She took my hand in hers over the table and I squeezed it back. The weight of all her words sank into me and latched on to my feelings about this whole situation.

Deep down, I knew she was right about everything. I was also terrified of putting myself out there again–of fully laying my feelings bare for someone and giving them a chance to really hurt me.

One realization had started to dawn on me over the past few days. If I did decide I was brave enough to take that step again, I didn’t have doubts about who I would want to take it with. That was just as exciting as it was scary. Dean was the one I would want to try it with, but I wasn’t just scared about things going wrong if we dated. I was scared about admitting that my feelings for him were becoming more and more real, because what if he didn’t feel the same way?

My dad and Harper came back out from the kitchen and he was flanked by Lin, our waitress with the dark hair and upturned eyes, on one side and Harper on the other. There were two other young, pretty women with him as well.

My mom gave him an expectant look, probably waiting for him to explain how he went into the kitchen with one pretty girl and came out with four.

“This is Harper and her staff. Lin,” he said, pointing to the dark haired one. “This is Farrah,” he said, pointing to the girl with big curly hair. “And this is Gabby. She helps Harper’s husband and grandfather-in-law run the hospitality side of the inn.” Gabby had blonde, curly hair and was almost so attractive it was laughable. “Annd,” my dad said when he saw the look on my mom’s face. “They were all just taking the time to greet the family of the bride-to-be.” He went over to my mom and planted a kiss on her cheek, which earned him a smile and an amused look. My dad took his seat back at the table.

The four young women made small talk with us about the upcoming wedding and how excited they were to be hosting. My mom got to talking with them about cruise life, and I found myself tuning out the conversation as my thoughts returned to Dean.

Was my mom really right?

Was there anything worth the risk of going through what I went through again? I honestly didn’t know, but I also felt a new fear creeping into my mind. Would I live the rest of my life with regret if I let the next week pass and never made a move? I’d be letting Dean walk out of my life. Our fake relationship would come to an end. I’d be on my own again, and maybe I could actually think about chasing that dream of moving out to a small town. Without a guy to hold me back, I could pick anywhere in the world. My work could be done remotely. I could make a life for myself somewhere–maybe even a place like Fairhope.