Page 18 of With This Ring
“Perfect,” Dakota said. She ended the call just as the bell above the front door of the store rang, and her niece rushed toward her with a bright smile on her pretty face.
“Auntie, you are not going to believe it.” Skye dropped her backpack on the showroom floor and twirled in the middle of the store, almost knocking over a rack of shapewear.
Dakota steadied her. “Are you okay?”
She let out a dreamy sigh. “I’m inlove.”
Dakota put her hand on Skye’s forehead. “No fever.” WhenSkye’s brow wrinkled, Dakota felt her lips twitch. “But youmustbe sick because you said you were immune to boy-crazy fever.”
“Very funny,” she deadpanned, lifting her bag back onto her shoulder. She let out a frustrated huff and started for the back office. “Forget it. I thought I could talk to you, but never mind.”
Guilt nipped at Dakota, and she hurried to catch up with her niece. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I was only kidding. You know you can tell me anything.”
“Okay.” Skye spun to face Dakota, her bright smile returning. “Thecutestguy I’ve ever seen transferred to our school a few weeks ago, and he ate lunch withmetoday.” She let her heavy backpack fall again with a thud at her feet. “His name is Gunner Crenshaw. He’s super tall, and I like tall guys just like you do. He has blond hair and green eyes. And he has the coolest Southern accent. It’s stronger than ours since he’s from Alabama. I’m hoping he’ll ask me to prom.”
While her niece rambled on about the cute young man, Dakota tried not to think about the two proms she and Hudson attended.
“You okay, Auntie?”
“Yeah. Of course.” The truth was, she’d been reeling all day since Hudson had appeared in her store. She’d tried to keep herself busy with steaming more dresses and gathering materials for Layla’s alterations, but Hudson still hijacked her thoughts. The memories of their life together seemed to be grabbing her by the throat.
“Gunner’s cute, huh?” She tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace.
Skye breathed out another moony sigh. “Extremely.”
“He must be something special to have captured your attention.”
“I think he is. He’s so different from all the boring guys here in Flowering Grove.” Her niece pulled her large cup from the backpack’s side pocket and took a long drink of water. “What have you been up to today?”
“Let’s see... I steamed another dress and started putting together what I’ll need for Layla Garrity’s gown, but I need her to come in for a formal fitting before I can get started. I’ve gotten a few phone calls, and I’ve set up an appointment with a new client for Friday morning, so that’s exciting.”
Skye took another long drink, and her dark eyes seemed to assess Dakota. She could almost hear her niece’s thoughts since Skye was never one to hold them back.
“Just say it, Skye.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know that look. Just say what’s on your mind.”
Her niece hopped up onto the stool and then crossed one long leg over the other. “Auntie, I have an idea.” She gestured widely. “I’ve been thinking about what we can do to boost sales.”
“I’m listening.” Dakota leaned on the counter in front of her.
“We need to start taking online orders,” Skye said. “I’m good at managing your website and—”
“No.”
Skye blinked. “You’re not even going to let me finish explaining my idea?”
“I appreciate your concern, but I don’t want to get into online sales.”
“Why not?” Her niece held her palms up. “We have to stay relevant. I’ve been researching it, and online sales are crucial to a business’s survival. You’re an amazing seamstress. Women could send you their measurements, and you could make gowns to order.”
Dakota stood up straight. “I just can’t manage it right now—not until I get past this mess the flood caused. I’m still rearranging the displays and trying to salvage the purses and shoes that were damaged.”
“But brides often know what they want before they come intothe store. There’s a real demand for gowns that are made to order.” She hopped off the stool and scooted around the counter. “Auntie, we can do this.” She held her hand up as if to stop Dakota’s protests. “I know this would mean more work for you, but you can price the gowns so the work is worth your time. I’ll handle all of the orders for you—respond to the customers and make sure they send their measurements and payments. This could work. And it would put this boutique on the map.”
Dakota frowned. While she needed the customers, incorporating Skye’s idea was overwhelming. She couldn’t handle another thing on her plate. “I’m grateful that you want to help, but I can’t think about it right now. We can talk about it again later. I promise.”