Free Sweet Dreams on Center Street by Sheila Roberts Page A

fundraiser? You know, with a big thermometer
so people could see how much money we’ve raised.”
    â€œNo,” Samantha said. “Perception is important in business and
the last thing we want is to announce to the whole world that we’re going
under.”
    â€œBut we are going under,” Bailey pointed out.
    â€œNo thermometers,” Samantha said sternly.
    Bailey frowned and fell back against the couch cushions,
deflated.
    â€œSpeaking of perception,” Cecily said, “does anybody know how
to contact Mimi LeGrande? If she featured Sweet Dreams on a show, we’d be
golden.”
    Why hadn’t she thought of that?
Mimi LeGrande hosted the Food Network’s brand-new hit show All Things Chocolate. There wasn’t a bakery or chocolatier in the
country who didn’t dream of getting included in one of her shows. If she were to
give them a nod, orders would pour in from foodies and chocoholics, and their
future would be secure.
    â€œI heard she lives here. I could ask around,” Bailey offered.
“There’s got to be someone who knows her.”
    â€œThat would be great,” Samantha said. Heck, it would be more
than great. It would be a miracle. “But it’s a long shot. I think we need a more
immediate plan.” There had to be one. Why wasn’t she seeing it?
    Silence reigned for a full five minutes until Cecily said, “You
know, our baby sis could be on to something.”
    â€œOh, not you, too,” Samantha groaned.
    â€œWhat if we did come up with some sort of event to bring in
money for the business?”
    â€œA chocolate dinner?” Bailey suggested, coming back to life.
“Every course could use chocolate. And we could do it at Zelda’s.”
    â€œGuys, I appreciate the thought,” Samantha said, “but a dinner
wouldn’t even come close to raising the kind of money we need.” Maybe they were
on the right track, though. “Let’s think on a grander scale.”
    â€œI did a chocolate tour in Seattle once,” Bailey said.
    â€œA chocolate tour, a chocolate weekend,” Samantha mused. Maybe
they could pull that off. They could have a dinner and a chocolate high tea at
Olivia’s B and B. But anything they got from that would only be a drop in the
bucket. “A chocolate festival.” Too bad they didn’t have more time. Festivals
brought in a lot of people and a lot of money.
    â€œNow, that’s brilliant!” Cecily exclaimed.
    â€œBrilliant but not practical,” Samantha said. “We need that
money in six and a half weeks. It would take six months to plan something on
such a grand scale.”
    â€œThen let’s plan on a baby grand scale,” Bailey said. “We can
have it the weekend before Valentine’s Day when people are feeling romantic and
buying candy.”
    Samantha shook her head regretfully. “There isn’t time. It’s a
lot to plan, and you have to promote it.”
    â€œIf you had people helping, you could do it,” Bailey insisted.
“And with the internet and social media you can promote things fast now.”
    â€œIt’s a great idea,” Cecily said.
    Was her entire family certifiably insane?
    Suddenly she could envision Icicle Falls buzzing with throngs
of visitors all on a chocolate high. Something like this wouldn’t just help
their company, it would help the whole town.
    Was she insane, too?
    â€œLet’s do it,” Bailey said eagerly.
    What was with this let’s do it stuff? They were down there and she was up here. On her own.
    â€œWe can sponser a bunch of events, maybe have some sort of
contest,” Bailey continued. “I couldn’t come up till just before, but I could
help with planning over the phone and on email in between catering jobs.”
    â€œActually, I can come up right away,” Cecily said.
    â€œYou’ve got a business to run,” Samantha