Buttercream Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 7 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) by Carol Durand, Summer Prescott Page B

Missy broached the subject of why she had invited them.
    “The people in this room are the most important people in my life, and because I love y’all, I’m not afraid to ask for your help,” she admitted, looking at each person with great fondness. “You all know that I’ve been working some really long hours lately, trying to keep up with the new recipes for Cupcake of the Day. The promotion has been working out well in terms of sales, but I’m just about burnt out. I’m hoping that we can come up with an alternative that will keep our sales high, but give me some time to breathe.”
    Ben, a grad student in Criminal Justice, who had been with Missy the longest, nodded in agreement. “Yeah, gotta admit Ms. G., I’ve been worried about you.”
    “We’ve talked about it,” Cheryl, his girlfriend and fellow manager chimed in.
    “What can we do to make it easier on you?” the ever-sensitive pale and dark-haired Grayson asked, his giant brown eyes sympathetic.
    “That’s what we’re here to figure out, sweetie,” Missy replied with an affectionate smile. She had taken a chance in hiring the pierced and tattooed Grayson, and it had ended up being one of the best decisions she’d ever made. The quiet youth was creative, talented and loved by the customers.
    “I’ve been trying to think of ways to drum up more business at Sweet Love too,” Echo mused, referencing her store.
    Ben suddenly sat up straight in his chair, a look of excitement in his eyes. “Hey! What if you two joined forces?” he asked, glancing back and forth between Missy and Echo.
    Missy was confused. “I don’t understand what you mean, Ben. Our businesses are very separate entities.” Echo looked puzzled as well.
    “I don’t mean combine the businesses,” Ben explained, clearly inspired. “I mean combine the products. Everyone loves cake and ice cream. If the two of you came up with a way to combine our cupcakes with Echo’s frozen treats, I bet we’d sell out!”
    A slow smile spread over Echo’s face. “So you’re thinking along the ideas of an ice cream cake, or an ice cream sandwich, made with Missy’s cupcakes and my ice cream…Ben, that’s a great idea – I love it!” she enthused.
    Missy sat back, taking it all in. She was open to the idea, but her mind had already jumped to the logistics of such an endeavor, considering joint prep time, freezer space and the like. “It’s certainly something to think about,” she hedged, noncommittally.
    “I personally would eat a ton of ice cream filled cupcakes,” Cheryl said, already thinking about flavor combinations.
    “I’d like to do some test batches if you wouldn’t mind,” Grayson offered quietly, looking hopefully at Missy. His soulful eyes were her undoing.
    “Okay,” she relented. “Grayson, you and I will experiment on Thursday night with a couple of recipes and feature them on Friday. I should be able to get a freezer case into the Dellville shop by then. Echo, we’ll let you know by Wednesday what flavors of ice cream we’ll need, and how much.”
    Echo nodded happily and raised her glass. “Here’s to Sweet Crème Sandwiches!” she toasted.
    Chas stayed to help with cleanup after the rest of the guests had gone. They made quick work of it, and sat down on the couch to relax with large mugs of tea.
    “So, what do you think of Ben’s idea?” Missy asked, snuggling into the detective’s side.
    “Sounds delicious to me, but what do you think of it?”
    “I think it could work. I’ve just never considered branching out beyond baked goods before,” she admitted. “This is completely new territory to me.”
    “Well, the good news is that, even if the venture is a total flop, you still have two successful businesses, and a whole group of people dedicated to the idea of helping you make them stay successful,” he hugged her and kissed the top of her head.

Chapter 3
     
    Missy and Grayson had tried a few flavors before coming up with what they felt