Love, Chocolate, and Beer (Cactus Creek #1)(108)

The fun-loving Derek was back, visibly teeming with excitement and a very Dobson-esque confidence as he explained, “I’ve been thinking about this for weeks now and I really think turning Desert Confections into a chocolate shop and winery would be the perfect pairing—product-wise, business-wise, and location-wise.”

Like a kid in a candy store, Derek looked around the shop excitedly. “This is a spectacular space for a winery. Harold told me about the huge cellar you have downstairs, with both an internal and external entrance from the kitchen. Seriously, you couldn’t get any more perfect of a set-up for an add-on winery. I could do every step of the vinting process down there and you’d never even notice our presence since I hear you don’t even use that space.”

It was true, they didn’t even need it for storage.

Now equally excited, Luke flipped open Derek’s detailed prospectus and scanned some of the highlights.

Meanwhile, Derek quickly walked over to the walls on the west end of the shop. “As for the shop itself, if we line this bare wall with bottle display shelves and shift everything over a little, it wouldn’t take very much room to showcase the wines. And since you only use display tables for your boxed chocolates, it wouldn’t impede on your space at all. You’d barely notice our presence—”

“Stop talking like you’d be in the way, Derek,” cut in Luke. “What you’re proposing is a good idea. Hell, a great one. And an equally profitable partnership from what I can see so far. If we do this, we’ll split the space. The bottles don’t have to be isolated to the shelves; we can pair it with the chocolates in our displays around the shop and put it in combined gift baskets too.”

When he flipped to the next page in the business plan, Luke grinned when he saw Derek had been thinking along the same lines.

“Check out the computer-generated sketches Jonathan and I did. On the last page specifically.” Derek’s voice was brimming with barely contained glee. “I got this idea while we were up on the roof planning Dani’s birthday party.”

Pointing out features on the illustrated page, Derek described what he envisioned for the roof deck. “If we go with a garden setup with vine-covered pergolas to protect the entire area from the elements, we could put comfy patio oasis seating and turn the deck into a trendy little tasting area for customers to hang out. We’ll get even more bang for our buck if we arrange everything so it’s designed with weddings and parties in mind as well. That way, we can rent it out as an event venue with a gazebo corner that can also double as a party/wedding planning café that houses all the food and drinks.” He looked at Luke hesitantly. “What do you think about serving food up there regularly?”

“I think that’ll finally make good use of the chef’s kitchen this place came equipped with.” A wry grin stretched across his face. “And it’ll definitely draw in more customers. It’s an excellent idea.”

Derek exhaled in relief. “I’ve already asked Javier to help me think of dishes to pair with chocolate and wine for a small menu. It would be classy but easy things—finger sandwiches, appetizers, desserts—things he could train a part-timer to put together without any fuss.”

Luke skimmed over the plans for the cellar layout and frowned. “Wait, where are you planning on doing the wine bottling if not in the cellar?” He didn’t know much about wineries but he knew they needed to be bottled and he definitely didn’t have the space for that.

“There’s not enough room for it down there,” confirmed Derek. “One option is to bottle by hand. Quite a few small wineries do. But I was thinking, since I am partial owner of Ocotillos, bottling in the brewery might be a possibility. I haven’t discussed any of this with Dani, but I think she’d go for it. We could easily clear some space to put in a small bottling unit or even do a minor expansion if business picks up enough for us to need bigger bottling and labeling equipment.”

Quickly reading through the final pages of the proposal, Luke saw more and more green lights with each page. Eventually, he closed the folio. “I’m sold. I mean, I have to discuss it with Quinn, but seeing as how she loved that wine you made her last week—” He blinked, and then understanding—and admiration—hit him. He’d wondered why Derek had dropped off that bottle specifically for Quinn.

Derek gave a proud shrug. “What can I say? I’m a businessman. I work the people as well as the problems.”

Grinning, Luke shook Derek’s hand. “Hell, if we can make this work, you’ll be a perfect fit here. You call your bank; I’ll call Quinn and Noah. I can’t say for certain, but I think Noah might actually crack a smile over this one.”

At that impossible prediction, Derek laughed. “I said I had a great idea, not a miraculous one. But I do think Noah would get on board with this. Let me know if he gives you any hassles and I’ll go talk to him as well.”

After scheduling a time for Derek to meet with Quinn later that day, Luke was ready to climb out of his skin. He couldn’t wait a second longer; he needed to see Dani. Share this with her. Kiss her. Hell, just hold her in his arms.

Shackle her there if he had to.

He raced to clean up his work area, all the while glancing back over at the chocolate he’d made earlier. With considerable effort, he did everything in his power to remain pragmatic and not get his hopes up prematurely but nothing could stop the thought that had begun drumming in his head the moment he’d realized the potential in Derek’s business plan.