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“Hello?” Sophie’s voice came from the other room.
“Hello?”
So did Jessie’s.
I limped through to the store and grinned. “Just the little girl I was hoping would drop by. I have something I want you to try.”
She looked around the store, horrified. “Where is everyding?”
“I told you Rae is redecorating.” Sophie guided her in and pushed the door shut behind her. She looked at me. “What did you make?”
I held up a finger and grabbed the sundae—plus spoon—from the back. “Here. What do you think of this?”
The expression of wonder that crossed her face was something equal to how I imagined I’d look if I were ever able to meet, I don’t know, Joe Kenda from Homicide Hunter or something.
What? I’d be dead if I met him.
“Is dat a unicorn?” Jess never took her eyes off the sundae.
“Sure is. I just made it, and I want you to try it with me. Think you can do that?”
She glanced back at Sophie. “Auntie Sophie? Can I?”
Soph nodded. “Just this once, and not all of it, because your mommy will be mad at me if you don’t eat your dinner tonight.”
True that. Sophie’s sister was strict.
Sophie was not. God help her kids when she had them.
I put the sundae up on the tall counter, and Soph lifted Jess up to sit on one of the still-covered stools. She took the spoon enthusiastically and dug right into the dessert.
Her squeal of delight as she stuck the spoon in for a second mouthful was all I needed to know.
I’d nailed it.
“What is it? Is it a unicorn?” Sophie moved closer to me as I stepped back, keeping a careful eye on her niece.
“Technically,” I said slowly. “But it needs work.”
She nodded. “It’s cute, though. You’re definitely moving in the right direction. Here, give me your phone.” She held out her hand.
“Why?”
“Instagram. Get a picture of Jess hiding her face and tucking into one of your new test sundaes.”
“It’s in the kitchen. Won’t your sister freak at her face being on the internet?”
Sophie came back out with my phone in her hand. She typed in my passcode and answered with a shake of her head. “It’s all about the angle. See?”
I leaned in behind her as she took the photo. Jessie’s face was completely obstructed by her hair, but you could see the sundae perfect.
“Now, we edit…” She edited it so it had a blur around it, concealing Jess even more, but putting full focus on the ice cream. “The lighting isn’t great, but we can explain that.”
She was talking a foreign language. I was going to hire a translator.
“Here.” She shoved the phone back at me. “Read that caption. Seem okay?”
I took the phone and looked down at what she’d written.
The first TOP SECRET taste test for our new menu is happening today at BEST SERVED COLD mid-renovation! Who doesn’t have a four-year-old as their test audience?
She added a few hashtags that she’d obviously researched because when I posted it at her push, the account already had over one hundred followers.
“How the hell did that happen?” I asked, looking up at her.
She shrugged. “Social media. You need to post a few times a day. I saved the hashtags into your Notes. Copy and paste them on every new post, okay?”
“Finished!” Jess spun and grinned as she slid off the stool with a thud to the floor. The area around her mouth was a mess of purple and pink, and the dish was completely empty.
“Oh, Jesus,” Sophie said. “Rae, you’ve gotta learn how to promote this place. Do it for me, because I’m about to get my ass kicked.”
I tossed her a cloth from the sink and walked over to the empty dish. “Should I take a photo of this? To say the test went well or something?”
Sophie winked as she wiped Jessie’s face. “Now you’re getting it. I’ll make a marketer out of you yet.”
I rolled my eyes and angled my phone to take the photo from above. The remnants of the ice cream was melted and mixed with the chocolate. A few stars were left floating, and there was a tiny piece of the end of the waffle cone sitting there, too.
It was a melted unicorn.
I giggled, then stopped.
Holy crap. I had its name.
“The Melted Unicorn!” I shouted, spinning and pointing my phone at Sophie. “The Melted Unicorn! Look!”
She peered into the glass and burst into laughter. “Perfect. Now you can announce the name publicly!”
I took the photo, finally, and edited the lighting. I added the caption of, “The first taste test went well! The Melted Unicorn, coming soon to BEST SERVED COLD!” then added the hashtags and posted it.
“There ya go. You’re getting it.” Sophie took Jessie’s hand. “We have to go and work off some of that sugar, but keep going. You got this, Rae. Broken toe and all.”
