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)
“D… Garrett!” Ellie burst through the swinging door to greet him.
“Hi, sweetheart! You’ve been busy!”
“We have naked cupcakes,” she announced proudly, tugging him over to the display counter.
“Do I have to wait until tomorrow to eat one?” he asked, wrapping one arm around her to hug his Little girl to his side.
“No. I’d love to hear your reaction. What flavor would you like?”
“How about good old chocolate?”
Ellie opened the case and selected a lightly frosted cupcake. Handing it to him with a flourish, she watched him eagerly to judge his reaction to the treat.
Carefully, Garrett examined it from all sides. “Looks like the perfect ratio of frosting to cake.”
Pulling the paper liner from around the moist cake, Garrett inhaled the deep chocolate aroma. He lifted the cupcake to his mouth and took a large bite. Rich flavor captivated his tastebuds. An honest moan of delight sprang from him. Ellie bounced up and down in front of him at his obvious approval.
Garrett swallowed and held up one finger to make her wait as he took another bite. “You have ruined me for any other dessert. This is scrumptious!”
“Just wait until you try some of the fancy flavors,” she told him. “Look at the board Tori created for me! It will tell the special cupcake of the week.”
“Rainbow Sprinkles,” he read, feeling his lips curve with delight. “That’s perfect!”
“Are you all open?” an excited voice came from the doorway.
Ellie turned with a big smile to answer the eager customer. “Tomorrow is the grand opening. Would you like a coupon to bring back?” she asked, picking up a flyer and walking forward.
“My pregnant wife might let me back in the car if I come back with that,” the man laughed. “Oh, look. The list of cupcakes is on the back. That will help her wait until tomorrow. She’ll plot which ones we need to try.”
“Oh, you’ll need to try them all,” Riley suggested.
“Don’t I know it. I’m not going to tell her how good it smells in here. I’ll just escort her in tomorrow.” He waved goodbye as he headed back to the car idling at to the curb.
“You may need to create a frequent flyer program for your future addicts,” Garrett suggested.
“She’s already got that covered. Ellie is a marketing genius,” Bear’s deep voice observed as he walked through the swinging door.
“Thanks, Bear. Go home and sleep. Thank you for your help today to get ready,” Ellie said with a smile.
“If you run out of cupcakes tomorrow and need me to come in after you close, send me a text. I can always come in and get some batches into the oven.”
Garrett followed the large man out of the bakery after Bear had said goodbye to all the ladies. “How’s Daisy?”
“She’s okay now that it’s daylight. I know she’s not going to want to be alone in her shop for a while. Do you have any leads on the four men?” Bear asked.
“No. A few sightings every few days but nothing consistent that the police have been able to follow up on. I don’t like this. Not only as the owner of the commercial real estate but as Ellie’s Daddy. I don’t want to think of anything that might be dangerous coming close to her.”
“I’m sure they’ll be caught soon. They can’t keep evading everyone for too long,” Bear observed.
“I hope so.”
“You all coming to Blaze tonight?”
“Not tonight. Ellie needs to be in bed early tonight.”
“Good luck with that. She’s exhausted but she’s eaten cupcakes all day. Her body is one sugar molecule away from an explosion,” Bear warned.
“I need to get some good nutrition into her. Thanks for cluing me in.” Garrett waved as the Little Cakes’ employees emerged from the shop to head home for the night. “I’d better get in there before she comes up with an even better idea for a cupcake.”
Leaving Bear laughing, Garrett jogged back to the door. He flipped the lock from inside and walked through the dining area to the kitchen. “Nope. Put that butter back in the refrigerator.”
“But I need to make one more batch of Rainbow Sprinkles for tomorrow,” Ellie protested, holding the industrial blocks wrapped in wax paper to her apron.
“In the refrigerator, Little girl. You have lots of cupcakes.”
She leaned forward to whisper confidentially, “There can never be too many cupcakes.”
Garrett arched one eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of his chest. They were at an impasse. He knew she needed to leave for the day. No more cupcakes would be created in that kitchen that evening.
“What are you going to do? Spank me?” she challenged.
“If I need to,” he answered evenly.
Ellie tried to dart around him to the large mixer, but Garrett had wrangled too many tight ends during his time in football. Within seconds, he had her controlled at his side, dangling from his arm wrapped around her waist. Carrying her easily to the large walk-in cooler that housed the prepared cupcakes, Garrett opened the door and entered.