Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45218 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45218 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Two hours later, Ellie set half a cupcake down with a sigh. “Those are incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a flavor like that. What are we going to call it?”
“Mochalicious? Cookies and Cafe? No, that’s not right. We’ll have to come up with a better name,” Bear suggested.
He looked over the display of rejected, half-eaten cupcakes. “I’m going to have to run for miles to burn off all these calories.”
“I’ll add a new pair of sneakers to your salary,” Ellie suggested with a grin.
“I’ve got the job?”
“I’d tackle you if you tried to get out of here now. I enjoyed baking with you. Thanks for joining my team, Bear.”
“My pleasure, Little girl. You’re going to keep me on my toes. I’m looking forward to it. When do I start?”
“The grand opening is in four days. The front shop staff starts training tomorrow. Would you begin the day after that? That will give me a full day to work with them and then we can start baking. It would help if this week you came in Tuesday and Wednesday before the grand opening on Thursday.”
“How many days do you want me to work? I’m at Blaze on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. I’m assuming you’ll start baking early in the morning. If you need me the mornings that follow, I can come here when the club closes and get the first batches in the oven.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know how much help I’ll need or which days. Could we start with three days a week? I think I’ll need to increase the days you’re here as I build up the clientele,” Ellie suggested, holding her breath. Now that she’d seen him in action, Ellie knew Bear could get a job anywhere. He was that good. To her relief, Bear nodded.
“I’ll have to get another job in a few weeks if you don’t need me full time,” he warned. “That will make my schedule less flexible, but I’ll give you priority on which days you need me to work.”
“Deal!” Ellie announced, extending her hand to shake on the agreement.
Chapter Nine
After parking his SUV, Garrett walked up to the front door of Little Cakes. He could see the lights on in the kitchen through the swinging door. The dining room was completely black. Reaching a hand out to try the handle, Garrett breathed out a sigh of relief when the door rattled. Ellie had listened and locked the door.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and called her. Faintly, Garrett heard music playing from inside. Pressing his ear to the glass door, he heard a familiar tune by a country singer questioning someone’s choice of a Daddy. Garrett felt his lips part in a wide grin. His Little had customized his ring tone.
Shaking his head, Garrett knocked loudly on the glass. His Rainbow had locked the door but left her phone abandoned at one of the tables out front. He paused and knocked again. The swinging door moved slightly as someone from the kitchen peeked out. In a burst of energy, Ellie ran to unlock the door.
“Hi!” she chirped after she opened the door. Starting forward, she suddenly halted uncertainly.
“I’ve been away from you for hours. Could a needy Daddy get a hug?” Garrett prompted.
“Yes!” Ellie launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.
“I missed you, Little girl,” Garrett whispered before kissing her deeply. Sweet flavors of chocolate, buttercream, and vanilla tantalized him. He loved Ellie’s own delicious flavor even more than the ingredients she had sampled. Remembering the wide expanse of windows behind him, Garrett reined in his greeting.
Ellie blinked a few times when he lifted his mouth from hers. Garrett loved that she needed a few seconds to recover. When she licked her lips, Garrett couldn’t resist kissing her again. This time when he pulled himself away, he asked, “Did you miss me, Rainbow?”
“So much!”
“Tell me how your interviews went.”
“For the counter, I hired Riley—you know her from Blaze. Tori and Sue are my other hires. Tori is quiet but I can already tell she’ll be reliable and helpful. My last pick was Sue. She’s in her thirties and is a super cheerful. Lark promised to come help in the beginning when we’re overrun by cupcake starving hordes of people.”
“Lark Adams?” Garrett asked, remembering the name from the contract Ellie had signed. There can’t be that many women named Lark.
“Yes. She’s my best friend in the world. She helped me find this place. Lark is the best realtor.”
“She is a good friend to come help out,” he agreed with a smile.
“Guess who came to interview for the baker’s job?” Ellie asked, bouncing on her toes in excitement.
“Your second-best friend?” Garrett teased.
“No! Bear from Blaze!”
“Bear is a baker?” Garrett questioned.
“He is and he has good ideas. We’re trying to think of a name for a cream-filled chocolate cupcake we created with an expresso flavor.” Ellie looked at him expectantly.