Page 45 of Dessert Flirt Repeat
I spin around. “What?”
He holds up his phone to me. “Sweet Cheeks just hit one hundred thousand followers.”
“What?” I drop the pint I’m holding, then quickly grab it and shove it back in the freezer before running over to him.
“Are you serious?” I grab the phone from his hand.
“Dead serious.”
“But I just looked not even five minutes ago, and we were a few hundred past ninety-nine thousand. That’s almost a thousand new followers in minutes.”
“It must be the new video you posted.”
I look and see the video has garnered thousands of views and comments. Loads of those comments are people saying how they’re planning to order a shipment of ice cream from Sweet Cheeks. Even more people say they’re going to road trip to Sweet Cheeks so they can try the ice cream and take photos and videos to post on their social media accounts.
“Holy cow.”
“You did it, Becca. One hundred thousand followers.” Gage beams at me.
I pull him into a hug and chatter about the orders that are about to come in and how the lines will be even longer when we open tomorrow. I stop myself and lean back so I can look at him. “Gage, there’s no way I could have done this without you. Thank you.”
His smoky brown eyes turn tender. “It’s my pleasure. But hey, it’s not all me. Your ice cream is what’s winning them over.”
“Yeah, but you’re the famous face who’s bringing them in.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You’re getting busier and busier because customers love your incredible ice cream. Give yourself the credit you deserve, Becca.”
That tingle from earlier hits me again, only this time, I can feel it all over my body.
“I did it,” I say in a quiet voice.
Gage, whose arms are still wrapped around me, gives me a squeeze. “Louder.”
“I did it,” I say again.
He tilts his head at me. “Come on. You can do better than that.”
I take a breath. “I did it!” I yell.
Gage laughs. “Hell yeah you did.” He steps back and high-fives me. “Now we need to celebrate.”
I check the time. “But it’s late. It’s past ten already, and I’m planning on getting up early so I can fill the online orders before we open…”
Gage shakes his head. “I won’t keep you out late, I promise. Just one celebratory drink. One hundred thousand followers is a huge milestone, Becca. You gotta celebrate. You deserve to celebrate yourself and all the hard work you’ve done.”
He’s right. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Ten minutes later we’re walking through the LoHi neighborhood. Even on this weeknight, there are dozens of people dining and drinking along the outdoor patios.
“Where to?” I ask Gage as we walk along the crowded sidewalk.
He points to the right, and I follow him into an unassuming brick-front building that looks more like an old library than somewhere to get a last-minute drink. When we walk in, I’m immediately hit with the heavenly smell of roasted garlic. It’s a dimly lit place with a dozen wooden tables on one side and a long bar on the other.
“What is this place?” I ask. He leads us to two empty stools at the end.
“I used to work here years ago as a line cook,” he says. “They have the best garlic bread. And the best champagne.”
“Sounds expensive.”
