Page 7 of Sugar and Spice Kisses

Tapping my finger on my lips, my mind raced with a few different ideas. “Cookie nachos,” I blurted out.

“What?” Eli asked.

“We could package them in one of those paper containers they put nachos in then have a little tub of icing they can either pour over the top or dip the pieces in. What do you think?” I watched as he took a piece of cookie and dipped it into the icing. He grinned before leaning in for a kiss.

“I think it's brilliant. I love the idea of them being branded as nachos. I’m sure there’s some fun packaging out there, or we could come up with our own,” Eli said as he held my face in his hands. “You’re a genius. Less waste and we’ll make a little back from it.”

“Great, so no more throwing out the broken ones. I know it goes against everything to save them, but then we can make sure we’re only using the best to sell. Plus, these little boxes are a good way for people to sample a few different flavors of cookie,” I said, and my mind raced with all the ways we could use this to our advantage.

“What if we offer two types? Maybe a large and small size, and regular or deluxe? With the regular one you just get icing, with deluxe we throw in a few toppings, sprinkles, maybe some chocolate chips, or other little topping items.” Eli took another taste and looked at me waiting for my reaction.

“I think you’re the best. That’s a great idea. We always have plenty of toppings and so many that end up falling off thecookies when we decorate them. Maybe we could use those? It could be a wild combination but it’s also fun.” I’d always been so strict about the quality of my baked goods. If it wasn’t perfect, I didn’t use it. But I hated all the waste, and our families could only eat so much of it. This would solve that problem.

“Let me show you the containers I think would work.” Eli took out his phone and showed me a few ideas.

“So, I love that by calling it nachos it’s recognizable and I think people will think it’s fun,” I said and looked over his shoulder as he scrolled different packaging ideas.

“Hey, maybe we can start making cakes that look like real food,” Eli said, his eyes lit up with excitement.

“Only if you’re willing to do it. I’m the cookie guy, remember?”

“Oh, I remember, cookie guy,” he said with a laugh and we both went back to looking at the options he’d found.

Seven

Eli

The weekend had flown by, and when I got up this Monday morning to go to work, I couldn’t wait to get to the coffee shop for some much-needed caffeine. We were getting ready for Valentine’s Day today at the gift shop, so I was going in way earlier than I normally did. Randy was still sleeping when I kissed his cheek on my way out.

“Bye, babe, I’ll see you later,” I whispered against his ear. He mumbled a response I thought might be something like,have a good day, before he drifted right back to sleep.

The downtown area was quiet this morning, but it was still cold out, and most of the businesses weren’t open yet. Driving up to the coffee shop, I pulled my coat tight before hurrying inside. Just like every other time I’d been here, there was a line.

I scrolled my phone as I waited my turn and was happy to see it was Randy’s sister that would be taking my order. “Morning, Kelsey,” I said as I walked up to the counter.

“Hey, Eli, on your way to work?” she asked.

“Yep. I left Randy still asleep in his warm bed,” I said, then realized it was his sister and I probably shouldn’t talk about that with her.

“Today would be a good day to sleep in. I swear it feels like winter is never going to end,” she said without a second thought to what I’d said. “What can I get you today?”

“I’ll take a large dirty chai latte.”

“Gotcha, chai with an extra boost,” she said and smiled.

I waited off to the side while order after order was taken and filled. In just a few minutes mine was ready. “Eli, here you go. Hey, I wanted to ask you something,” Kelsey said as she handed me my drink. The warmth of the cup felt good on my cold hands.

“Sure, what is it?”

“I noticed one of the businesses down from the gift shop is vacant. Has Randy thought about having a store there? I know he loves how things are now, but it might work out better than doing all the baking at home.”

“We actually talked about that. I think I’ll go look at the space today and see what it’s like.”

“Good idea. You know how he is. He’ll be deciding on it for months.” She leaned on the counter and patted my hand. “Eli, this could be a good thing for him, well really for you both. Go look at it and see what you think. Would it be so bad to not have cookies all over your kitchen every day?”

“I wouldn’t mind cookies in my kitchen every day,” one of the other workers said, making us all laugh.

“I’ll check it out, thanks again.” I walked out to my car and when I drove to the gift shop, I parked a block away so I could walk right by the now empty storefront. It had been a restaurantso the kitchen was already set up, but I wasn’t sure if they had ovens we could use for baking. I set down my drink and cupped my hands around my face to get a clearer look at the interior. It looked like a very small restaurant, with only four tables visible. But if we used it for a storefront, we didn’t need to have a serving area.

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