Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Tori stopped turning pages at the third flower she found. Reading the small letters underneath, she knew it was a bird of paradise. She giggled softly as she absentmindedly picked up a pen from his desk. It did look like a big squawking orange bird. As she studied it, she drew a picture of the funny-looking creature that had flitted into her brain on the side margin.
It was only when she set the pen down with a satisfied click that she realized what she’d done. She’d doodled in the book of her Daddy’s fine artwork. Maybe he wouldn’t be mad? After blowing on the ink to dry it, Tori closed it carefully so it wouldn’t smudge.
“Curls? Are you ready to go out?” Evan called.
“Yes, Daddy! I’m coming.”
Tori took a few seconds to tuck the book on the far corner of his desk. She crossed her fingers as she hurried out of the office to join him. With any luck, he wouldn’t notice.
“Hi! I missed you. Did you finish your picture?” Evan asked as she emerged into the main living space of the house.
“I did.” Tori turned to point to the sheets of paper lying on the table. “Can we put them on the fridge?”
“There are magnets in that drawer. Pick your favorites while I finish packing our bag.”
Tori looked down at a vast assortment of shapes and sizes. There had to be a hundred magnets in there. “Wow!” It took her a while to choose one, and by then Evan was back in the kitchen, setting his backpack on the table.
“I might have a slight problem,” Evan admitted, glancing at the magnets.
“You think?” she teased. It was so fun to find his quirks. Her Daddy was unique. She was so lucky.
Trailing a finger through the cute choices, Tori settled on a heart for her Daddy’s picture and a precious mouse for hers. She placed them carefully on the fridge and turned to find him taking pictures of her. Immediately, she smoothed a hand over her hair, feeling self-conscious.
“I’m not really picture material,” she protested.
“The absolute best pictures ever. Want to take a selfie of us together?” he asked, walking forward to wrap an arm around her.
Automatically, she smiled up at him. They had talked about taking some pictures together, but they hadn’t done it yet.
“What a great shot!” he declared before he turned his phone so Tori could see.
Evan had captured the refrigerator with their pictures next to them. She was gazing up at him in the picture with a dreamy look that even looked good to Tori. Of course, her Daddy was handsome. He always looked incredible. She wanted to think that he looked very fondly at her, but Tori didn’t want to exaggerate his feelings. Inside her chest, her heart swelled a smidgen.
“Can I have a copy?” she asked. It would give her something to look at when they were apart.
“Of course. I’ll print one out when we get back from lunch.” He took her hand in his as they headed for the car, glancing at her. “I’d love to take some real pictures of you, Curls.”
“You mean like in your studio?” They had talked about his studio, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about the idea. She’d never really liked pictures of herself. They made her feel self-conscious. The ones he took of her on their hike were really good though.
“Doesn’t have to be a studio. Could be in nature. Maybe after lunch we could go to the park and I could take some candid shots of you.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not dressed for something like that. And my hair is wild today. And I don’t have any makeup on.” She never wore makeup. Her hair was always wild. And she didn’t own nice clothes for taking pictures.
He stopped beside the car before opening the door and cupped her face, tipping it back so she was looking up at him. “Tori, I like you just the way you are. This is you.” He ran his fingers through her curls and smiled. “I love these curls so much. They’re so pure and free.” He stroked his fingers across her cheek. “And you don’t need makeup, Little one. Your skin is naturally smooth and pretty.” He slid his hands to the sleeves of her T-shirt. “This soft pink T-shirt is you, Curls. I want to take pictures of my girl like this, not dolled up in a fancy dress with professional hair and makeup.”
She held her breath while he gave that speech and swallowed over the lump in her throat when he finished. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she threw her arms around him to hug him tight.
Evan ran his hands up and down her back. “I love your hugs, Curls,” he murmured into her hair.