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tasted metallic on her tongue. Every single penny she had was tied up in this store. She had a three-year lease and her landlord expected monthly payments, regardless of her failure as a businesswoman.
    She spun toward Violet. “I don’t know what to do,” she blurted.
    Violet straightened from behind the shelf she’d been dusting. “Start cooking,” she said quickly. “Something snacky and delicious that I can put on a tray and carry around.”
    â€œWhat good will that do? There’s no one to eat it.”
    Her assistant smiled at her. “If they won’t come here, I’m going to take the food to them. While you’re doing that, I’ll print out coupons to hand out to everyone I see. Ten percent off. Part of our grand opening. That will get people in.”
    Jenna nodded and did her best not to calculate how much that ten percent would eat into her profits. Better to lose a part of something than keep all of nothing, she told herself as she moved to the back of the store and started pulling out ingredients for a very familiar and easy appetizer.
    A half hour later, she had a spicy goat cheese filling sitting on small crackers. She already had mushroom tarts in the oven, but they would take about fifteen minutes to bake.
    â€œThe trick is the spices,” she told Violet. “Fresh is best and they have to be chopped really fine.”
    â€œSave the explanation for the customers,” Violet told her, grabbing one of the trays. “I put the coupons on every car windshield in a five block radius. Hopefully that will bring people in. Now we’re going to seduce them with food.” She paused. “Are you going to be okay in here by yourself?”
    â€œOf course,” Jenna lied. The thought of being alone withcustomers terrified her. Something she should have thought through before opening a store.
    â€œJust offer them food and be prepared to talk recipes,” Violet said with a smile. “I’ll be back as soon as I’ve handed all these out.”
    Jenna nodded and offered a confident smile while Violet walked out.
    While Jenna had put on black pants and her familiar chef’s coat, Violet had dressed in a straight skirt in dark purple and a multicolored long-sleeved blouse. Three or four neck laces filled the open collar. The familiar half dozen bracelets clinked by her wrist. Her black hair was spiky, her bangs stick straight, and the smoky-eye look Beth had so admired was firmly in place.
    Of the two of them, Violet was the one who should have looked out of place, yet Jenna felt as if everyone looking at her would know she was a fraud.
    Before she could beat herself up even more, the front door opened with a tinkle of the bell Violet had hung there. But instead of her assistant returning, two women walked in. Each carried a coupon in her hand.
    â€œOoh, look at that,” the shorter one said to her friend. “I love the colors on that trivet. It would look great in your kitchen.”
    â€œIt’s nice,” the friend said, then spotted Jenna. “Hi. We just tasted that cracker. It was fabulous. Do you have the recipe?”
    â€œAh, yes. It’s an easy spread or it can be a tart filling. You can use what you have on hand to fudge the ingredients.”
    The short woman laughed. “What I have on hand is a bottle of white wine and a few Lean Cuisines.”
    The oven timer beeped. Jenna pulled out the mushroomtarts. The women rushed over and took napkins, then juggled the hot appetizers until they could take a bite.
    â€œDelish,” the taller one said with a sigh. “I don’t suppose you have this recipe, too?”
    Jenna had the recipes in her head. “I could write it down, if you’d like.”
    The women exchanged glances and started to leave. Just then Violet burst through the door, her tray empty, and about a half dozen people behind her.
    â€œI know,” she was saying. “If you