Page 77 of Country Mist

He drank from his own mug, mostly in gulps as opposed to sips. He got up and grabbed the pot and set it on a trivet at the center of the table, along with the pan of cinnamon rolls. One wasn’t going to be enough, despite their size.

“Bless you.” She sighed and pushed her mug forward. “I feel Mrs. Hyde going back into that little box inside. As long as I get my coffee, no one will get hurt.”

“Noted.” He poured another cup of his sister Bailey’s idea of sludge. “I will keep it in mind in the future.”

She smiled and it was like the sun breaking through clouds and shining on him.

“Now that I’m coffee-fied, I’m ready for a sugar rush.” She pulled off a sticky piece of her roll. “I haven’t had homemade cinnamon rolls since Cook Nancy.” Celine’s features seemed to relax more.

“Cook Nancy?” he asked.

She nodded. “One of many cooks who passed through my parents’ kitchen. She was my favorite and lasted the longest. She somehow managed to put up with Mother and Father.” Celine sighed. “But everyone has a breaking point.”

He ate another bite of cinnamon roll then licked frosting from his fingers. “You like horses,” he stated.

Celine went very still, like when he’d first mentioned his. A light rose tinged her cheeks.

She picked at her cinnamon roll and didn’t look at him. “Who doesn’t?”

Something was there. An old pain, an old regret. Now was not the time to push the topic. One day he would learn exactly why she reacted the way she did when he mentioned horses. He would pick at the ice she’d coated herself with until he broke through.

He mentally shook his head. Why would he think she’d be around long enough for him to get that far?

“So, what’s this all about?” he asked. “Why are you here? Not because I lost a damned bet. What are you doing, and why do you need a ranch to begin with?”

Celine’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “As you know, I’m a fashion designer.” She waved her hand in the direction of the chaos outside. “We’re going all out with my new line. It’s pretty much do or die.”

Jayson nodded, letting her fill the gaps with her story.

“The last two lines were considered successful,” she said, but it clearly wasn’t enough. “They paid the bills and the reviews were fine, but not raving.”

She leaned forward, her cinnamon roll forgotten. “I need raving. I need phenomenal.”

“You think this will do it?” he asked.

“I feel good about it.” Celine’s expression grew more intent. “We used crowd funding to get people involved, so they would be invested in the line. The plan is to use that funding and support to blast out of the gates.”

She looked even more intense as she went on. “I have the financial backing from an investor, in addition to the crowd funding. We are going to tear the fashion world apart and insert ourselves big time.”

He nodded, enjoying the passion and fire in her eyes.

“Once we’re all wrapped up here,” she said, “we’ll be pushing our campaign in print, on TV, and using social media. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs—you name it, we’ll do it.”

“Admirable,” Jayson said and meant it. “I try to stay away from social media, but I have an employee who makes sure to keep us visible. I hear it’s a good way to get the word out.”

“Yes.” She laughed. “If we could, we’d even get into the video game market. Can you imagine a fashion game?”

He grinned. “Not even close.”

Her gaze drifted away, like she was seeing inside herself instead of the room she was physically in.

She returned her attention to Jayson. “We’re going to make this happen, and Celine Originals is going to be big.”

“I believe you.” He found himself caught up in her dream and her enthusiasm. “I have a feeling you can do anything you set your sights on.”

Celine smiled. “We use cutting edge digital tech and fantastic handcrafted traditional textiles. This line is going to blow everyone out of the water.”

“I’d like to see what you’re doing on my land.” He looked at her intently. “I’m interested in your venture.”

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