Small-Town Girl. Jessica Keller

these are all signs. What if my business is doomed to fail? I should never have tried to make all this happen.” She looked as if she might start crying.

      Brice’s stomach twisted into a knot. If there was one thing he was even worse at handling than parental relationships, it was crying women. Please don’t cry.

      Help. How can I encourage her?

      That thought shocked him. Usually Brice was introverted, but something about Kendall put him at ease. Perhaps it was her open way of talking. Whatever it was, if he thought about it any more he’d clam up.

      His favorite verse instantly came to mind. “Now, don’t talk like that.” He offered her what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “God doesn’t give us a spirit of fear. That discouragement isn’t coming from Him, so toss it away. God gives us strength and...” What was the rest of that verse? “God doesn’t want you giving up on a dream He’s given you.”

      “Do you really believe God cares about our dreams?”

      “I’d like to believe He does.” Brice motioned for her to follow him. “My car’s by my building. I’ll drive you home.”

      His shipping business was located two buildings down. He should have given her the address and explained where to park when she called earlier, but phone conversations made him uncomfortable and he always tried to end them as quickly as he could. “From now on, when we do these sunset cruises or if you need to come down to the docks for any reason, you can park by my warehouse and your car will be fine there.”

      She bumped her shoulder into his. “So, after everything, you still want to go on this adventure with me?”

      Adventure? The word pulled at something deep in his gut.

      It had been a long time since he’d had one of those.

      Brice couldn’t help the smile that crept across his face. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

      “I’m glad to hear it.”

      While he wasn’t overly thrilled about the idea of being a part of a date-planning service, he was smart enough to admit that he needed the money that it could potentially bring in. And if he was being honest, Kendall intrigued him, and he wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to spend time with her every week. A woman like Kendall would be sought after once some of the other bachelors in Goose Harbor discovered her. He’d lose her undivided attention quickly, but Brice could enjoy her company while it lasted.

      His hand closed around his car keys, letting the metal bite into his palm.

      This wasn’t like him at all—entertaining daydreams of spending time with a woman he hardly knew. No...make that spending time with any woman at all. He’d set the desire for a wife and family to the side. He had his shipping business to worry about, his little sister to watch over, but most important, he’d decided ten years ago that relationships weren’t for him.

      A man tended to think like that after the woman he was dating responded to his marriage proposal by laughing right in his face.

      He shook his head.

      Maybe he was overtired or stressed. Brice rubbed his jaw. He hadn’t been sleeping well. That had to be it. Because it couldn’t be that he was attracted to Kendall. That didn’t fit into the plan he had for his life. Not one bit.