Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
He’d been there dozens of times with his niece. He liked to spoil Amelia. It drove his sister crazy every time he took her there because she said Amelia spent the rest of the afternoon bouncing off the walls. Adam simply laughed because that’s what fun uncles were supposed to do.
Did Rose realize she was whispering to the beagle as she filled it? Mumbling her apologies and reassuring him he would be so happy once he got his stuffing.
Damn, she was precious. In seconds flat, this Little girl had stolen Adam’s heart, turned it upside down, and twisted it into a tight knot. His chest no longer seemed large enough to contain the important muscle.
His offer to arrange all the empty stuffie bodies so they were facing the room had been impulsive and probably absurd, but he’d been trying to come up with any reason in the world to prolong this interaction.
Granted, he was not leaving here without her phone number and a specific date planned, but he already hated the thought of walking away from this adorable shop and not seeing her again for hours. Ten hours would be too many.
And who was he kidding? It wasn’t as though he could see her tomorrow morning. He had an early meeting. He doubted Stuff-It opened before ten, but it would be incredibly forward of him to suggest he take her to breakfast anyway.
He had some time to feel her out still. He could probably drag out selecting clothes and other accessories before he spent at least ten minutes making sure all the animals were facing the main section of the room…
Good grief. He’d lost a marble or two. She probably thought he was daft for suggesting such a thing. Besides, he couldn’t stall here forever. Eventually the entire mall would be dark.
“There,” she declared as she held up the beagle. “Just the right amount of fluff to hold him upright without making him too stiff to snuggle.”
Adam reached out to stroke the beagle’s hind leg and nodded. “I agree. Just right. What’s next? Clothes?”
Her eyes widened. “Goodness, no. First we need to include a heart before we seal up the opening.”
Adam palmed his forehead with a bit of dramatic affect. “Of course. What was I thinking. Do you have those talking hearts that record a message?” He’d seen them on TV, only because Amelia made him watch cartoons sometimes and the commercials during cartoons were geared toward kid-friendly products.
Rose’s hair bounced as she spun toward the selection of hearts. She had a cute bob. The front section was pinned up on top of her head with a clip that had a teddy bear on it. A ribbon with the Stuff-It logo hung down a few inches on both sides of the clip. He wondered if she sold those clips. Amelia would love one.
Rose turned around and gave him her wide brown eyes again. She kept switching back and forth between nervous trembling and confident store owner. He was beyond certain she was a Little and suspected she was wobbling between Little space and her adult persona.
He hoped he had something to do with that. Not because he wanted to make her nervous, but he definitely wanted her to default to her Little space when he was nearby.
The stars were aligned tonight. He’d had a crappy day that had lasted far too many hours, and he’d been in a sour mood when he’d arrived. He nearly missed the opportunity to get Amelia a Stuff-It.
His entire demeanor had shifted as he’d jogged toward the shop though. Even from two storefronts away he’d heard the sweet voice of Rose singing. The fact that she couldn’t carry a tune just made her even cuter. The fact that she only seemed to know two words to “Toyland” and made the rest up had his heart beating faster than his rushed pace had caused.
As Rose explained the various types of hearts, he watched her. Her full lips were rosy. Her cheeks were pink, and he’d bet they would feel heated to the touch. He caused her to be a little off-kilter. In a good way, he hoped.
Every time she tucked a lock of hair behind one ear or the other, he watched as the thick locks fell right back against her cheek, wishing he had the liberty to stroke her face and tuck the hair back himself.
Patience. He’d already scared the life out of her when he’d instinctively set his hand on the gate, preventing her from pulling it closed.
Call him crazy, but he knew in his soul Rose was the Little girl he’d been looking for his entire adult life. She was filled with happiness and boundless energy. He’d bet she’d been here on her feet working for twelve hours, and still she showed him the same courtesy she undoubtedly showed the first customer of the day.