her off before she could say it. “The only way to judge an ad’s true effectiveness is to see if it catches a person’s attention, don’t you think? Let me put yours to that test.”
He opened the paper and slowly turned the pages. It didn’t take long for the ad to pop out at him with its picture of a stack of books topped by a steaming cup of tea. Tea, dammit! He recognized the ploy at once, even before he read the details. She was going after two businesses now, no more than an annoyance in either case, but clever, just the same. She was good at this, better than he’d expected, in fact. It would keep things between them lively, no question about it.
He worked to keep his expression neutral as he lowered the paper and faced her expectant look. “You’re going into the tea business now?”
“As an experiment,” she said happily. “If it’s as successful as I anticipate, then it could make quite a nice expansion for Jameson’s, don’t you agree? We’llprovide a lovely, cozy place for people to enjoy a good book and a refreshing cup of tea. I can see it becoming a gathering place for those who love literature.”
“You’ll never know for sure, if you begin by giving the stuff away,” he said more testily than he’d meant to.
“But it’s the perfect way to get people to form a habit that will bring them back into the store,” she said. “Just as cutting the cost of your books is something I’m sure you have no intention of sustaining forever.”
“Not necessarily,” William said. “If it’s successful, we’ll certainly keep it going after the New Year, and based on yesterday’s sales, I’d have to say it looks like a winner.”
“Perhaps you should wait till you see how things go today,” Destiny responded.
He heard the challenge in her voice and looked into her flashing eyes. “We can always walk over to one of the shops after breakfast and you can see for yourself,” he countered. “We’re opening at eight so people can shop on their way to work.”
She paled a bit at that, but rallied quickly. “What a marvelous idea!”
He bit back a grin. “I imagine you’ll be opening at seven starting tomorrow.”
“No need,” she said at once. “We believe most people would rather shop on their lunch hours or after work, so we’ve added more extended hours till Christmas. Wander by on your way home tonight and see for yourself how successful it is. Our customers have been wildly enthusiastic, and now that they’ll be ableto get a cup of tea and perhaps a bite to eat, as well, I’m sure it will go over better than before.”
William regarded her with new respect. “You really do have a knack for this sort of thing, don’t you?”
“I like to think I come by it naturally,” she said.
“Have you worked for Carlton Industries all these years?”
“Heavens, no,” she said at once. “Raising Richard, Mack and Ben was more than enough to keep me occupied. Now, though, I’m eager for new challenges.”
“It wouldn’t have been enough for you to take up your painting again?” he asked.
For an instant, he thought he detected a trace of sadness in her eyes, but she shook her head.
“I haven’t picked up a brush in years except to dabble a bit,” she said.
“You can’t be serious!” he said, genuinely taken aback by that. “Your art always meant so much to you.”
“It was part of the life I gave up when I went home,” she told him. “There was no room for that kind of self-indulgence once I became a surrogate mother to those boys. That was a full-time job. They required all of my attention to make up at least a little for what they’d lost.”
“Oh, Destiny, I’m so sorry,” he said with total sincerity. It made his heart ache to think that she’d felt the need to give up something that had once brought her joy. “I should have been there to help.”
Her gaze met his. “But you weren’t,” she said quietly. “So I had to do what was necessary on my
He opened the paper and slowly turned the pages. It didn’t take long for the ad to pop out at him with its picture of a stack of books topped by a steaming cup of tea. Tea, dammit! He recognized the ploy at once, even before he read the details. She was going after two businesses now, no more than an annoyance in either case, but clever, just the same. She was good at this, better than he’d expected, in fact. It would keep things between them lively, no question about it.
He worked to keep his expression neutral as he lowered the paper and faced her expectant look. “You’re going into the tea business now?”
“As an experiment,” she said happily. “If it’s as successful as I anticipate, then it could make quite a nice expansion for Jameson’s, don’t you agree? We’llprovide a lovely, cozy place for people to enjoy a good book and a refreshing cup of tea. I can see it becoming a gathering place for those who love literature.”
“You’ll never know for sure, if you begin by giving the stuff away,” he said more testily than he’d meant to.
“But it’s the perfect way to get people to form a habit that will bring them back into the store,” she said. “Just as cutting the cost of your books is something I’m sure you have no intention of sustaining forever.”
“Not necessarily,” William said. “If it’s successful, we’ll certainly keep it going after the New Year, and based on yesterday’s sales, I’d have to say it looks like a winner.”
“Perhaps you should wait till you see how things go today,” Destiny responded.
He heard the challenge in her voice and looked into her flashing eyes. “We can always walk over to one of the shops after breakfast and you can see for yourself,” he countered. “We’re opening at eight so people can shop on their way to work.”
She paled a bit at that, but rallied quickly. “What a marvelous idea!”
He bit back a grin. “I imagine you’ll be opening at seven starting tomorrow.”
“No need,” she said at once. “We believe most people would rather shop on their lunch hours or after work, so we’ve added more extended hours till Christmas. Wander by on your way home tonight and see for yourself how successful it is. Our customers have been wildly enthusiastic, and now that they’ll be ableto get a cup of tea and perhaps a bite to eat, as well, I’m sure it will go over better than before.”
William regarded her with new respect. “You really do have a knack for this sort of thing, don’t you?”
“I like to think I come by it naturally,” she said.
“Have you worked for Carlton Industries all these years?”
“Heavens, no,” she said at once. “Raising Richard, Mack and Ben was more than enough to keep me occupied. Now, though, I’m eager for new challenges.”
“It wouldn’t have been enough for you to take up your painting again?” he asked.
For an instant, he thought he detected a trace of sadness in her eyes, but she shook her head.
“I haven’t picked up a brush in years except to dabble a bit,” she said.
“You can’t be serious!” he said, genuinely taken aback by that. “Your art always meant so much to you.”
“It was part of the life I gave up when I went home,” she told him. “There was no room for that kind of self-indulgence once I became a surrogate mother to those boys. That was a full-time job. They required all of my attention to make up at least a little for what they’d lost.”
“Oh, Destiny, I’m so sorry,” he said with total sincerity. It made his heart ache to think that she’d felt the need to give up something that had once brought her joy. “I should have been there to help.”
Her gaze met his. “But you weren’t,” she said quietly. “So I had to do what was necessary on my
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