Page 54 of The Glass Dolphin

Maddy had two children, and they’d both taught her how different people could be, even when they came from the same tree of DNA.

She handed the paper to Robin, then returned to the table when her phone started to ring. Ben’s name sat there, and her pulse thumped out an excited beat as she swiped on the call. “Hey,” she said.

“Hey, yourself,” he drawled. “Where are you? I thought I’d find you at the ferry station.”

“I’m meeting with Robin today,” she said. “I’m in the Sands.”

“Hmm.” Something buzzed on his end of the line and the wind whipped across his receiver.

“Are you on the boat?”

“I’m on a boat,” he said. The man loved boats and water and the ocean. He’d taken every training possible for him to take in the Coast Guard, and he’d been a captain for a few years now. Julia had dubbed him Captain Gorgeous the first time they’d met, and Maddy still thought of him that way sometimes.

Like right now.

“Will you marry me in your uniform?” she asked, suddenly thinking of it.

“Of course,” he said matter-of-factly.

“You’ll be the only one wearing white then,” she teased, because she would not show him her wedding dress. She’d gone shopping with Julia, Alice, Robin, and Laurel, and she’d put a picture of it on the group text for all the women to see.

Now that Alice had filed for a new title for the lighthouse, and everything had been explained there, Maddy didn’t have to feel guilty filling the thread with frivolous wedding plans. They weren’t frivolous to her.

Ben growled and said, “I found a dock near The Glass Dolphin. Will you stay and have dinner with me?”

“Only if we can stargaze from your boat afterward.”

“Honey, that’s implied.”

She laughed lightly, even when Ben did not. He could joke with her, but he definitely had a more stoic and serious personality. He called her his sunshine, because she was blonde and bright and personable. He was more like the storm cloud—he claimed.

She didn’t mind, because he was good to her, kind to her, and doted on her endlessly. He loved her, and she loved him, and as Maddy hung up, she sure hoped this marriage would never end.

Her teeth pressed together as she worried, and she turned back to Robin, who’d also just ended her call. “Well?”

“The outdoor beach is already reserved for that day,” she said. “But I got you the London Hall there, and it’s gorgeous. They’ll fly in plants and flowers, even if they haven’t bloomed here yet.” She smiled at Maddy. “What did Ben want?”

“I think he’s coming here on his boat,” she said, once again twisting to look out the windows. “I don’t know where he’s going to park that thing, but…” She trusted him, so she didn’t worry too much about it.

“Meal A,” Robin mused. “Apricot and potato skin napkins.” She tucked things back into the box she’d brought. “Dinner here, venue secure both indoor and outdoor. Dresses. Flowers.” She flipped to another tab. “Oh, the cake.”

Maddy sighed as she sat down. “How have you and Duke made things work for so long?”

Robin blinked at her, then she too sank back into her chair. “I…don’t know. He’s just…perfect for me. I’m like, this ball of energy.” She sighed, and Maddy simply watched her as she looked over to the art hanging on the wall across from them. It depicted a big, blue whale under the water, with so much life and energy beneath the surface, and plenty above it too.

The perfect cross-section of land, air, and water.

“He calms me down,” she said. “He listens to me when I need to rant about something. He helps me see things I don’t even consider.”

“He never cheated on you?”

“No,” Robin said, shaking her head slowly. She looked back over to Maddy. “I don’t know why men do that, Maddy, but I really don’t think Ben will. You walk on water for him.”

“But how do youknow?”

“I can see it with you two,” she said kindly. “With me and Duke…” She didn’t shrug. She didn’t blow Maddy off. “I guess I’m not sure I knew when we first got married. I loved him, and he loved me. We’d known each other for a while and had been dating. We’d talked about everything under the sun, and I felt like we were on the same page.”

Maddy had spent some time with Duke and Robin, and they did seem to operate from the same page a lot. “It can be hard to get on the same page.”

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