Heat flushed my cheeks. “Oh.”
“Our customers are paying a lot of money for our largest displays. Max wants them to feel like they aren’t just getting a beautiful product, but also top-tier service.”
“Of course.” My exhale blew through my lips. My paranoia over appearing helpless was showing. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” Her hand moved to my shoulder and squeezed. “How about this? I’ll tell you when Max is creating some kind of exception for you, and then you can take it up with him. How does that sound?”
“Sounds perfect,” I said, the tension easing out of me. “He’s already doing too much. I don’t want any more handouts.”
“I get it, but to be fair, in the dictionary under chivalry, there is only a picture of Max Hamilton. I’ve checked,” she said with a droll smile.
I chuckled, ignoring the flutter in my stomach as I neither agreed with nor denied her sentiment. Reaching for the closest catalog, I thumbed through it, not wanting to linger on one of the many reasons I was attracted to a man I shouldn’t want and couldn’t have.For God’s sake, Daisy, you were going to marry his best friend not even a week ago.
“Oh, this would be amazing,” I murmured, my attention snagging on one of their fall specials, theHarvest Moonbouquet.
“I can get you one for upstairs if you want,” Erica offered, her eyes flicking to her phone for a second when it buzzed.
“Oh, no.” I shook my head. “I mean, that would be great, but I was just thinking these—the roses and hypericum—with a little bit of cinnamon would make a perfect perfume.”
Erica tipped her head. “Perfume?”
“I’ve been…distracting myself with making homemade perfumes over the last few days with all the leftover flowers from my—from the inn.”
Erica blinked and said nothing.
I closed the catalog, feeling silly. “I’m sorry. Please continue?—”
“No, don’t apologize. I’m just fascinated. You made perfume? With our flowers?”
“I started. Vodka and peony petals, but it takes a few weeks to pull all the aroma out.”
She opened the catalog back to the harvest special. “What would you use from this?”
“Well, the rose and the hypericum leaves—they have an amber-like aroma. I don’t think…does anything else have a scent?”
She scanned the list of flowers included in the bouquet. “Pincushions. Safari sunset…No, I don’t think anything else in there is going to add much.”
“Those with a dash of cinnamon…”
“I’ll get you whatever you need,” she said eagerly, grabbing a notepad and writing as she spoke. “Roses, hypericum, cinnamon, vodka.”
“You don’t have to. It’s just a hobby.”
“I want a bottle,” she said and pointed to the bouquet in the catalog. “This was one of the arrangements I designed, so I’d love a matching scent.”
“I could make a matching scent for any of them,” I said without thinking…and then thought,what if I did?
Erica blinked. “That is…a great idea, actually.” She grabbed a notepad and a pen. “I keep telling Max we should do more add-ons. We’re going to start doing custom vases once Nox gets his production up and running, and I’d suggested scented candles. But perfume…I never thought of perfume.”
My brows lifted, and I looked between her and the catalog.
“Oh, I don’t mean that you would have to do them all,” she quickly assured me with a pat on the arm. “I know you’re not…that you’ve got other things—” She broke off and then started over with a smile. “It’s just a great idea.”
“Thanks,” I said softly, staring at the image again.What if I didn’t have other things? What if I started making custom perfumes for Max? For everything he was doing for me?“I’d love to give it a shot. Make a few samples for you and Max to test and see what you think.”
“That would be amazing,” she gushed just as the bell at the door sounded again. I went to stand, ready to step back and let her handle the customer who’d walked in when she stopped me. “Oh, no. Sit. It’s not a customer.”
She took her phone and went to greet the young guy holding a brown paper bag. I glanced at the clock, realizing we were well into lunchtime. Maybe I could walk along the main road here and find something for lunch. I doubted I’d find a place that had a?—
