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)
The entire time she packed the delicious treats into boxes for special occasions or just a fancy dessert, Tori considered everyone’s reactions. They all seemed to think it was just a mistake—that he hadn’t lied to her but simply forgotten to talk to his assistant as he’d promised. Nothing deliberately harmful but simply an oversight made by a busy man. Tori peeked at his table and found Evan looking at her. She smiled tentatively at him and instantly, he looked hopeful.
“Go clock out, Tori,” Ellie said gently before patting Tori’s hand on the counter.
“I think I really messed this up,” Tori whispered.
“Littles make mistakes. Daddies understand,” Ellie counseled wisely.
Tori crossed her fingers and disappeared into the back. When she came back, two Pink Lemonade cupcakes sat in front of the chairs on either side of Evan. She hovered behind one seat and asked, “Are you expecting anyone else?”
“My assistant will be here in a minute. She insisted on coming to meet you. I hope that’s alright?” Evan asked.
“Mmm, I guess so. What’s she going to say?”
“I think Valerie would rather speak for herself. Here she is,” Evan nodded at the door.
Tori turned to see a studious-looking woman with glasses perched on the end of her nose rush inside. Her clothes were casual and rumpled as if she regularly worked from home. She paused for a minute to look around before spotting Evan and dashing to his table.
“I’m sorry I’m late. My ride share got lost,” she excused herself.
“You’re right on time, Valerie,” Evan assured her as he stood to greet her and introduce Tori. “This is my Little girl, Tori.”
“You told her?” Tori accused, remembering Valerie had mentioned knowing Tori was his Little last night on the phone. She definitely knew. The warm feeling inside Tori evaporated upon hearing that Evan had shared her private desires with a stranger.
“I guessed. You see, I’m a Little, too. I’ve been looking for my Daddy for a long time. I knew Evan was a Daddy—not mine, of course. I’m attracted to growly, grouchy Daddies. Evan is too nice,” Valerie said quickly.
“Oh.” Tori instantly felt bad that she’d jumped again to a wrong conclusion.
“Sit down, ladies,” Evan suggested.
“A cupcake! Score,” Valerie cheered happily as she leaned in to smell the frosting.
She paused in tearing open the wrapper to meet Tori’s eyes. “I’m sorry the photo upset you. Evan doesn’t ever do portraits so when I saw that super cute one, I slapped it up there without thinking, ‘Hey! Maybe this is personal.’ I should have checked with him.”
“Totally my fault for including it in the set that I uploaded into the cloud file without marking it as private,” Evan corrected her.
He captured Tori’s gaze and assured her, “We’ve created a new system that will file any photos into a private space that Valerie can’t access. That way this can’t ever happen again.”
“Wow! This is delicious!” Valerie cheered, wiping frosting off her mouth and totally missing the smear on her nose.
Tori brushed her own nose with two fingers to clue Valerie in that she still wore some of the sweet concoction. “You’ve got a bit here.”
“Thanks! What flavor is this? It tastes like lemon but more sparkly.”
“That’s a great description,” Tori agreed. “It’s my favorite, Pink Lemonade.”
“I would gain forty pounds working here,” Valerie groaned as she patted her softly padded hips before taking another bite. “Mmm!”
There was no way to dislike her. It was obvious that Valerie was a very open person. Tori liked her. She especially liked that Valerie wasn’t interested in Evan at all. Tori picked up her cupcake and took a bite. The bright, fresh flavor always made her happy.
“I’m glad you like it, Valerie. You’ll have to try the other flavors. They’re all great.”
The trio made small talk as the women devoured their cupcakes. When she’d finished, Valerie looked at her watch and exclaimed, “I’ve got to go. I’m going to grab a cupcake to take home and then I’ve got to get back.”
Turning to Tori, she paused before rushing around the table to hug her awkwardly. “Sorry for the picture. I absolutely loved it and wanted everyone to see it. You are an amazing model.”
Astounded by that compliment, Tori looked at her. Valerie didn’t notice her surprise and simply scampered off to order a cupcake to go. Tori looked back at Evan and found him chuckling.
“Valerie is a character. We’ve worked together for several years. I trust her implicitly. Unfortunately, I didn’t equip her with all the information she needed about that batch of photos. She’s right. You are an incredible model. My favorite.”
Tori looked down at the tabletop, sorry that she’d jumped to conclusions and not listened to his explanations before now. When Evan’s hand covered hers, she peeked up at him. “I like Valerie.”
“I’m glad. You’ll see more of her. She doesn’t have any Little friends like you do here at Little Cakes. She hasn’t ever been to Blaze either. It’s too scary to go in by herself.”