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)
His smirk grew into a legit smile. “Do you now?” He trailed a finger through the sugar she’d spilled all over the counter earlier.
She rushed forward, feeling less fearful now that her heart was no longer pounding out of her chest. She snagged a cupcake from one end of the counter and handed it to him. “Try it.”
On second thought, her heart kicked up a notch when she met his gaze again. The grin on his face and the twinkle in his eyes made her panties dampen, shocking her. How had she gone from freaking out over finding a stranger in her shop to panting over him in so few minutes?
He held the cupcake, twisting it around in circles. “You’re very good at what you do, I’ll give you that. Every one of them looks exactly perfect. You like colorful things, don’t you?” he teased.
She bit the corner of her bottom lip as she glanced at the confections scattered on her counter. Pink, purple, yellow, blue… “Yeah.”
“What do you call this one?”
“Rainbow sprinkles.”
He chuckled. “Apropos. What flavor is it?”
“Rainbow,” she declared, unable to keep from smiling back at him.
Another laugh. “Rainbow isn’t a flavor.”
“Sure it is. Are you just going to stare at it or eat it?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a cupcake in the middle of the night.”
She rolled her eyes. “I figured. You don’t look like you eat many cupcakes at any time of the day. Live a little. Lightening won’t strike. I promise.”
His laugh made her shiver from head to toe. He finally peeled the wrapper back and took a generous bite. When he moaned as his eyes rolled back, she stopped breathing. The sound burrowed into her. Deep baritone. So sexy.
She gripped the edge of the counter as she watched him lick frosting from his lips.
“Damn, that’s good.”
She beamed. “Glad you like it.”
He pointed at the mixing bowl in front of her. “What are you concocting now?”
“Lemon chiffon.”
“When do you sleep?”
She shrugged. “When I get tired. I’ve been hyper and excited and exhilarated since I secured this space. I want to make a huge impression when I open.”
He set the rest of the cupcake down on the counter and slowly rounded to her side, seeming to take in the entire kitchen. As he got closer to her, she swallowed. His proximity might make her faint.
Why did he have to be so freaking attractive? He wasn’t a prospective boyfriend. He was the owner of her building. He was humoring her. Or more likely making sure she was taking care of her rented space properly.
When he rounded the counter, he stopped, his gaze roaming up and down her body from head to toe and back again. Slowly.
Her face heated when his easy smile turned into more of a smirk, and she glanced down to remind herself what she was wearing.
Shit. She sucked in a breath. She had on a white tank top, her favorite flannel pants covered in colorful cupcakes, and cupcake slippers. The huge, bulky, fluffy kind. Good grief.
“Cute,” he stated. She couldn’t read into that one word. Was he making fun of her?
She straightened her spine again and set her hands on her hips, undoubtedly pushing her ample chest outward. She wasn’t a tiny gal. She had curves. She made cupcakes for a living. And she enjoyed them. With curves came boobs. At least she was wearing a bra tonight. Sometimes she got tired of the underwires and took them off while she was working.
He held up both hands. “Don’t get defensive. I didn’t mean to offend you. I genuinely like your style. Carefree. Fun. Especially the slippers.” He winked at her.
She narrowed her gaze. “If you’re making fun of me…”
He shook his head. “Nope. Never.” He stepped closer until only inches separated them. And then he reached up and swiped at her cheek. “You have flour on your face.” He grinned and then brought his finger to his mouth and sucked it. “Or maybe it’s powdered sugar.”
Her breath hitched. He had her completely flustered. The only times she felt this unsettled were when she was at the club meeting a Daddy Dom for the first time.
Ellie grabbed a cloth from the counter and swiped at her face, probably making it worse.
Garrett pointed at her phone, the corner of his mouth tipping up yet again. “What was that you were singing when I came in?”
She flushed a deep shade of red she could feel all the way to her bones. “Nothing. I made it up,” she mumbled.
He chuckled. “It was cute. Something about cupcakes and frosting.”
“I was just being silly.”
“But you like youthful musical tunes.”
She shrugged, not meeting his gaze as she busied herself, uselessly trying to wipe off the far end of the counter. “They make me happy.”
“Nothing wrong with that.” After an awkward moment of silence, he continued. “Do you always work in the middle of the night like this?”