Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
“Thanks. I didn’t realize how long I’d been working,” she commented as she accepted his gift and quickly swallowed the medicine.
“You forgot to set your timer. I was on my way over when he spoke up.”
“I’ll have to limber up my fingers before my next appointment,” she muttered.
“You’re scheduled for lunch next. Why don’t you get out of here and go to Nibbles & Bites? I’ll take care of everything here,” Maniac told her.
“Only if I can bring you back something,” she bargained.
“Deal. Anything is good there. Bring me Elizabeth’s special of the day, unless it’s filled with tomatoes.”
“Got it. Ix-nay on the omatoes-tay.”
Rolling his eyes at her use of pig Latin, Maniac changed the subject. “Do you have anything planned for after work?”
“You don’t want to reorganize the storage in back again, do you?” she asked, secretly hoping that’s what he wanted to do.
“No. It’s perfect now. I think we need to talk. How about you?” he asked. His dark eyes seemed to see inside her.
“Probably,” she admitted. Tatiana had never been able to lie to him. Well, not without him knowing immediately that she wasn’t telling the truth. That should have clued her in immediately that he was a Daddy.
After finishing up that session of Dave’s tattoo when he returned, Tatiana reset her station for the next customer on the schedule. Not taking breaks had saved her a lot of time. She could leisurely eat something delicious from the restaurant next door while letting her body recover a bit.
She paused to rub some aspirin-laden cream over her hands and fingers before grabbing her phone and wallet. “I’ll be back soon, Maniac.”
“Take your time. We’ve got it covered here,” he called back without looking up at her.
Smiling to herself, Tatiana let herself out the front door and headed for Nibbles & Bites. Stopping to stretch outside in the fresh air, Tatiana lifted her hands over her head and arched to the left and the right to pull out the kinks and to straighten out her spine. Oh, that’s better!
Walking the short distance into the restaurant, Tatiana read the sign in the window, noting today’s specials, and her stomach growled in protest. It all sounded amazing. She opened the door and walked inside to get in line behind a few groups of people waiting to be seated. Elizabeth’s staff was so well trained that it didn’t take two minutes for her to be escorted to her table and handed a menu to peruse.
When a familiar-looking server came to the table, Tatiana handed her the menu. “Would you choose your favorite dish for me? I love everything.”
“Gotcha. You’re going to devour my favorite,” the server promised before asking, “Do I remember you want root beer to drink?”
“Yes, please. I’ll need the sandwich special to go when I leave.”
“Maniac’s too busy to get over here himself, hmm?” the young woman asked.
“He is. We obviously come here too often,” Tatiana said, noting the server’s name. Tina. She’d have to remember her.
“No way. I’d eat here every day. I do when I work. No tomatoes on the sandwich for Maniac, right?”
“Exactly. Thank you for reminding me,” Tatiana said with a rueful shake of her head.
“I got you. I’ll be back with root beer.”
Studying the décor in the restaurant, Tatiana tried to keep herself busy. She hated eating alone. Glancing around the dining room, she noted most tables held two people—some friends, some in a romantic relationship, and a couple of tables of business people. Her glance landed on an average-looking older man. He looks like he could be a Daddy. Tatiana changed her view and her mind when he scanned the tattoos she had on display before shifting his body deliberately to avoid her gaze.
One of those. A person who thought tattoos made you dangerous or low-class. Tatiana snorted. If only people could see all the inked designs concealed under people’s clothing. She traced a delicate flower on her forearm. The colors were amazing. There was a bit of space left above her wrist. Tatiana grabbed her paper napkin and a pen from her wallet to start designing. A flutter of napkins and a root beer landed next to her, and she looked up to see Tina wink.
“Thanks! I was going to run out of room here, Tina,” Tatiana said, waving the wispy paper in the air.
“Your order will be right up,” Tina promised as she moved away to check on other customers.
Chapter Two
By the end of the night, Tatiana was dragging. The yummy lunch at Nibbles & Bites had bolstered her energy for a while, but those nutrients were out of power now. She turned off the We’re Open sign and locked the door.
“I didn’t think that young lady would ever leave,” she told Maniac.
“The high of her first tattoo. She was definitely excited,” he agreed as he cleaned up his station. “She’ll be back. She was already planning her next tattoo.”