“Next time we go, will you wear your signature scent?”
Spur’s eyes widened. “I have a signature scent?”
She lifted her gaze to him. “Yep. It’s called Spur, and it’s got Strength, Security, and Sexy Cowboy in it. Women everywhere will be buying it for their boyfriends, and every man across the country will smell like you.” She touched the end of his tie and slid her fingers up his chest.
“Do you have some I can smell?” he asked, his voice catching on itself.
“I sure do,” she said. “I’ll show you after you give me a proper make-up kiss.”
“I can do that,” Spur said, loving the way she didn’t just use her nose to smell, and he took the woman into his arms and kissed her. It was just as hot as the first time they’d kissed, but Spur forced himself to pull away sooner. She had two big businessmen waiting for her outside.
“I’d love to smell that,” one of them said, and Olli spun toward the door. No one had come through it, though the voice had sounded like it was in the same room with them. She emitted a little shriek as she moved away from him and to the window. She yanked the cord to lift the blinds, and Spur saw the window. It was wide open.
Benjamin stood there, a smile on his face. “I really want to smell that, and if it’s something women everywhere will buy for their boyfriends, I want it in all our stores.”
Olli just stood there, so Spur walked to the door and opened it. Frank and Benjamin re-entered the perfumery, and Benjamin actually stepped forward. “I’m not Benjamin Radcliffe,” he said. “My real last name is Renlund, and my brother and I run this company together.”
“You’re kidding,” Olli said, looking from him to Frank.
“I like you, Olli,” Benjamin said. “You didn’t ignore me like I was the hired help. You spoke to me as if I were as important as Frank.” He looked at his brother, who was nodding and smiling. “First one in this round.”
“She’s our last,” Frank said. “That makes her the only one.”
“Right,” Benjamin said. “I like that, Olli. I like this perfumery you have here. I like all the things you two just said to one another.” He glanced down the tables, and Spur followed his gaze. “I’ve been married for twenty-two years, and I can admit that my marriage has lost some of its…spice. If I go home with that cologne, and it does half of what you’re promising, I really will put it in all four hundred and four of our stores.”
Olli flew into action then, and Spur could lose hours watching her in her element. “Your wife is going to love this,” she said, returning to the group with a small bottle of clear liquid. “I’d make it amber, like the color of a beautiful saddle.” She glanced at Spur. “But I don’t do colorings on samples. Now, does your wife like a more peppery, crisp scent, or the warmer cloves and cedars? Because I have one called City Slicker too, that is going to be every bit as fabulous as Spur.” She glanced at him, a shy smile touching her mouth. “Well, maybe second best to Spur, but still wonderful. It’ll hit the opposite end of the spectrum from Spur, which is where we find the majority of colognes for men.”
“I honestly don’t know,” Benjamin said. “She’s always buying me Radiant Water for my birthday.”
“Okay,” Olli said. “That’s the crisper, blue scents. You want Spur.” She lifted the bottle, a beautiful smile on her face. “My boyfriend trains champion horses that run in the Kentucky Derby—some of them win too. So the base note here is actually genuine leather. It provides a warm base without much acid. Above that is a scent I use often in my candles, but not so much in my perfumes. Cotton. Spur is always dressed to the nines when he comes to pick me up. His clothes are clean, he’s wearing boots that have never seen a horse, and his hat is one a proper cowboy would wear to church on Sunday.”
Spur reached up and touched that hat, grinning at Olli.
“That middle scent gives you the crisp, clean scent we associate with men’s fragrances. The top note is blue. For Spur, it represents the sky and the clouds. It’s not as cold as ice or water—as what your wife buys for you—but it’s still got that freshness and lightness you’re looking for in a partner. It’s not going to knock your date over the head with the smell, but it’s going to linger with her after you drop her off.”
Olli sprayed the cologne into the air. “One misconception is that a person should spray their cologne right onto their skin. It’s actually better for it to be on your clothes. Women should get it in their hair.”
“You should do videos to go with your products,” Spur said, and Olli beamed at him.
“Great idea.” She turned back to Frank and Benjamin. “Sort of a how-to-wear-a-scent-and-get-your-man.”
“Or woman,” Benjamin said.
“Or woman,” Olli agreed. “Spur, can you be our model?”
“Absolutely.” He stepped to Olli’s side, a new hope blooming inside him that he’d always be right here at her side, helping her with what she needed the way she helped him with what he needed.
Olli did her demo, and she spritzed and sprayed all three of them before she finished. They took Frank and Benjamin next door to the ranch, and Spur showed them the horses he’d been working with.
“We’re hopin’ to sell her for seven-fifty,” he said, gazing at Lucky Number Thirteen, who he’d just introduced to everyone.
“Thousand?” Benjamin asked.
“That’s right.” Spur smiled at Lucky, who really just wanted a treat.
“We’re in the wrong business,” Frank commented, and Spur chuckled. His hand in Olli’s felt just right, and the afternoon had been one of his best.
“Your shoes would never last a day on a ranch,” Olli said, and the four of them laughed. “Who’s ready to go to dinner? I picked out the perfect place for someone who’s never been to Kentucky.”