Page 66 of The Deal Maker

I have to hold in a laugh as the mayor shoots daggers with her eyes at her assistant.

“We had a panel of judges who gave points for creativity, ingenuity, and overall interaction on each of the posts.” Mayor Dobbs holds up an envelope and shows the crowd that it’s sealed. I don’t know if we need to go to that degree for a town competition.

“The winners of the vacation are…”

I’m holding my breath, hoping that for some wild reason we’ve won the scavenger hunt. “The Judsons. Their duet and several of their other posts were some of the bestaccording to the judging criteria.”

That’s probably true. And to be honest, they definitely deserve a trip somewhere fun.

“We have a few other prizes donated by the wonderful businesses of Willow Cove,” the mayor continues. I’m surprised she didn’t leave the vacation package for the end to sort of drum up the excitement, but whatever works, I guess.

There are a lot of happy people as they head up to get their certificates after being called. Georgie and King win a trip to the new spa opening soon and King looks like he’s less than excited.

“Winner of the five thousand dollars, donated through various businesses in town goes to…” Again with the suspense, but I’m trying not to focus on the answer too much. I know theresults are already in, but what if my thinking about winning it will jinx it?

“For some creative photos and trying to go outside the box, Duke Jacobson and Maggie Dean!”

It takes a second for my brain to register that we won the money. I turn to Maggie, grinning. She’s doing the same and then I pull her in for a hug, surprised how well we fit together. She smells amazing and I’m not sure if that’s just a candy smell, or if that’s her regular perfume, but I haven’t noticed it before.

“Come get your certificate, you two,” the mayor says over the microphone.

I pull back from the hug and see that Maggie’s cheeks are bright red. Maybe she’s as affected by our hug as me?

“Go get it,” Maggie says, waving me up to the platform.

She doesn’t have to ask me twice. I don’t think I’ve ever won anything before, well more than something at the fishing pond at the town carnivals we used to have. Maybe Willow Cove had been exciting before and the mayor remembered those times. I hadn’t connected it all until just now.

The mayor hands me a check with both my name and Maggie’s on it, made out for five thousand dollars. Sure, that might not last a long time right now, but half of it will help me pay back my grandfather.

“We’ll have to go to the bank to cash it and then split it,” I say, sitting next to Maggie again. I’m so excited that I pull her in for another hug.

She laughs and says, “I think you should use it. Put it in the bank and get your next business venture started.”

My excitement disappears at the suggestion. I should be over the moon that she would want me to have this, because then I can use it for more than just a loan repayment, but why is she suddenly giving it to me? Is it a charity thing?

“No, we worked on it together. I thought you were just as gung-ho to win as I was.”

Maggie nods. “I was and I’m glad we did win, for my competitive side. But I think you could use it. Maybe you can start up that doggie daycare or whatever. Or book a trip somewhere. A cruise, maybe? All the food and drink you could want.”

I can’t read her expression fully. Why is she so solemn all of a sudden? “I need a buddy to go on a cruise.”

Her eyebrows raise and she says, “I’m not the buddy for that. I struggle with seasickness.” She laughs and I’m a bit sad about that. I thought we were making progress in our relationship, but it seems like I was mistaken.

Maybe we’ve just been able to settle into a solid friendship instead of me being the enemy now.

But why do I want more?

TWENTY-EIGHT

MAGGIE

Why can’t I seem to steer clear of Duke? The guy is wearing me down with every interaction and I can’t let that happen. Principles and all that. Then again, he’s no longer with DreamTime Vacations and so all of my reasoning as to why I should stay away from him is crumbling.

It’s not as black and white as saying that his job is the worst. Now it’s a matter of if my heart can handle the ups and downs of a relationship when I’ve got PTSD from the last one.

Maybe I assumed when he said he needed someone to go on a cruise with him that he would take me. I’m still kicking myselfat that thought. I’ve never had any indication that he could want me traveling with him. Why did I have to open my big mouth and just let my tongue go wild?

I blow out a breath and work on getting everything organized. Another new gal we hired is coming in this afternoon for training, and I want to make sure she’s got everything she needs. I’ve made a checklist and several side notes so she knows what to do, but I’m still nervous.

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