Chapter Nineteen
Zander hadn’t done much “dating” in his life. He’d lost his virginity to his high school girlfriend, who had since moved away from Alaska. In the Marines, he’d hooked up with his share of women, but he wouldn’t call that “dating.” Definitely not “courtship.” Since moving back to Lost Harbor, he’d kept things very simple with the women he met. No strings, no attachments, no expectations.
This thing with Gretel—courtship, negotiation, whatever it was—fell into its own unique category.
Lust. Friendship. Fun. All of that, plus a weird layer of surreal seriousness. He remembered a documentary he’d seen about arranged marriages, in which the couples were brought together by their families, but were given time to get to know each other before committing to the marriage.
It al
