Catching sight of Olivia, Maddie grinned. “Livie! Hey, sleepyhead.”

“I don’t suppose you know what time it is?”

“Not a clue. Is it time to open? Because I stowed some work clothes in the bathroom, so I can be changed in a jiffy.” Maddie’s eyes flicked to Olivia’s attire. “You’re in your jammies. Are you sick or—?”

“Or,” Olivia said, “it’s the middle of the night.”

Maddie twisted her head to check the clock over the sink. “It’s almost five o’clock.”

“That’s four twenty-four. In the morning. Your music woke me up at four. I was catching up on paperwork until midnight, so I had my heart set on at least three more hours of sleep. I need those three hours.”

“Oh, Livie, I’m sorry. You’ll get those three hours, I promise. I’ll open the store; you can sleep till noon if you want.” Maddie reached toward a rack of cookies. “Only first let me show you what I’m making for our special spring event on Saturday. You’ll love it, and you’ll sleep so much better knowing how fabulously fun it will be. Please?”

“What the heck, I’m awake now.” Olivia dragged a tall stool over to the table and crawled onto it. “I don’t suppose you’ve made coffee?”

As Maddie shook her head, a red curl escaped its restraint and bounced on her cheek. She swept it behind her ear. “I’ve got extra icing, though. A good dose of sugar would perk you right up.”

“Tell me your brilliant idea.”

Maddie’s face lit up. She pushed the rack of cookies toward Olivia and asked, “What do you think?”

“Flowers? For spring, right?”

“And?”

Olivia picked up a cookie. “This looks like a tulip, but I don’t remember having a cutter quite like this in stock.”