Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Ellie flew to the door and unlocked it for her. “What happened to you?” she asked the usually immaculate realtor as she stepped inside.
“Someone just splashed me with mud. They didn’t even stop or yell sorry. I think they did it deliberately,” Lark fumed.
“We’re drinking. Want to join us?” Riley called as she poured generous drinks into Styrofoam coffee cups marked with the Little Cakes logo.
“Make mine a double!” Lark requested.
Walking past the table of destroyed flowers, she picked one up and threaded it behind her ear. “Does this make up for the muck?” she asked, striking a very model-like pose.
“Ooo, I want one, too?” Ellie said, pulling off her scarf and adding it to her rumpled hairdo. From the look on the other women’s faces, the bandana had not created a flattering hairstyle as her hair had dried. “Bad, huh?”
When everyone nodded, Ellie said, “Better make mine a double, too.”
“Little girls and double alcohol don’t mix well,” Tarson said, standing in the kitchen doorway. “What happened to the flowers, Baby girl?” he asked as he winced. Even though Daisy’s Daddy worked at Little Cakes farther down the strip mall, Ellie knew he kept a keen eye on his own Little girl’s business.
“They came that way. They sent me shabby flowers that can’t be used,” Daisy said with a grimace. She walked over to pick one off the pile and shook it at Tarson.
“Look how broken the stem is. These are going to die before morning,” Daisy snapped off the broken greenery and stuck the flower in her hair.
“One drink, Little girl,” he allowed before looking at Riley, who was liberally filling the cups.
“Not a double,” he ordered.
“Whoops!”
“I’ll just drink a small amount,“ Daisy promised.
Thankfully, a timer in the kitchen required Tarson’s attention. He gave Daisy a warning look before leaving the room that made everyone straighten up for a few seconds. That erect posture disappeared after their first sip.
“Mmm! This is so good!” Ellie murmured, drawing echoes around the room.
“Here comes Tori,” Riley alerted with a gesture toward the front door as she stood to pour another glass.
Sue opened the door and Tori squeezed in as she scanned the crowd. “Did you all schedule a party, and I missed it? That’s on par for my day,” Tori exclaimed. “And you have flowers?”
“Help yourself! That capped off my horrible day,” Daisy invited.
“We’re all wearing them?” Tori asked, taking one from the pile.
“Tear the stem off and tuck it in your hair,” Daisy instructed before standing up and handing a bundle of the broken flowers to each person.
“We might as well look beautiful as we wallow in our bad days,” Ellie said, cheerfully stripping off the unneeded greenery and tucking flowers in her hair.
“You look like you’re wearing a crown,” Riley said, walking around with the bottle to refill everyone’s drinks.
Riley had just sat down when Tarson walked back into the sitting area to peer into Daisy’s cup. Finding it full, he praised her, “Good girl.”
Deadly quiet filled the room until he walked back into the kitchen, then giggles burst from the Littles’ mouths. When he looked through the window, they tried to look cool.
“Whatever you’re doing, stop it,” he growled and disappeared from their view.
They heard the radio go on in the back and the sound of Tarson’s voice muffled by the music.
“Your Daddy sings?” Lark asked Daisy. “That’s so fun.”
“What happened to your day, Tori?” Ellie asked.
“You won’t believe what happened. I took a nap in the afternoon like Daddy wants me to. When I woke up, I went to the bathroom and leaned over the sink to splash water on my face. I was still pretty foggy. I turned on the water and doused my face with it. When I looked down, the water coming out of the faucet was totally brown. And it was all over my skin!”
“What did you do?” Daisy asked.
“Thankfully, we had wipes. I could wipe all that off of me!” Tori exclaimed.
“That’s yucky! You should have seen Riley and me when the mixer exploded with batter. It was cold and drippy, and we made it much worse when we tried to wash it off our faces and heads with the giant nozzle in the kitchen.” Ellie commiserated.
“That sounds awful,” Tori said with wide eyes. She lowered her voice and leaned in closer. “Too bad you didn’t have wipes nearby. For once I was grateful we own wipes and they came in handy for something other than their intended use.”
Ellie squirmed at the implication. Her Daddy had wipes in the nursery too. He certainly didn’t use them on her face very often.
Tori lifted her cup and asked, “Can I have some more? This is fantastic.”
They were almost finished with the last bottle when a knock sounded on the window. Everyone turned to see which of their friends had shown up next.