Page 102 of Follow My Heart

Her forehead wrinkled. “I wouldn’t say I’m working with him. It’s more like we’re working against each other. I want to do something, and he fights me every step of the way.”

“That must be hard.” It felt better to focus on her problems when nothing was fixable about mine. Ryder had made his decision, and we were done. Just like that.

“You have no idea. But I’m going to persevere. His father seems to want me around. And I have an amazing place to live. This little cottage on the property,” Charlotte said happily.

I nodded woodenly. “Daphne’s old place.”

Charlotte grinned. “That’s the one.”

I needed to focus on work and not what a mess my life had become. “I thought the festival was amazing. If that’s a preview of your abilities, then I’m interested in hearing what you could do for me here.”

At first, I wanted to send her home. I didn’t want to deal with improving the store. But now that she was here, her energy was infectious. And the shop gave me something else to focus on. I obviously couldn’t be trusted to make new flavors.

Charlotte leaned forward. “Tell me what your plans are. Do you want to do more festivals? Do you want to open more shops?”

I let out a breath. “I want to compete with the other ice cream shops in the area. I want to be so unique that locals recommend tourists come here before one of the franchises.”

Charlotte rubbed her hands together. “A challenge. I love this.”

Hope soared in my chest. “Is it a possibility?”

Charlotte held up one finger. “Tell me about your store. Why you started, why here? And I want to know everything about yourself.”

I told her my story, how I’d grown up in Florida, and moved back when my grandmother died. How I’d tried to prove that I was worthy even though my sister was clearly more accomplished than I was. Then I explained my process for creating new ice-cream flavors.

The entire time, Charlotte’s gaze was on me. She wasn’t taking notes. She was transfixed. She waited a beat when I finished talking, then said, “I love it.”

I raised a brow. “You do?”

Charlotte squealed. “You have the best backstory, and we need to capitalize on it to grow your brand.”

“What did you have in mind?” I asked Charlotte, excited to have something to focus on besides my heartbreak.

“We’ll start with putting your story everywhere: your website, your walls, and maybe even local newspapers. You’ll do more of the festivals to get the word out, and we can even run online ads.”

“I’ve done a few.”

“I’d love to have you in the videos talking about yourself and how you come up with the flavors.” Charlotte got up, and I followed her into the kitchen. “You can be in the kitchen, creating a new batch, explaining where your inspiration came from.”

Then she turned to me and touched my shoulder. “The secret to your brand is your heart. You’re so passionate about what you’re doing.” Her expression turned concerned. “But are you okay with being the face of the brand? I want you in every video.”

“I don’t have an aversion to it. I’m excited to share my process and inspiration.” I enjoyed sharing it with Ryder and Faith. Would I ever not feel pain when I thought of them?

“If you want to offer classes that would be nice too, but you might need to expand the shop. The space next door will be available for rent in three months.”

My brow furrowed. “How do you know that?”

Charlotte smiled confidently. “I did my homework before we met.”

I was impressed with Charlotte’s thoroughness. I was so glad I called her and set up this appointment. I had a feeling this would be life-changing. Charlotte had amazing ideas that could catapult my shop’s success. She was even talking about expansion. With her, anything sounded possible.

“We’ll want to increase brand awareness so you’ll have the money to have a space for parties and classes. Not only will people come here for ice cream, but it will be an experience to make it too.

“I love this.” I loved everything about what she had to say.

Her forehead smoothed out. “I have to say; I’m happy you’re on board with being in the videos. I thought that would be my hardest sell.”

“I love to talk about this place.” As long as I didn’t think too hard about my image being posted on the internet, I’d be okay. If I wanted to level up this was what I had to do.

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