“Your wish is my command.”
She left her cart sitting next to the antique store and started to walk down the sidewalk.
Dean didn’t move, but looked from her to the cart. “You’re not worried about it being stolen?”
Wendy laughed as she rolled her eyes and came back, linking her arm through his.
It caused his heart rate to spike, but not because it bothered him.
This was something else altogether.
“No. This isn’t New York or any other big city where if someone were to take it, no one else would know the difference. Here, everyone knows it’s mine so if they see anyone else with it, they’d say something.”
Not the worst thing, he supposed.
Inside the bakery, the owner and Wendy were immediately engrossed in a conversation about the tour.
“I don’t understand how virtual tours work,” the owner said.
Wendy leaned in and lowered her voice. “I don’t either, but this guy here...” She pointed to Dean. “He’s a tech guru the likes of which Trumanville has never seen. He’s got it all under control.”
Dean laughed. “I don’t know about tech guru...” Except he kind of was. “But it’ll be online. You’ll be given a code to access the website then you click on the house you want to tour. You can do the full tour start to finish or choose individual rooms. Zoom in if you want to see more detail and out if you want to take it all in.”
Wendy frowned, but only for a second. “See? It’ll be super easy.”
The owner wasn’t done fretting. “I don’t know if my internet can do that.”
“Can you stream MyBingeFlix?” Dean asked her.
“Well, yes.”
“Do you have a computer? Or a smartphone?” he pressed.
“Yes.”
He smiled at her. “Then you’ll be fine.” There had to be an app he could use if he needed to so it would be more readily accessible for those who didn’t have a computer hooked up to the television but did have a streaming device.
With a quick text to his assistant, it would be taken care of.
“What is your name young man?” The owner narrowed her eyes at him.
“Dean, ma’am.”
“Dean what?”
“Uh, just Dean is fine.” He didn’t have security with him like he usually did, on the condition that he keep to himself and didn’t tell anyone who he really was.
There was a local guy who did security for a bunch of bigwigs he could call if needed. Maybe Jonathan knew some local video people who could help him get the tour ready to go. Between himself, Jonathan, and Gavin, surely they could figure something out.
He pulled his phone out and sent the text to his assistant, asking for help with both the technical side of things and getting in touch with the local guy.
The owner and Wendy had moved on to discussing the big movie premiere the weekend before.
“What are you going to do with the windows on the BnB?” the woman asked.
“I have a plan, but I don’t know when I’ll get to it. I’ve got a lot going on.”
“Oh, but you need to!” The woman pleaded with Wendy. “Your building can’t be the only one with windows that aren’t decorated.”
“I’ll get them done.”
Dean could hear the weariness in Wendy’s voice despite the smile on her face. What could he do to make her life easier?
Except for getting the virtual tours ready, he didn’t know. Most of the things she needed help doing were things that required artistic talent and not just throwing money at it.
The money thing he could do.
Artistic? Notsomuch.
Once they’d grabbed a sandwich and a drink, they went outside to sit on a nearby bench. The day was clear and cold, but not too cold. Sitting outside wouldn’t be too uncomfortable.
They talked some more as they ate. Dean finished before Wendy and stretched his legs out in front of him, his arms finding their way along the bench on both sides.
“Let me take you to dinner Sunday,” he said suddenly.
“What?” She covered her mouth with her hand as she realized she’d just taken a bite.
“The parade, festival, and tour are on Saturday. You can’t get rid of me before then, and I’ll help however I can. But Sunday, it’ll all be over. Let me take you to dinner.”
She finished chewing and swallowed. “Like a date?”
He chuckled. “Exactly like a date. Where would you like to go?”
“Um...” Wendy blinked at him. “I have no idea. It’s been a hot minute since I went on a real date.”
Dean laughed again. “A hot minute?”
“Quite a while. Longer than I care to admit.”
He rubbed a thumb along her shoulder. “Well, I haven’t been out on a real date since my ex-wife went insane, so you’ve probably been on one more recently than I have.”
She leaned into him. “Probably. It sounds nice. Let’s plan on it.”
Chapter 5
Great. Now Wendy had days to worry about what to wear instead of maybe twenty-four hours.
What to wear. What she’d say. What to do if he tried to kiss her.
It had been far too long since she’d had to worry about any of those things, and she wasn’t crazy about it now.
By the time she was almost finished her second window painting of the day, she knew Dean better than she had before.
She knew he was a successful businessman, though she wasn’t sure what exactly he did. Something with tech, it seemed, though she hadn’t quite gotten a handle on what.
As she laughed at something he said, his phone buzzed. Dean excused himself while she continued putting the finishing touches on a Christmas tree. She stepped back and looked critically at the front windows of the Beach Reads bookstore.
The snowmen were reading books and looked far more peaceful than life currently was in the Beach family - or so she understood. The parents were splitting up, and it was taking a toll on everyone in the family. But the store was still in business - at least for now, so that was good.
“That sounds great, Jonathan. Thank you.” Dean returned to his spot near her. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Who was that?”
“A guy who lives near here. His name is Jonathan Cranston, and he’s getting me some help with the video recordings for the tour.”
“Jonathan Cranston?” Did she know that name? Wait. “Jonathan Langley-Cranston?”
Dean shrugged. “Maybe?”
“I knew he lived on the other side of the lake, but I don’t think I know anyone who knows him.” She swiped at her forehead with the back of her wrist. “He’s pretty much as close to American royalty as you can get.”
He tossed a couple of Skittles into his mouth. “Hm. Did his dad or someone run for president a few years ago?”
“I think so. His brother went missing like five years ago. It was this whole huge thing when he just vanished. He reappeared a few years later about the time Jonathan’s adopted daughter wandered off and was missing for about eighteen hours I think.” It had been all over the news, too. “That’s all I really know about him, and that’s only because it was the only thing the local news talked about and every other post on social media detailed the whole thing.”