Page 30 of The Deal Maker

Is that a roundabout way of asking for my number?

While I should probably say no, the pictures he’s taken so far have been fun.

“Sure. You can send them through the message section in the app, right?” I ask. It’s probably safer that way.

He nods and a few seconds later I’ve got another notification from the app. I look at the pictures while he works on the post, curious about him as I stare at the picture of us with the dog.

I think about his question. If he wasn’t selling timeshares, would I still try to avoid him?

Each time I’m with him, I tend to lean closer to the no, that he would be someone fun to have around for things.

But after talking to Duke, I wonder if his motivation for selling the timeshares might be because he wants to travel, not because he wants to hurt anyone.

"It looks like we're done for the day," he says, giving me a half smile.

I nod and turn to walk back to the boardwalk. "I guess I should get back to Hope."

"Yeah, I need to make sure Corbin is working on things. It's different managing employees."

Nodding, I say, “How true that is.”

The dog reappears at my side, wagging his tail back and forth. I breathe in and out, trying to keep calm. I’d read somewhere that they can sense emotions. That has to be true since there are service dogs who sense when a seizure is about to happen or when a diabetic’s sugar is low.

Maybe if I don’t panic, I’ll be okay.

We walk in a comfortable silence until we get to The Candy Jar and DreamTime Vacations. Duke throws the dog another piece of jerky.

“Well, I’ve got to get to work. I’ll see you later.” I nod and hurry into the shop, unsure how things have turned so quickly. I should not be wanting to spend more time with the man who thinks it’s okay to send people to a very expensive appointment in order to fund his travels.

I need to protect my heart from so many things, because I don't want to backslide into what was my life before.

FOURTEEN

DUKE

"We can offer you some discount tickets to some of the events around here. You'll just need to sit in on a presentation."

The couple sitting in front of me nod, looking a bit tired as their three kids bounce around them. I thought I asked a lot of questions, but it seems like these kids could break a Guinness World record.

"Okay, let me come up with a total for the discounted price and we'll get you all settled. Are you good to attend the presentation tomorrow morning?"

"The sooner the better," the wife says. "Whatever will help us get them into some activities and for cheaper."

I nod, imagining that entertaining kids while on vacation can sometimes be a challenge. At least that's what my parents always claimed. How they knew that, I'm not sure, since we'd stayed in a hotel probably once before I went to college.

I write up all the details and get them to sign everything. After running their card for the discounted fees to the kid’s museum and the dolphin experience, I wave goodbye and lock up the store.

I doubt that couple will be a good candidate for buying a timeshare, but that's not my job right now. I'm just in charge of scheduling the appointments and helping people get something out of the deal.

I clean up the office space and make sure everything is ready for tomorrow morning.

Today was fun, despite the slow traffic to my shop. Singing with Maggie and then taking a selfie with that biker on the beach had been something different, adventurous even.

I open the app and scroll through the many pictures that have been uploaded to it for the scavenger hunt.

As much as Willow Cove can drive me crazy with the lack of excitement, this gives me a little spark of hope that things might change. Not for me, realistically, but for the community to have some fun.

I find the picture that we uploaded for karaoke and my gaze lands on Maggie's face. She looks like she's just been through something traumatizing, and to be honest, I had to just make myself laugh to get through how bad our singing was.

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