Negatives came from the lot of them.

“Good. I can paint the walls and wash the windows, go through storage and take inventory. Laney, how do you feel about designing us new signage?” I asked.

“Real good.”

Marcus looked skeptical. “I think we should wait until we get some more capital in the door.”

“Even if I can get us a discount?” I asked. “My buddy Davey’s brother makes signs. I just need a design to show him.”

“Davey?” Marcus’s eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, we used to wait tables together.”

“Which time?” Kash asked like the smartass he was.

“Does it matter?” I asked, forging on before he answered. “I can prep to paint tomorrow. Jett, can you help run deliveries?”

“I’m not going to Judy’s, if that’s what you’re asking.”

A laugh rolled through them.

“You say that now.”

“I can help paint tomorrow,” Tess offered. “It’s my day off, but I don’t have much else going on.”

At that, my smile ticked up a notch. “Sounds good. I’ll pick up supplies in the morning. I’ll get into storage too, see what I can drum up. We can rearrange the interior, and then comes the fun part. We’re not going to be ready to advertise, not until we have this place cleaned up, the signage done, our social moving. So I was thinking—what’s the best way to get people in the front door?” I paused, scanning their faces. “We go old school. Window installations.”

“Luke, that’s genius,” Tess breathed, and it might have been the nicest thing she’d ever said to or about me.

“Thank you.” I smiled, feeling like I’d won a major award. “I renovated houses with a contractor for a while in LA, and I worked set design too. I even helped with installations at The Getty and for a while at Anthropologie in Santa Monica. Dad has all the tools I’ll need to build you guys whatever you want.”

“It’s perfect.” Laney beamed.

Kash laughed openly. “You worked at Anthropologie.”

I shrugged. “I dated a girl who managed one, and I happen to like their candles.” I’d earned another chuckle. “Anyway, as far as I’m concerned, you’re the brains here, Laney. I’ll be the muscle, and Tess, I think, should take the lead on design.”

Tess’s face swiveled around, her eyes wide and stunned. “Me?”

“We’ve all seen what you can do,” Laney said, backing me up like I knew she would. She’d be crazy not to. “Of all of us, you are the one with the aesthetic and know-how when it comes to floristry. Luke is right. This is your wheelhouse, and I think we should lean on you.”

The color rose in her cheeks, her lashes brushing them when she looked down at her hands. “I … I’m not sure what to say.”

“Say yes,” I urged. “I want to stop every person who passes our window dead in their tracks. I want our windows to lure them in. I want to become a staple in this city again, and this? This is going to set us apart.”