Page 65 of The Deal Maker

She smiles and my eyes track her lips, wondering what they would feel like against mine. Not the time or place for that line of thinking. I don’t know if she’d slap me if I tried to make that move on her, and in her own store no less.

Sure, now that I’m not a timeshare salesman, she’s changed her tune about me but I still don’t want to ruin what we’ve built so far. Kissing her on the cheek the other day had been agreat slip up, much like calling her dear near the beginning of our relationship, the not-so-friendly connection we’d had at the start.

“There is a cult following for it. I think requirements to join are usually for those under the age of ten.”

“I’m okay not being included in that one. Let me get strawberry.”

“Strawberry?” Maggie asks, leaning forward as if she didn’t hear correctly.

Sighing, I say, “Yeah, I think today will be a less adventurous journey for my taste buds. But I’m sure it will still be good.”

She scoops the ice cream and hands it to me. “If you’ll pay Hope, I’ll finish up with these last few customers and then we can go.”

I don’t know why I like the sound of that. At this point, I’d like to go just about anywhere with her.

Nearly ten minutes later, I’ve finished my waffle cone and we start walking over to the town square.

“How was work today?” I ask, turning to look at Maggie as she walks alongside me. She’s holding my arm again, and I like that she’s not so funny about distance and space anymore.

“Good. How was brainstorming for your future today?” she says with a smile.

“Still working on it. We’ll see how it goes.”

“If you could do anything, without worrying about the money, what would you do?”

I think about that for a moment, trying to come up with something that would work for a suitable answer, something that felt right.

“I guess a business that would still allow me to interact with people. I wrote down a few ideas to present to Troy. Maybe I should help out part time, get to know the business before I tryto buy them out. I’ve also tried to think of a few ideas for the office space. Beauty salon, health food place, etc.”

“So, you don’t want to become a hermit lumberjack in the woods. Got it.” We both laugh at the same time and again, I’m struck by the ease we have in our conversation now. I don’t know when that changed, but I’m grateful for it.

“Yeah, I prefer people interaction and keeping all of my digits,” I say, wiggling my fingers in front of her face.

“Probably a good choice. Even if you work for Troy, you’d need an idea for the office space. And it would be good to have a backup ready to go. Do you want to do something with animals? You’ve got Champ and he’s so fun.”

I nod. “He’s definitely a ball of energy. I like animals, but I don’t think I could go back to school and become a vet or anything.”

“You could start a pet store,” Maggie says. “Or an animal playground. A doggie wash for when people get off the beach?”

I like the sound of that. “That could be a good idea. I’ll put it on my list of better ideas.”

“What’s on there so far?” she asks.

“Doggie Wash,” I say with a laugh.

“What’s on the other list?”

Shaking my head, I say, “A whole lot of stuff that I don’t think would work year-round here in Willow Cove.”

“Ah, yes, that’s definitely something to consider as well.”

We’re almost to the town square and I’m surprised at how many people are already there. “Let’s go over by one of the sidewalls so we can sit down,” I say, gently touching her lower back to guide her through the crowd. It feels intimate, but with everything we’ve been through the past several weeks, it feels right.

We sit down and don’t have time to say anything else as the mayor stands at the microphone.

“Welcome back, Willow Cove residents and guests. We hope this scavenger hunt was something you’ve loved. Hopefully you were able to explore the beauty that is here and get to know the businesses and people in this great community. We’re ready to announce the winners of the prizes for this event, and let me tell you it was difficult to come to a final decision on this, based on all of your amazing photos.”

Barnabee nudges Mayor Dobbs and we can hear him say, “Tell them what the criteria for picking was.”

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