Page 34 of Before the Storm

Not long after that, though, Hilary texted. It was like she knew.

HILARY: Impromptu dinner? Rose and Gale are game, too.

By seven thirty, Tara was in the Nantucket Historic District with a glass of rosé and a flatbread with parmesan, artichokes, and dried tomatoes. Gale, Rose, Hilary, and Tara clinked glasses and watched the snow fluttering out the big window of the wine bar. Tara hadn’t yet told them what happened at the doctor’s office. Instead, she took pleasure in listening to the smallvictories and annoyances of their everyday lives. Her heart filled with love for them.

She could almost pretend this was just an average, normal day.

Suddenly, she spotted someone on the street corner outside: a terrifically tall blond man with a big, puffy coat and a thick, hand-knitted scarf. Tara froze. It was Johan.

“Why do you look like you saw a ghost?” Hilary demanded.

The three of them followed Tara’s gaze to the corner.

“Who is that?” Rose whispered.

“He’s just an old friend,” Tara said, waving her hand.

“If he’s old, he’s aged like fine wine.” Rose giggled.

Johan was looking through his coat pocket for something. Seeming frustrated, he threw his head back and cast his gaze toward the wine bar. Immediately, his eyes flickered with recognition. He took his hand out of his pocket and raised it to Tara.

Tara’s heart jumped into her throat.

“Wave back!” Rose cried.

Tara raised her hand and waved. A smile crept over her face. It felt like she was butter melting on a slice of warm bread.

“Oh my gosh. He’s coming this way,” Hilary rasped.

It was true. Johan had abandoned his post at the corner, and he approached at a clip, moving faster than most because of the incredible length of his legs. All at once, he was inside the wine bar and approaching their table. Tara alternated between panic and joy.

“Tara! I thought that was you.” Johan’s Swedish accent was especially musical and beautiful tonight. “You caught me in a weird state. I couldn’t find my car keys. But of course, I just put them in a different pocket than usual.” He jangled the keys now, then slipped them back into his pocket.

Tara couldn’t stop smiling. It was hurting her face. “I do that kind of thing all the time.”

Johan laughed. “You’d think after forty-nine years on earth, I’d remember something that simple.”

“The simple things are the hardest to remember,” Tara said, although she wasn’t sure if she really believed that. She would have agreed with anything Johan said right now.

Johan continued to beam at her. Tara remembered what Josie said—that Johan had always had a crush on Tara. Was it true? Or was he just really friendly and nostalgic for the early 2000s?

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Hilary asked finally.

Tara had nearly forgotten her friends were there. “How rude of me! These are my dear friends Rose, Hilary, and Gale. Girls, this is Johan. He used to live on Nantucket many years ago, and he just got back.”

“You aren’t American,” Hilary said as she shook his hand.

“I’m Swedish,” he said.

“So was my mother!” Hilary cried. Excitement filled her face.

Johan glowed. “You look just like a Swedish actress I used to love as a boy.”

Tara fought a violent wave of jealousy. Of course, Johan knew Hilary’s famous actress mother. Of course, he’d been in love with her.

“That’s her,” Hilary said with a heavy sigh.

“No kidding?” Johan chuckled. “That’s the thing about Nantucket. You meet all sorts of people from all walks of life. You even meet a famous movie star’s daughter.”

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