That sets her off back toward the door of her store.
Once it’s unlocked and she’s pushed it open, I turn to face her. “Thanks again, Athena. Thanks for everything.”
Her lips part in a soft smile. “I’m glad you stopped by.”
I am too. I’m damn glad I stopped by.
CHAPTER SIX
Athena
“Areyou making that bouquet for the Queen of England?” Leanna squeezes my shoulder as she passes behind me. “It’s taking you forever. It was perfect twenty minutes after you started.”
I take a step back and survey the finished product. “Does it look like sunshine to you?”
“That face looks like sunshine to me.” She circles a finger in front of me. “You’ve been grinning since I got here. What’s that about?”
I point at the screen of the laptop Leanna set up on the corner of the table that we use as a workstation. The wooden table may be old, and the baby blue paint is chipping off of it, but it works for us. It belonged to the previous owner of the shop, so I’ve always considered it a good luck charm.
“Online orders have been coming in all day.” I wink at her. “Why wouldn’t I be grinning from ear-to-ear?”
Sliding her reading glasses up the bridge of her nose, she studies the screen of the laptop. “These orders are all from today?”
Nodding, I carefully place the vase containing the bouquet for Liam’s mom into the cooler. I make a note of the order number on a piece of cardstock before tucking it between two yellow roses.
“They all came in since this morning.” I stand next to her. “It’s all thanks to you.”
She tucks a lock of her black hair behind her ear. “I can’t take credit for that. You need to thank Al. He’s the one who came up with the design for that online ad.”
My marketing efforts have been hit or miss. Jeremy Weston, my oldest brother, is always pitching new ideas to me. Most of them are fantastic, but some are better suited to selling vodka, not flowers.
Jeremy owns Rizon Vodka.
He understands that market. I have a pulse on this one. Together, we’re learning what does and doesn’t work when it comes to finding our niche in the oversaturated Manhattan florist scene.
When Al came to me with an idea for an online ad, I was skeptical, but once I saw the design and listened to Leanna’s thoughts on our target market, it all made sense.
The steady stream of orders coming in today is proof of that.
“I’ll take this one.” Leanna taps her fingernail on the screen. “You’re the daisy whisperer so that one is yours.”
I toss my head back in laughter. “What does that even mean?”
“It means daisies aren’t my favorite.” She rolls her eyes. “Don’t tell me that you haven’t noticed.”
“What did daisies ever do to you?”
“Al’s second wife loved them,” she scoffs. “He brought me a bouquet on our first date and told me as much.”
Biting back a smile, I shake my head. “Bad Al.”
“He’s damn lucky I let that slide.” She jerks a thumb over her shoulder toward the cooler. “You’re on daisy duty. Hop to it, Boss Lady. These orders won’t fill themselves.”
Hours later,I finally set myself down on a wooden stool.
This is the first day in months that I haven’t taken a lunch break. I made time for two bites of an apple. I kept hydrated with small sips from my water bottle every hour, but almost all of my focus was on flowers.
Leanna offered to stay past three, but I practically pushed her out the door.
