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)
Forcing herself to continue her efforts to restock her workstation, Tatiana kept an eye on the visitor as she worked. About fifteen minutes later, a familiar figure opened the door.
“Hey, Rainbow. I brought you some soup from Nibbles & Bites and a cupcake from Little Cakes,” Maniac called as he walked into the parlor.
“Did you bring me anything?” the woman asked as she stood.
“Beth? What are you doing here?” Maniac asked, walking forward to place the packages on the counter.
Beth rushed forward, wrapping her arms around his body to hug him familiarly.
Maniac pried her hands off his back and unwound himself from her arms. Holding her forearms to stop the motion when she rushed forward again, he repeated, “Why are you here?”
“You don’t sound happy to see me, Daddy,” Beth answered, sticking out her bottom lip.
“Don’t call me that, Beth. You don’t have permission to use that term with me,” Maniac said firmly.
Tatiana looked back and forth between the two people in front of her. Maniac had a Little girl? She’d known him for a long time. He’d never mentioned Beth nor had she seen this woman before.
“Look at all the pictures all over you. I guess you can get them erased,” Beth suggested.
“Not going to happen, Beth. Would you like to answer my question?”
Beth looked at Tatiana and then back to Maniac. “Maybe we could talk without the help overhearing?” she rudely suggested.
“Tatiana owns half of the studio. She is not help.”
“Whatever. That’s actually easier. You can just sell this place to her.” Beth wrinkled her nose and looked around.
The door opened and a handsome young man without any visible tattoos stalked in with swagger. “Hey, Tatiana! You ready to work on the next section?”
“Hey, Todd. I’m all set up. Let’s head to my station,” Tatiana suggested.
“Great!” Todd stripped off his shirt as he walked, revealing a large dragon spanning his back with its tail wrapping around his waist.
“Ewww!” Beth said in a loud whisper to Maniac. “He looked so cute before he took off his shirt.”
“What’s up with that bitch?” Todd asked, jerking a thumb toward Beth.
“Come with me, Beth. It’s time to leave,” Maniac said, ushering the visitor out the door. He paused to look back at Tatiana. “Take time to eat, Rainbow.”
All Tatiana could do was shake her head in disbelief. If she’d been hungry before, watching hurricane Beth come through had evaporated any desire to eat.
Chapter Fifteen
The rest of the workday had flown past in a flurry of pre-tattoo meetings and actual work. Buzz was starting that weekend, and already Tatiana was fielding calls requesting appointments for body piercing from the social media posts she’d made. Who knew what would happen when people found the ads they’d placed in the city’s alternative newspaper? It seemed the combination of Maniac Tats’ good standing in the community and a lack of shops providing this service had created an avalanche of interest.
Tatiana grinned as she entered another appointment for Buzz. He was going to have to hit the ground running. She sobered as she considered that she should alert him so he could have sufficient supplies on hand. Coming up empty-handed as she searched for Buzz’s application with his telephone number, Tatiana knew there was only one more place to look—Maniac’s station.
She’d avoided him all afternoon and evening after Beth had visited. He’d tried to talk to her a couple of times but she hadn’t been ready and had dodged the conversation. Someone else had called Maniac Daddy before her.
Rolling her eyes at her own stupidity, Tatiana knew she should have realized that he’d had another Little before her—maybe a bunch. She’d never worried about previous lovers of men she’d dated in the past. Now, seeing Beth made her sick to her stomach. She didn’t want to consider that Maniac might have treated anyone as special as he did her.
Flashbacks to their intense lovemaking jolted to the front of her mind. Had it been something special for Maniac too, or had it been the same old, same old for him? Glancing toward his space, she discovered he was looking at her. Lines were etched on his face, making him look older than she’d seen him before.
Using the need to call Buzz as an excuse, Tatiana forced herself to walk over to him. “Sorry to interrupt while you’re getting prepped; do you have Buzz’s application? I want to update him on the number of appointments already booked for him. He may need more supplies.”
“Good idea.” Maniac tugged a drawer open and pulled out a sheet of paper with a sticky note attached. He handed it to Tatiana. She could feel him watching her as she read the message. Alert about supply needs.
“I just hadn’t gotten around to calling. I’d like to talk to you if you have time,” he requested.