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“Maybe you could put a sign next to the alley here by Max’s, one on either side, saying Spice & Tea Shoppe with an arrow indicating the direction,” Brooke offered.
Hailey nodded thoughtfully.
“Or even offer an incentive. Remember how you offered those free specialty teas at the Taste of Annapolis event?” Zoe asked.
Refocusing my attention from Colton and his friends to mine, I said, “That’s a great idea. Make one or two teas to serve. It will draw people in.”
Sophie nodded. “Your customers will be more likely to buy if they try it and like it. When things are quiet, I take a tray of samples to the sidewalk.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” Hailey said.
Zoe shrugged. “Try it, and see if it works. That’s what Max is always telling me. Test. Test. Test. You don’t know if you don’t try.”
Zoe smiled wide. “What new thing are you working on?”
“Well, I was considering the yoga and juice combination, but the yoga center didn’t like the idea, saying it wasn’t a good pairing. Colton made me realize I’m marketing almost exclusively to women.”
“Colton, huh?” Hailey asked.
I continued talking, ignoring her insinuation. “He didn’t want to take a free juice with him to work. Like he was embarrassed to be seen with it.”
Sophie nodded. “I can see that. When men come into the bakery, they always have to qualify their purchase. Oh, this is for the guys at work—or his wife or daughter. But you know they’re eating some of it.”
I tapped my chin. “How can I draw in men? What would make it natural for them to pick up the juice? The first thing I thought of was health clubs.”
“You could add whey protein to the smoothies. My ex, Mark, was into building muscle,” Sophie said.
“I need to play with my recipes and see if I can mask the taste of the whey and keep the same great flavor I already have.” I ran my recipes through my head, wondering if I could make it work.
“You can do it. I believe in you,” Sophie said.
“Thanks.” I hadn’t always believed in myself as a business owner, but I’d been listening to podcasts about being more confident as an entrepreneur.
“What are you ladies up to?” Colton stood behind Sophie. His gaze slid over each one of us, stopping on me. “Getting into trouble?”
A smile curved over Sophie’s lips. “Yeah, you know us. We’re troublemakers.”
Colton smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “I know some of you are.” His gaze never moved from mine, and I was so shocked that he’d smiled, I couldn’t respond.
He wasn’t in uniform tonight. He wore dark-wash jeans with a black T-shirt that stretched over his pecs and biceps. I wanted to push up his shirt and feel the warmth of his skin, trace the ridges of his muscles.
Sophie smiled at him. “We were just talking about Remi breaking into the bodybuilding world with protein shakes.”
“Do you lift weights when you work out?” I asked, fairly confident I knew the answer.
“I do.” His bicep flexed. “I can help you if you’re interested.”
Recovering from my initial shock at seeing him smile, I drew on my flirtation skills. “Want to be my taste tester, then? I need to test whey protein in my recipes.”
He smiled a second time, sending all the air out of my body. “I’d be happy to.”
I struggled to suck in a breath while the conversation went on around us. I couldn’t seem to look away from him.
Colton moved until he stood close to me, a hand on my elbow.
I felt that touch through my whole body, tingles erupting from the spot. “What do you need from me?”
A long, hard fuck against the wall.
