Page 5 of Harmonizing with Little Heaven Leigh

That did solve a few problems. He wasn’t sure how he felt about staffing with Littles though. It had worked well with Heaven, but… “I don’t know. It kind of sounds like then I’d be making chocolateandbabysitting all at the same time.”

Derek sighed and settled back in his seat. “You’re under no obligation, of course, and I can’t guarantee that they’ll never get in trouble. You know how Littles are. But we would impress upon them the importance of remaining in adult headspace while working, and of course we’d be careful about who received permission to work. That should cut down on the shenanigans. We do have Littles who are quite responsible when in adult mode.”

“Hmm.” It was a lot to consider. “I’ll need to discuss all of this with Heaven.”

“Of course, but think it over. It would solve more than one problem. I’ve been trying to figure out where to set you up on the grounds, and it’s difficult. Placing you on Rawhide Ridge will get you out of the kitchen a lot faster.”

Angel knew a bribe when he heard one, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t tempting. “I suppose we’d have a bigger space there, which would give us more freedom with how we wanted to set things up…”

“Yes, complete freedom, within reason. After all, the land will be yours, and you’ll be designing the building to your specifications. There’s no reason you can’t have exactly what you want.”

It was… a dream, and he’d left the office torn, but after a few hours of considering the situation, he’d decided he was leaning toward yes. When he’d brought it to Heaven Leigh, he was ready to try to sell her on the idea.

He knew it was ahead of their schedule. She still had aspects of her old life to wrap up. That was taking longer than expected because she kept getting overwhelmed when she thought about letting go. Ideally, they would have been moved to a new workspace, and then the shop could have come later, when they were ready.

But this was an opportunity that had to be discussed. So he’d presented the situation to her that evening, and to his surprise, she jumped at it. He hadn’t needed to convince her at all.

Her agreement had been the first step in a fairly lengthy process. It had taken them only a few days to decide exactly what they wanted and draw up some basic plans before they met with the contractor. The drawings were just to give him an idea of what they wanted, but what was feasible was a whole different story.

While Heaven had been in many bakeries, and Angel had been in many candy and chocolate shops over the years, they were both only familiar with the end results of a working business. Neither of them had been involved in building one from the ground up. So, they could plan out what they wanted and needed, but all the nitty gritty of creating that space was a little beyond them.

At least Angel was a decent draftsman. Having aphantasia made picturing completed chocolate creations difficult. He understood that other people were able to form mental pictures of things, and hold them in their head to examine, but all he could manage were flashes that didn’t last long. Very early on, he’d realized he needed visuals for anything complicated.

So, he’d learned to draw up decent, though amateur, plans, which he used to create models. He built everything on a small scale, with crafting supplies, and then took pictures to use as a reference for later. It meant he was able to give the contractor a very exact idea of what they were looking for.

He thought it would be good enough to start work, but he was very wrong. He left the first meeting feeling as though he’d been incredibly naïve about the whole process.

There were laws and regulations, safety factors to be considered, and once they’d sorted out a workable plan, it was time to meet with an architect and then a structural engineer. Angel’s amateur layouts had to be translated to professional blueprints. But finally, here they were, in Derek’s office with a tube of rolled floorplans, ready to put everything in motion.

He couldn’t blame Heaven Leigh for being anxious. It had been months getting here, and his insides were twisting with nerves too. He felt an odd reluctance as he passed the tube over, holding on just a second too long, as if his hand didn’t want to let them go.

Everything was going to change now. It would all be good changes, he was sure of that, but it was still difficult. But as Craig took the plans, Angel felt Heaven’s hand settle on his knee, and that helped. He turned to flash her a smile, while the contractor unrolled the blueprints.

After a few minutes of careful inspection, Craig nodded. “Everything looks great here. I think the small shifts will solve any problems with the floor drains. We’ve definitely got plenty of space to work with. I do have to admit I’m not familiar with a lot of the specialty equipment you’ve listed. I can do some research on companies that sell?—”

Heaven Leigh’s voice cut across his. “I can handle that. I know exactly what we need and where to get it.”

He nodded. “Do you know what the delivery turnaround is? Are these custom items or…”

Heaven Leigh was firmly in professional mode. Not an inch of Little girl was showing, as she walked Craig through everything. This was the woman the public had seen when she’d been doing her baking shows and fronting a national brand.

God, she’s amazing, Angel thought, watching her with a sense of awe. So strong and confident as she gave Craig the exact details he needed.

Angel tuned out the discussion for a moment, the details didn’t need his input, most of his own equipment would come from the same companies and could be ordered at the same time.

“What do you think, Dad—uh, Angel?” The brief stumble had a slight flush rising on her skin.

He was so used to hearing her call him Daddy, so used to hearing Daddy as a normal title around the Ranch, that for a second, he didn’t understand the problem. He’d forgotten that things were different in the outside world, but he also knew Craig wouldn’t be allowed on the property if it was going to be an issue.

Derek reassured them both, “Don’t worry, Craig is known for his discretion, Heaven Leigh. You don’t need to act any different around him.”

She still looked embarrassed, and Angel figured it was best to move the conversation along. “This all looks great, so we do have a timeline on when we can get started?”

Craig, who hadn’t seemed fazed by anything so far, nodded. “How does now sound?”

“Now?” Angel’s eyebrows shot up.

“Well, this week anyway. Mr. Hawkins likes things to move quickly, and I knew we’d be finalizing plans this week, so I’ve got you scheduled in already.”

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