Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
“How do you know how much things are?” she asked.
“Daddies worry about that. I think this one is your favorite,” Davis suggested, rubbing his hand over the smooth wood. “I like this too. We’ll need a crib, changing table, rocker, and a play table and chairs. What color do you want the pad to be?”
“The pad?” she echoed.
“Come see.” Davis tugged her over to the changing table and picked up a card lying on the cushioned top. His finger ran over the choices. “Which is your favorite?”
“Could I have the one that’s pink with the red hearts?”
“I like that one, too. That’s our choice,” Davis said with a wink. “Let me tell them what we’ve selected and then we’ll go look at clothes before stopping at the stuffies to get a new friend.”
He waved at a salesman who immediately came to their side. Sue looked at the floor in embarrassment as Davis placed their order. What could that man think of her?
“Of course, sir. I’m so glad you found the perfect set for your Little girl. I have this exact same furniture in my Little boy’s nursery. He’s a bit more boisterous than your Little is and it’s very sturdy. You’ve made a good choice,” the salesman assured them.
“You have a Little boy?” Sue blurted before feeling her face heat with embarrassment.
The man wasn’t offended at all. He chuckled and pulled out his phone. “I do. He’s a rascal, but I love him with all my heart.” He turned the device to show them an average-looking man dressed in khakis and a polo shirt. He held a green frog stuffie in his arms and grinned in delight at the camera.
“Looks like you found the perfect Little,” Davis observed with a smile.
“He is. And congratulations on finding your Little girl.”
When the man walked away, Davis wrapped his arm around her waist to steer her toward the clothing. “This is a safe place, Cherry. You don’t have to worry about anyone judging you.”
“Sue?” an incredulous voice called her name as if on cue.
Davis and Sue looked up to see a couple in front of them. The man held onto the basket of a laden cart as the woman pushed it.
Suddenly, Sue realized who she was looking at and panicked at the sight of her ex-husband. “Troy?” Only Davis’s arm around her waist kept her from fleeing.
“Hi. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Davis.”
Sue just stared at him, unable to talk. This wasn’t like running into her ex-husband at the grocery store in the produce section.
“I’m Viola. And this is Troy,” the woman answered. When Troy took his hand off the basket as if he were embarrassed, she tapped on the metal. Immediately, he grabbed ahold of it. “Thank you, Troy.”
All the pieces clicked into place. Troy was here with his… Mommy? She peeked into their basket and saw two large packages of diapers with a blue dinosaur print and several outfits piled inside along with a bunch of stuff she didn’t recognize.
“This is a bit awkward for Troy, I’m afraid. Sue, I’m glad to see you again.”
Sue had no idea what to say to her ex-husband’s boss. Especially not now!
When she didn’t answer, Viola turned to Davis. “Perhaps you could help me. Troy hid some very special things in that old grandfather clock of Sue’s. He’d love to have them back.”
“That’s why you wanted the clock!” Sue spit out angrily. Of course, Troy couldn’t just tell the truth. He’d tried to take something special from her just so he didn’t have to reveal whatever he stashed inside.
“Troy doesn’t always think things through clearly. I’m sorry if he handled this poorly,” Viola said calmly.
“Poorly? He’s handed everything poorly!” Sue said in exasperation, trying to keep her voice down so they didn’t attract everyone’s attention.
“Sorry,” Troy muttered.
“I’ll talk to Sue and we’ll be in touch if she decides to return your Little’s possessions,” Davis suggested.
“Thank you. That’s all we can hope for.” With that, Viola pushed the cart toward the checkout area with Troy clinging obediently to the basket.
Davis steered Sue into the clothing section out of their view. Turning her to face him, he kissed her lightly before asking, “Are you okay? Shall we let them get out of here and then we’ll go get the furniture and leave?”
“He’s Little, too,” Sue said, gobsmacked by the truth. “He found his Mommy. That’s why he divorced me.”
“Unfortunately, it looks like that’s what happened.”
“It wasn’t because of me. He just made up the excuse that I was too boring and out of shape. That wasn’t why he suddenly wasn’t attracted to me.”
“No.”
That simple answer brought a cascade of emotions down on her. Relief that she wasn’t unlovable. Anger that he’d blamed her to cover his truth. Scene after scene from their marriage clicked through her head. Looking back now, she’d had a number of indications that she hadn’t recognized. Sue hadn’t known she was Little much less…