Page 143 of Make or Break

“It’s super cute, right?” I asked.

Killian glanced around the room dramatically. “Have you seen our customers? Nobody’s ordering this.”

Brandy came into the barroom and hurried to me. “Am I in-time for the official taste test?”

Tundra dropped his fist and stared at me. “Why did you ask her—”

“Between the three of you alone, I know this isn’t going to appeal to men. But women, and moms in particular, might want a festive cocktail at brunch.”

“And their kids—” Ryan started.

“My kids know Mommy has her own special treats sometimes,” Brandy said.

“Have you done a cost analysis on this?” Ryan asked, going for the proverbial jugular.

I grinned at him. “Premium cocktails in special or souvenir glasses get premium price tags. Yes. It could cost me if nobody orders them, at all, because I have to have the bunnies on hand to serve the drink, but if I get even a little interest in the Easter Bunny Martini, it should turn a profit.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Brandy grab the hollow bunny. Her eyes lit on me. “This is so cute, you are a cocktail queen! I bet you never have any Pinterest fails.”

I twisted my hand out toward her. “Well, give it a sip.”

Ryan shook his head. “That isn’t even a martini though. The ingredients are all wrong.”

I shrugged. “It’s not about it being true to the bartender’s recipe book. It’s about what the customer can wrap their head around. And like it or not, anything with vodka sometimes gets dubbed a martini.”

Killian glared at me. “Do not call this thing the Easter Bunny martini. You can do so much better than that.”

He was right. Names mattered, and usually it was one of the first things I focused on for a menu item.

I watched Brandy sip from the straw.

She widened her eyes before she reared her head back. “Whoa! That is delicious…and very strong.”

I turned to Killian. “The Boozy Bunny…or the Buzzy Bunny - but that makes me think of bees and honey.”

“Let me try that,” Tundra said to Brandy.

He swallowed and coughed. “Yeah. Boozy for sure, babe, because you’re gonna knock people off their ass with that recipe.”

Brandy pushed the bunny toward us. Killian grabbed a new straw and took a sip of the cocktail.

He swallowed and made a face. “Way too sweet for me.”

Ryan leaned against the bar. “Given their feedback, I think you ought to rejigger it so there’s a little less liquor, which would help us not lose money on this.”

I shook my head. “Scarcity drives interest and demand, but I’ll take that into consideration.”

“What inspired this anyway? Was it a social media post or something?” Killian asked.

I shrugged. “Mabel turned twenty-one, and we weren’t there—”

“She didn’t want us there,” Ryan said.

I nodded once. “I know, but I still felt bad about it. She called me, and I asked about her party. She told me about all these fancy drinks people bought for her.”

Killian nodded. “And so you wanted to one-up them.”

I laughed. “Not exactly.”