He went for the unknown. “How did you become an advice columnist?”

She smiled. “Friends in high school always came to me for advice, and I was good at giving it.” Kate shrugged. “I started on my life plan my junior year in high—”

“Life plan?”

“A plan detailing my short- and long-term goals.” She said it as if everyone had one. “Anyway, I realized I had a knack for helping people with relationship decisions. Then I took a fabulous writing class in high school and started my first manuscript.” She cocked her head. “It was bad, but I didn’t know it at the time. However, I realized I wanted to combine my love for helping people with my love of writing.”

“You had all this planned out before high school graduation?”

She flipped onto her side. “Sure. I knew I wanted to get a psych degree from Cornell and go into counseling so I could support myself and gain experience while getting my writing career started.”

“You were born on Nantucket, right? Is that why you’re here now?”

“My parents grew up here, and, yes, I was born here. We moved to Maryland when I was five because my dad got relocated. Then, when I was in college, a friend invited me here for a week to stay in her parents’ cottage in ’Sconset. What can I say? It felt like coming back home.”

“So you added Nantucket to your life plan?”

“Are you making fun of me?”

How could he criticize when she’d met all her goals? Except he was sure marrying him hadn’t been on that list of hers. “Tell me about your faith,” he said. “I’ve seen you at church when I go to the late service.”

“I became a Christian when I was young—Bible school. My parents took me to church every week. I still go . . . most weeks. Life can get hectic sometimes.”

“I guess we’ll go together now.”

“Guess so.”

That would be nice. He looked forward to having someone grow alongside him. He’d even attend late service so she could sleep in.

“Next question . . .” she said.

“What about the column? How did it start?”

She stuck her knee out to the side, and he worked to keep his eyes away from the smooth curve of her hips. “I started it at Cornell for the school newspaper. At first I wrote my own questions; then students began writing me, and it all took off from there.”

Apparently she set her mind to something and made it happen by sheer will. “Ambitious one, aren’t you?”

A wind tousled her fringed bangs. “I like helping people. Initially in my practice I focused on couples with marriage problems.”

“You seemed to build up a decent clientele.” He was in his shop enough to see clients passing up and down the stairs on the hour.