Page 20 of The Deal Maker

“I hired Dallas and I think it’s going to be great. I can give her my ideas and not have to worry about the preparation.”

I stand and walk toward the shop. Opening the door, I see Hope walking out of the back room with a small cardboard box, probably full of the bags. I hang up the phone since we’re now face-to-face.

“I love that the mayor is promoting something like this,” Hope says, all smiles. “I know I would’ve loved it growing up.”

Grinning, I say, “We would’ve been the best at a scavenger hunt.” We’d spent a lot of time during our summer trips coming up with forts and playing games, but we always loved searching Willow Cove and the beauty here.

“Maybe you should enter it,” Hope says, turning to me with wide eyes like she’s just thought of the best idea ever.

Raising an eyebrow, I stare at her. “Really? This should bring more people to the store. There’s no way I can duck out and play around when there’s work to be done. And this is right during the big time to plan your wedding. I’m supposed to support you as the maid of honor, not hinder your progress.”

Giving me a small smile, Hope says, “Maggie, it’s okay to take a break. And it’s okay to have fun. Think of it like this: Sasha and I will hold down the fort when you’re out working on the scavenger hunt. I’ll be gone a lot longer for my honeymoon and my surgery than you will.”

That’s probably true. The scavenger hunt would probably only take a day to finish despite the two-week time frame.

“What if I don’t want to win a trip from DreamTime Vacations?” I say, trying to block out a mental picture of Duke. It’s so difficult lately.

Hope shifts her weight from one foot to the other, her eyes on me but I can tell her brain is working. “Isn’t there a cash prize? That could go toward you fixing up the old Waterford house you’ve always admired.”

I like that thought for all of two seconds before remembering that my savings went to this business and I can’t buy a house just yet. But a cash prize would go far to helping me get my savings back up.

“This will hopefully increase business. I’ll just help at the store.”

“How about this?” Hope says, licking her lips. It’s what she usually does when she needs another few seconds to answer something. “ If you participate in the scavenger hunt and actually try, I’ll tell everyone in our extended family to leave you alone at the wedding.”

Frowning, I say, “What do you mean actually try? You don’t think I’d be into it?”

“I’m saying that I want you to go for this. To have fun just because. If it takes me making an announcement to leave your relationship status alone for one day as a royal decree from the bride, I’m willing to do that.”

Shaking my head, I say, “You’ve been bugging me about finding a date for days. Why the sudden one-eighty?”

“I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on you. Seeing my favorite cousin be comfortable at my wedding is the best gift of all.”

“So all I have to do is sign up?” I ask, intrigued. I don’t think I’ve had a break from the nagging and teasing of my family since I was a young child. For one reason or another, they always like to give me a hard time, but I’ve been able to take it. Up until Zander the Cheater upended my life.

“Yep. Sign up and put in the effort. Fulfill every task that you’re assigned and I’ll do it.”

I nod a few times, trying to figure out if there are any loopholes in this agreement. The one thing I know is that Duke probably wouldn’t be in the running for this hunt because his company is the one offering the vacation. That has to look bad for the company if their employee tries to win it.

Why is he the first thing that popped into my head right then?

“Okay, I’m in.”

TEN

DUKE

Receiving an email that my company was helping to fund a vacation for a scavenger hunt wasn’t a surprise, thanks to John.

To their credit, I received a phone call from John’s boss, Russ, about an hour after the email went out.

“Duke,” Russ says, his deep voice booming through the phone.

“How’s it going?” I say, trying to understand why I’m getting a phone call and not just another email from the company. That’s usually how they communicate.

“It’s going well. It looks like you’ve got everything set up there in Willow Coven. Your numbers are looking good for the first few days.”

It takes everything in me to keep my mouth shut when he just made our little beach town sound like we’re a breeding ground for witches.

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