Page 54 of The Deal Maker

I groan. “I don’t know if I can recreate something like that.”

Duke turns and starts working with the sand, molding it into a tower.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Starting the foundation for your next castle. What are you thinking? Maybe a watch tower here and a courtyard there?” The guy is totally serious.

“Anything?” Why am I so hesitant?

He nods. “Describe it to me and we’ll make it happen.”

Since when is there a guy who’ll sit and help me construct a sandcastle when he should be at work? That sounds totally wrong in the normal societal terms, but it’s refreshing to not have to be all about work all the time. That’s all I’ve ever known and it’s been wearing on me.

“How about a tower and then a box?” I say, trying to be considerate of his time. The poor guy tracked me down in my depressed state and has kept his word to cheer me up.

He shakes his head. “Nope. You hunted down shells for your last castle. We’re not making this one subpar.”

“What about work?”

“It will still be there whether we go now or in fifteen minutes. Tell me your thoughts.”

Twenty-two minutes later, we’ve got a castle even better than the last.

“Thank you,” I say, trying to hold back the emotions surging. This whole situation feels surreal.

“No worries,” he says, pulling out his phone. “We’d better take a picture before it gets stomped on.”

I lean in and our heads nearly touch. He adjusts his weight so he’s leaning on his hand right behind my back and we’re even closer. If I turn just an inch, there’s a possibility we’d be kissing.Instead of acting on that new fantasy, I freeze, and my smile shows it.

“Say ‘armadillo’ for this one,” he says, and I can’t hold in the laugh.

“Armadillo? We aren’t even close to where those live. How did you come up with that?”

He shrugs, giving me a lopsided grin. “No idea. Sometimes I just have to let my brain loose and see where it takes me.”

We don’t move, the two of us leaning into each other. Reality is setting in, knowing I need to get back to the shop and give Hope a break, but I don’t want to be the one to move away.

“I told you about my dating life. What about yours?” I ask, needing to figure out that certain puzzle piece.

That must’ve been the wrong thing to say, because he sits all the way up and I’m missing him being so close.

“It’s not great.” He taps his phone a few times and says, “Okay, I’ve just posted the picture to the app. Are you ready for another task?”

It’s then that I check my watch, realizing how long we’d actually been out here. “I should probably get back to the shop.”

Duke nods and stands. “Sounds good. Are you feeling any better?”

I stand and give him a quick nod with a small smile. “I think so. Thank you.” Instead of a normal handshake, which would’ve been the less awkward option, I lean in and wrap my arms around Duke’s middle. He’s stiff at first and then relaxes a bit, making me not want to contemplate my entire awkward existence.

His arms wrap around me, and of all the things that could’ve happened today, this one was not on the list of possibilities. Am I mad about it? Definitely not.

This has to be the most healing thing ever as his hands rub small circles on my back.

“I’ll walk you back. It’s time I branch out and add a few nuts to my scoop of ice cream.”

I chuckle, still not believing that I actually told him all about my theory what seems like forever ago now. And the fact that he keeps remembering the little things makes my heart swoon a bit every time.

I shouldn’t be liking this guy at all, but it’s too late for that. He’s different from anyone in my past and yet, there’s so much to him, so much of him that wants to travel and explore the world.

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