Page 17 of The Deal Maker

Hope sighs. “I don’t know if I’m up for that. We’ll be closing up the shop at seven and then heading out. Can we do take-out and then an at-home mani-pedi?”

I’ve already got a list a mile long of options for this night, but that wasn’t one of them. “Are you sure? You’ve been talking about your wedding since we were six.”

“I don’t want to be exhausted and hung over for the wedding. Who are you inviting?”

I pull out my phone to go over the list of people I need to contact. Most are friends Hope has had since high school, but there are a couple who I remember her mentioning but don't really know.

“How about we just make it a chill thing? Who is high drama that we should cut out from that list?”

Laughing, I shake my head. “You must’ve hit your head this morning or something. There’s no way that you’re suddenly not all about the details of your wedding.”

Hope smiles and we wait to continue the conversation while someone buys their candy stash. Once they’re out the door, she turns to me and says, “It’s okay for things to change. For the vision to be different. I never thought I’d be marrying a guy in the military and having to wait for him to come back from deployment, but when you know, you know. The hardest part for you is giving guys a chance and actually dating.”

“I date,” I say, frowning.

“Name your last date.” Her defiance has my defenses rising.

I frown. She knows exactly who my last date was. “Before Zander the Cheater, Davey Parsons.”

Hope laughs and says, “That was three years ago.”

“Has it really been that long?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m pushing you now. It’s time.”

“What if I’m not marriage material?” I say, rubbing my hands over my eyes. I’m exceptionally tired today and I’m not sure what to do about it. What if that’s why Zander decided to swindle me out of thousands of dollars and leave with the receptionist instead of being faithful to me?

Hope walks over and pulls me into her arms. “You’re definitely marriage material. But you don’t have to be perfect on the first try. Give some people a chance and see what you like and don’t like. Sixty years together might be unbearable if he consistently has bad breath.”

“You have a point there.” I open another screen on my phone. “Okay, what are we wanting for the wedding? Which venue did you choose?”

With hesitation I haven’t seen in a while, Hope leans over and says, “I’m actually hiring a wedding planner.”

I try to smile, knowing that as the bride, she’s allowed to make those kinds of decisions. But we’d always talked about planning each other's events, i.e. weddings, baby showers, etc.

“Okay. Who is it?”

“Her name is Dallas Cardon. She comes highly rated from The Bridal Barn and she’s great.” Hope squeezes my hand and says, “It’s not that I don’t think you can do this, Mags. I know you absolutely can and with all the glitter and glam I could imagine, but with everything going on with the business, I didn’t want you to develop insomnia to get it all done.”

“When you put it that way, I guess you have a point.” I would lose sleep and never relax if I was in charge of something like that. But I also feel like I’ve been punched in my gut.

The afternoon gets busier and I throw myself into work, grateful for the customers consistently coming in and the fresh faces that are amazed by our store. Hope and I have two people come in to interview when things get slow by dinner time. Sasha is a promising candidate. I’m not sure Abby would be a valuable employee after an outburst about her ex, Cooper. What does a pilot have to do with our candy business?

If only I didn’t have all this worry about my life changing now that Hope is getting married. And finding a date to it.

EIGHT

DUKE

Friday morning is tough to get going, but I make it to the office right before opening time. Not that I have too many people to answer to, but I’d like for this venture to pay off. I’d love to travel a lot more than I currently do. That typically takes money to do.

There’s a man standing outside the shop, and I smile at him.

“Looking for something?” I ask, opening the door with my keys.

“Are you Duke Jacobson?” he asks.

I nod, feeling a twinge of worry. “Yeah, that’s me.”

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