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)
“No. I moved here when I dropped out of college and work for a while,” she shared. “My brother was here, and I thought maybe a new start somewhere would help me figure out what I wanted to do.”
“Your brother is older?”
“Yes, by eight years. He just turned thirty-two. We’ve always been close. He didn’t mind having a baby sister toddling after him when we lived at home.”
“Do you have any other siblings?”
“No, it’s just the two of us. I think I was an oops baby, but Mom won’t ever admit it.” Tori laughed.
“However you got here, I owe your mom my thanks.” Before she could react, he guided her into the store.
“What’s your favorite flavor of yogurt?” he asked.
“They change every day. We’ll have to look.”
He loved how she carefully read each flavor from the front of the machine before picking up the smallest cup. Evan plucked that from her hand to replace it with a slightly larger one.
“You need room for gummies to breathe,” he reminded her.
Tori nodded. A look of concentration covered her face. She eased the handles of the shopping bag higher on her arm and checked to make sure the top was closed.
“I don’t want Coral to get messy,” she clarified.
“I think you’ve protected her,” he assured Tori.
Taking his own bowl, Evan followed Tori down the line of self-help choices. He watched her carefully add several flavors in different spots in the container.
When he filled his bowl with two flavors side by side, she asked, “Are those the only flavors you like?”
“I haven’t tried any of them. This time I’ll try these two and then on our next visit, I’ll switch to a couple of different flavors,” he explained.
Evan watched her face as she considered his answer while she added different toppings to each flavor she’d chosen. He added his favorites and guided her to the checkout, where they weighed each cup.
When her bowl came off the scale, he suggested, “Go pick us out a place to sit. I’ll be there in just a minute.”
Quickly paying the cashier when she turned around to select a table, he avoided her being concerned with the price. Evan followed Tori to a table near a window with a small ledge where she could set Coral safely off the floor. He loved that she took such good care of the stuffie. It obviously meant a lot to her already.
“Are we coming here again?” she whispered to him after he sat down next to her.
“We’ll have to. I have a lot more flavors to try.”
“You could come back by yourself,” she suggested, looking down to stab her spoon lightly into different sections of her bowl. She was swinging her legs under her seat in that telltale way that let him know she was nervous.
Evan reached out to cradle her chin in his palm. He gently lifted her head until their gazes met. “This is our thing. It won’t be the same without you, Curls.” He released her chin before leaning in to kiss her lightly and loved that she pursed her lips to meet his.
“Eat, Little girl. Your fro-yo will melt.”
Immediately, she took a bite and squirmed a bit in her chair.
“Good, huh?” he asked, trying it for himself. “Wow! That’s delicious. If I try every flavor, how many times will we have to visit?” Evan asked.
“They change them all the time. We’ll be coming here forever,” Tori forecasted.
“I can handle that,” Evan assured her, bumping his shoulder against hers.
Tori was quiet for a while before she whispered, “You’ll get bored with me. I’m not very exciting.”
Evan narrowed his gaze to pin her in place. “If you were my Little, your bottom would be fiery red now,” he informed her.
“But I’m not,” she whispered.
“Not yet.”
“Are you messing with me, Evan?”
The melancholy in her voice made him wrap an arm around her to hold her close to his side. “I’m a grown man, Tori. I don’t play games and I know what I want.”
“You want me?” she asked, studying his face.
“I do.” Evan held her gaze evenly. He wondered if someone had hurt her in the past to make her skeptical now of a man’s interest.
A clatter of a yogurt dispenser being refilled interrupted them. When they looked back at each other, Evan gently prodded, “Eat your yogurt, Curls. It’s melting.”
“It’s fantastic,” she complimented, taking a bite with a blue gummy bear.
“I’m glad.”
After they both finished, Evan didn’t want to take her back to Little Cakes. He led her the long way around the mall. When they reached the entrance, he asked, “Do you need to go home?”
Tori checked her phone and gasped. “I didn’t realize how late it was. I told my brother I’d be home in a couple of hours.”
“Send him a text and I’ll take you home if you’re concerned.”