Page 28 of Harmonizing with Little Heaven Leigh

“I trust you with my life,mi corazón.” He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I don’t, however, trust you when it comes to the absolute chaos your artistic skills can cause when it comes to pranks.”

Her mouth opened to protest, but he kept speaking. “But I’m too tired to pull the nefarious plots out of you tonight. I have other plans for you.”

She straightened, tilting her head. “Other plans?”

“Mhm.” He leaned in, lips brushing against her ear as he whispered a long list of dirty, depraved things he was going to do to her body as soon as he got her inside.

She pulled back, eyes wide, and then turned and started walking toward the apartment building quickly.

Angel frowned, wondering if he’d accidentally stumbled over one of her triggers. Dirty talk wasn’t a new thing for them and usually she loved it. “Heaven? What’s wrong?”

She didn’t slow as she looked back over her shoulder and called. “Aren’t you coming? You can’t do dirty, depraved things to me on the sidewalk, Daddy. The neighbors will talk.” She sounded so prim and proper that for a second he didn’t get it.

When he did, a laugh burst from him, and he headed after her at a trot.

CHAPTER9

If it had seemed like time was moving quickly before, it was nothing compared to how things sped up during the final days leading up to their shop being completed. They were back and forth constantly, approving things, making changes, arranging for deliveries and installations and then, finally, everything was done.

The floor to ceiling windows that made up the front wall gave it a light and airy feel. The tall coolers were already running, ready to be stocked. Her Daddy’s photographs were on the wall, showcasing his best work, and the long pastry cases were waiting to be filled.

They’d been through the place with a checklist, making sure everything was working, but it was all perfect. The building inspectors had come and gone, they’d passed with no issues, so they could open whenever they chose.

“I can’t believe it’s ready,” Heaven said as she looked around the front room with satisfaction. It had turned out exactly the way she’d dreamed.

“Well, we’re not quite ready to open just yet.”

Her mouth dipped into a frown as she turned to him. “Did we forget something?”

His fingers tapped on the glass case. “Just a minor detail. We don’t actually have any candy or cakes to sell.” He grinned.

She blew out an exasperated breath. “Daddy, you almost gave me a panic attack.”

“It’s a valid point. We have a plan. We have a menuof sorts…”

The menu was really more of a baseline. Angel wanted them both free to make whatever they felt like making on a given day. He also wanted to be sure that they didn’t overload themselves with work.

So, they’d agreed on basic items that they would keep stocked at all times. Most of them were quick and easy to make in large batches, and then they’d fill the rest of the cases with whatever they were inspired to create. It might not have been the most organized way to run a business, but it was definitely the best way to keep things fun.

She was done with the rat race. Money certainly wasn’t the goal here, although they both wanted the shop to be a success, of course. But Heaven had burned out on being a national name. It had taken a long time for her love of baking to come back, and now that it had, she didn’t want to lose it again.

They were in this mainly for the love of creating, and to bring people joy. Of course, getting to work with her Daddy was also a huge plus. She’d missed having a partner to work with, had forgotten how fun it was. Angel was obviously a different kind of partner, but it was the companionship that gave the job life, and she hadn’t had that since Barbara had died.

“Of sorts is good enough, Daddy. We have enough variety planned to start with and we’ll still have time to do extras. I’ll be happy just working on my prank line for that. I’ve got it all settled now.”

“Hmm.” He gave her a look but didn’t comment on the pranks. “So, when do we want to plan the big day? The sign went up yesterday, and I’ve already seen a few curious faces at the windows. People will be banging on the door for sweets soon.”

That was the question. She didn’t want to rush the work, after all they weren’t just filling the front cases, but also needed to make enough stock to refill them as they emptied. Some of what they made had a longer shelf-life than others, and some could be frozen, which helped.

“How about next Friday? That will give us plenty of time and we can celebrate all that weekend with the buy-one-get one sale.”

“Friday it is, but how would you feel about trying out our new kitchen tonight? I have to admit I’m itching to get in there.” Her Daddy’s eyebrows rose in question.

Heaven had the same itch. “Now that the professional cleaning is done and all of the supplies have been stocked, I supposed we could. I hadn’t really planned on working tonight though.”

She was tired and was going to the Littles’ Wing for classes in the morning, so she was looking forward to an early night. With all the work, she’d had less Little time than usual and she was missing it. On the other hand, she wanted to try the kitchen out so badly.

“Oh, this isn’t going to be work,chiquita. This is going to be fun. Just something small for ourselves. Consider it a christening, of sorts.”

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