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Since then, she's managed to crank out over 40 novels and 6 novellas that run the gamut from sweet to swoony to sexy to blazing hot.
She considers herself a small fish, but she certainly enjoys the swim, and hopes you enjoy the plunge into her writing!
Follow her at: www.layladelaney.com
You can also pick up Let’s Get Naughty 3 here: www.letsgetnaughtybooks.com or https://books2read.com/u/mqBW89
Hot Toddy
C.L. Collier
1
Heidi
“I just love your shop! I’m so glad I stumbled across it today!”
The jovial woman about my mom’s age gushes as I hand her the bag of items she purchased. “Thank you so much for coming in.”
“I’ll be sure to tell all my friends to stop in,” she says, taking her bag with a kind
smile before turning to leave.
“Please do!” I say as she walks toward the exit.
This past year has been a crazy whirlwind for me. After years of planning, I finally opened my own shop, Cheerfully Yours. Crafting and home decor are my passions, so opening a shop where I can sell those things is a dream come true. Plus, I get to help local crafters sell their handmade goods, as well as sell some of my own. I’m glad I finally took a leap of faith, quit my job, and started this business because it has been more successful than I imagined.
I owe some of the success to its location. My cousin knew what I wanted to do
and let me know when this shop space was available for lease. He and his wife run Conners Music next door. Our little strip mall is becoming a hub for the arts. A bookstore went in on the other side of Conner’s Music, then my store, and now a bar will open on the other side of me, which will feature live music acts on the weekends.
The buzz of a power saw interrupts my thoughts. Speaking of the new bar, they started doing construction in that space this week, and I’ll be glad when they finish. All of the power tools and loud hammering noises are beginning to get on my nerves a bit.
Suddenly, there’s a loud, persistent banging noise against the wall. I look at the shelf hanging on that wall, full of delicate glasses I’ve handcrafted with etched designs. With every bang against the wall, they shake, moving closer to the edge of the shelf. I rush to the wall in a fit of panic and quickly take the glasses down, carefully setting them on the table below where they’ll be safe. The banging is persistent, though, and before I can reach for the last one, it falls, crashing to the floor.
“Fuck!” I say, stamping my foot like a toddler. But, really, I’m pissed. I spent time
and money to etch the design onto that glass, and now it’s just a broken pile of shards on the floor.
Thankfully, no customers are in the store at the moment, so no one heard me drop the f-bomb. However, with all the noise coming from the construction, they may not have heard me very well anyway.
The banging continues, and before I have a chance to start sweeping up the broken glass, a picture falls off the wall. Then another. My blood pressure is through the roof now. Will I have to take everything down from this wall?
Luckily, the two pictures that fell were just painted on wood, so nothing broke. However, I do have other pieces that will break if they fall victim to the construction, so I set to work, quickly removing everything breakable first. Luckily, the banging on the wall has stopped, but I have no idea if and when it will start again. I have to act fast.
It takes me well over twenty minutes to remove everything that could potentially fall, and once I’m done, I’m left with a very bare-looking wall and an all-around mess. Not only is the glass still on the floor, but everything I took off the wall now sits on other surfaces, making my store look cluttered.
The bell on the entrance dings, and I turn to see a customer walking in. Despite the stress I’m feeling, I force a smile. “Welcome to Cheerfully Yours. Sorry for the mess.” I feel the need to explain. “There’s construction next door, and I had to move some things so they wouldn’t fall to the floor.”
Just as I say that, the woman eyes the broken glass on the ground. “Oh, no! It looks like you already had some damage.”
“Yeah… luckily just one broke,” I reply, still feeling frustrated that I lost a piece of inventory. “Is there anything I can help you find?”
“I’m just looking,” she says with a smile, then starts browsing on the other side of the store.
“Let me know if you need anything,” I say before going to fetch the broom.
After I clean the broken glass off the floor, the customer walks up to the counter, ready to check out. She’s buying scrapbooking supplies. As I ring her items up, she says, “It’s a shame that you had a glass break and had to rearrange your entire wall. Have you talked to the owner next door about it?”
