all that ready to date her seriously?

“What are you worrying about now?” Marsha teased. “I can see you frowning again.”

“Oh.” She groaned. “What if he says—”

Marsha held a hand up. “No pessimism without warning signs. Have you gotten any warning signs?”

“No,” Johanna admitted. “I haven’t.”

“Then don’t worry. Besides, even if he says he isn’t feeling quite ready yet, that doesn’t mean he won’t be soon. And what about you? How are you feeling about the whole thing? Do you think you’re ready to start dating Everett seriously?”

“I—” Johanna felt the butterflies start to dance in her chest again. “I feel nervous.”

“Do you see it going somewhere?”

Johanna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She imagined getting to see Everett every day. She imagined kissing him on the doorstep before he left for work on his boat. She imagined cooking dinner for him at night, and baking cakes for him on his birthday. She imagined dancing with him at every wedding for the rest of their lives.

Her eyes opened.

“Yes,” she said, her heart lifting up. “I do see it going somewhere, I really, truly do.” A bright smile spread across her face, and she couldn’t stop grinning. “He makes me happier than I’ve been in a long time.”

Marsha reached over to give her a hug. “It sounds like you already have your answer then.”

Johanna took a deep breath. “I still feel nervous, but I know how to deal with that now. I’ll just focus on how I feel about Everett. That will help keep me steady when I go to talk with him.”

Marsha squeezed her hand. “Good. And don’t worry at all in the meantime. I have a feeling that things between the two of you are going to work out beautifully.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

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