“Fake?”
“Do you know that she always has calls to make? Her whole job is making calls, and I never really know who she’s calling. She just comes back with a plan or an idea for something.”
“Is that not what publicists do? Sorry, I don’t have one. No need.”
Kennedy smiled, and they walked side by side into the kitchen.
“You might need one soon. I have a feeling your candy shop is about to get some business. You sell online, right?”
“Sort of. It’s hard to keep up with everything. I have a very small staff. I have a website, obviously, and I take orders through it, but I don’t do much business through it or publicize it much because I would have to take time away from the shop, which is pretty much always busy.”
“You might need to hire someone to help out because once this is out with mine and Cameron’s face attached to it, you’ll get people ordering from you.”
“You really think so?”
“I do. It’s probably going to blow up for you in a good way, especially if we link to your website. Hey, if you want, I can even post about it. I’ve tried your stuff and loved it, so I wouldn’t be lying to people. I can do it right now, too.”
“Right now?” River asked after she moved to stand on the opposite side of the counter from Kennedy to put some space between them.
“Yeah. Why not?”
“Because my business partner, who isn’t as well-versed in this stuff as I am, is there while I’m here, and I’ve got two part-timers. That’s it. She’d freak out if she had a bunch of orders come in out of the blue.”
“Oh, right. Sorry. Makes sense. Another time, maybe.”
“Are you looking for a job?” she joked.
“You know I am.” Kennedy smirked.
“I meant in candy. You’re looking for acting jobs.”
“That I am,” Kennedy said with a sigh. “So, teach me. What are we making?”
“Whose food would I be stealing? I didn’t think to ask. This is a rental, right?”
“Oh, it’s all ours. This place is on the market. They kept the furniture and stuff to help sell it, but the food was all gone. Jessie stocked this. Besides, I’m sure the chefs have left stuff behind.”
“Well, let’s see what we’ve got in here,” she said before she pulled open the pantry door and walked in. “Oh, cool.”
She couldn’t exactly call what she saw well-stocked, but it was a decent selection.
“What?” Kennedy asked, suddenly appearing in the small space right behind her.
River took a deep breath and tried to get her heart rate under control while she grabbed a can of sweetened condensed milk.
“I know a quick and easy way to make something you’ll like. It’s not my recipe for the shop, but I’ve got to work with what I have.” She picked up a bag of chocolate chips, too. “One dark and one white; I can work with that.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Fudge,” she replied and was very happy when she saw actual real vanilla extract and not the cheap, imitation stuff on the shelf. “Yes! We’re in business. I can’t make a big batch, but this is enough for something for all of us, at least.”
She turned around with two bags of chocolate chips in one hand, vanilla under her arm pit, and a large can of sweetened condensed milk in the other hand right in front of Kennedy, who smiled at her and then took a step to the side to let her out.
“So, you don’t cook at all?” River asked her when she set her ingredients on the counter by the stove.
“You have a whole vision of our lives, don’t you?” Kennedy laughed.
“Can you make a cup of coffee for me?”
