Page 117 of Firecracker

“Thank you.” Destiny’s heartfelt gratitude amused Arden.

Jamie strolled back in looking at his phone. “All set?”

“Yep. I’ll come back at ten to clean up.”

He lifted his head and sniffed the air. “Smells good. And looks good too.”

She smiled. She was proud of her presentation. Jamie had said it was fine to use disposable plates and cups, but she’d scouted out some really nice ones in black and white to match the StatTrakker logo, and she matched serving platters, chafing dishes, and utensils to them. Not required, but she’d also included a small black vase with a few stems of white phalaenopsis orchids at one end of the table.

It did look nice.

Now, she had a little over two hours to kill. She could go all the way back home. Or maybe do a little sightseeing, since she was so close to Millennium Park and some shops…not that she could afford to shop.

Hell. She was pretty sure there was a DSW nearby. She could at leastlookat some shoes…

* * *

“This so outclassed any other caterer we’ve ever used.”

Arden smiled at Destiny a couple of hours later, back to pick up the things she needed to keep and clean up, although Destiny had pretty much taken care of that. “Thanks.”

“People were raving about the food,” Jamie confirmed, strolling into the meeting room. “You did good, sis.”

She beamed. “I’m so glad. And relieved.”

“And people loved that it’s mostly local, sustainably grown food,” Destiny added. “That’s an excellent branding strategy, especially for this demographic.”

Arden felt like she’d grown an inch taller. “Thanks!”

“You’re good at it,” Jamie added. “You love shit like this.”

Shit like this. She grinned. “Thank you. I do love it.”

“You should have had business cards.” Destiny added the last of the leftover plates to a stack. “People were asking.”

Arden’s mouth dropped open. “Really? Shit. I never thought of that.”

“Really. I took their names and email addresses and said I’d send them your information. So, give me your email address and phone number and I’ll pass it on.”

“Oh my God. I can’t believe that.” She pressed her hands to her face. Would this really lead to more business? And if it did, could she even do that? It had been a big undertaking, and her little kitchen wasn’t really equipped for much more.

She gave Destiny the information to pass on nonetheless. If something came of it, she’d deal with it. Probably she’d never hear anything.

She carried the chafing dishes and leftover supplies home, made an attempt to clean up the disaster in her kitchen, then got ready for work.

“Hello, Arden darling,” Liam greeted her when she walked into Shenanigans. His mood seemed to have recovered since their outing to the Firefly Supper Club. “How did your breakfast go?”

“It went great!” She filled him in on it, and shared the feedback she’d gotten from Destiny. “I don’t know how I’d manage much more than breakfast or maybe a cocktail party with my small kitchen. But I’m sure nothing will come of it anyway.”

“You could use the kitchen here.”

She blinked at him. “What? Really?”

“Sure.” He hitched one broad shoulder. “The only times we’re really busy is lunch and dinner. In between, things are quiet, and the kitchen’s bigger than what we need for the size of this place anyway.”

Wow. That would…solve a lot of problems. Refrigerator space. Counter space. Ovens.

But still. She shook her head. She’d done one favor for her brother, and yeah, it had gone well, but nobody else was going to call her.

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