“Wonderful. This space is a thousand times better than the suite. I can create a much larger sample.”

Even her voice struck a chord in him, like hearing a song from his childhood that took him back to a particular place and time. Confused, he broke away, reaching into the refrigerator for a bottle of water. “Want one?”

“I’d love one, thank you.”

“So, what’s the plan? You still leaving the day after tomorrow?”

“Ah, don’t remind me.” She reached for a mason jar. “I’m going to transfer the petals into these jars and ship them home. They’ll need to soak in oil for several weeks. After that, I’ll add pure ethyl alcohol to separate the scent from the lipids. That’ll take another few weeks. Once I’ve got the essential oil, I’ll send it to you, and you can let me know if you like it.”

“Assuming I do, what then?”

“Then we’ve got a really special perfume.”

“Which I’m not handing out to hotel guests.”

“No, but remember I said I can use the essential oil to make bath and body products?”

“Which means you got the okay from your parents?”

“Uh, no.” She tilted her head, not looking too hopeful. “It’s not the right time to bring it up. I’m actually waiting to hear back on another idea I’m proposing to them.” She hunched a shoulder. “Truthfully, I’m ninety-eight percent sure they’ll reject the idea of adding this perfume.” She gave him a hesitant smile. “But I live in that two percent zone, so I’m comfortable there. But even if they do…well, can I tell you a secret?”

“You can.” He shouldn’t feel so interested, so turned on by a simple conversation. Nothing she could say would rock his world. He certainly didn’t care about her essential oil the way she did. If this product didn’t work out, he’d hire someone to develop a signature scent for his spa products. This one in particular didn’t matter. He’d do it more cheaply, anyway, using synthetic materials.

“Between you and me, I’ve been trying to convince my parents to expand our product line for ages, and they’re just not interested. So, even if they say no to this, I’m still going to make it for you. What do you think about opening up a store? Most spas sell their own products, right? What if you sold our perfume, along with body lotion and wash?”

“I like the store idea a lot.” And, just like that, he had another one to add to the shopping arcade in the lobby.

“Oh, good. I’m so glad. Then, after I make the perfume, I’ll start working on the lotions.”

“And what’ll you get out of it?” He knew her well enough to know she’d have given the idea some thought.