Page 57 of The Deal Maker

Hope has been busy for the past couple of days. I feel bad for leaving to work on the tasks for the hunt, because I know she has to organize and plan. I had to drop off something at the post office on my way to work and end up walking by The Bridal Barn on my way.

What was it like for Duke to grow up around weddings? He doesn't seem like he's into all of the wedding stuff, which kind of surprises me, having been surrounded by it his whole life. Maybe he's had his heart broken or he's just sick of getting accosted on all sides. I can completely relate to that one.

He did avoid telling me about his past relationships though. Why?

Duke has been on my mind a lot lately, which is funny because only a handful of days ago I despised him. Now I’m hoping to see him around every corner.

I don’t see him even when I get to The Candy Jar. The lights are on in DreamTime Vacations, but it’s one of the people Duke manages.

I get to work refilling several of the candy bins. Hope comes in about thirty minutes later looking like she's got the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"What's wrong?" I ask, putting down the rag I use to clean some of the bins.

"It's just been a long day," she says.

“It’s only nine-thirty in the morning. Did something happen with Jason?” I hesitate before asking more, hoping that she’ll fill in the blanks.

“I don't know if it's going to work out,” Hope says, slumping into a chair.

And now my thoughts are scrambling for anything that might be remotely close to what she could mean. Is she talking about our partnership in The Candy Jar? Or does this all have to do with her fiancé?

“Can you elaborate on that a bit?” I say, trying to add some humor to my tone.

Instead of taking the bait, Hope looks at me as though she's lost.

“I don't know if I can get married,” she says.

Something in my chest tightens as if an invisible force is trying to squeeze all the air out of my lungs. Having been on the other end of this kind of conversation hasn't gone so well for me. But then again, there was never a distinct conversation to end my prior relationship. It was filled with a lot of excuses and “This isn’t what you think it is” moments.

Hope and Jason seem so good together and he's been doting on her ever since they started dating. What could make her so ready to give all that up?

For some reason I think of the movieFather of the Bridewhere the main character’s fiancé gives her a blender just to have around the house. She takes it to mean that she needs to give up her life to be a housewife and wants to call off the wedding.

Hope has always been herself through and through. She's strong enough to speak up for what she wants. At least I hope she is. Her doubt right now is so different from any emotion I’ve seen from her in a really long time.

“Why? What’s different today?”

She sniffles and says, “We had a meeting with the caterers about food for the reception and Jason’s mom showed up.” Hope gives me a side eye that lets me know it wasn’t a good thing. “She basically steamrolled the entire appointment because she’s not happy we’re getting married so quickly. There was also whining that we’re doing it here in Willow Cove instead of at a fancier place in South Carolina. I wish I hadn’t mentioned anything about my appointment. Maybe she wouldn’t have shown up at all.”

“I’m sorry, Hope. It’s not like you don’t have enough stress trying to get everything together for this in a matter of weeks, but to have her breathing down your neck doesn’t help things.”

“If only she could’ve been like Cheryl.” Hope sniffles again, looking over at me.

Cheryl is Zander’s mother and pretty much the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. The only problem is that she fell for Zander’s father when she was young. Their relationship was never great, but she did everything she could for her son, and by extension, me as her future daughter-in-law.

“Yeah, she was great. She convinced Zander’s dad to pay for most of the wedding expenses that we couldn’t get refunded.” She’d also come over and held me for several hours when I was struggling with all the changes and disruptions in my life because of her son. “Have you talked to Jason about this?”

Hope shakes her head and says, “No, not yet. His mom was there the whole time and wanted to go to dinner with just the two of them tonight. She’ll probably try to break up the wedding anyway. Convince Jason to leave me or something.”

I breathe out, knowing I don’t have control over the situation and shouldn’t let the irritation fester. “It sounds awful, but if Jason is going to fall for something like that, it’s better to know now than after you’ve combined all of your assets.”

Hope’s lips pinch together, and I can see her tears forming again. “What if he doesn’t want to marry me? Or how are we going to survive for the rest of our lives with the thought of his mother not supporting us if we do?”

And now I’m officially bugged by my cousin. “Are you trying to tell me that the worst thing you've encountered so far in your relationship has been tension from his mom?” I tried to soften the disbelief in my tone, but I can see from her expression that it didn't work.

“No, that's not the worst. But his mom has never really liked me. You know how we used to dream up everything. That we’d be the perfect daughters-in-law and have such a great relationship with our husbands’ families. I was fine with having my wedding in a month but now I'm second-guessing everything.”

“Since when do you let other people tell you what to do?”

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