Page 6 of Harmonizing with Little Heaven Leigh

A smile spread across Angel’s face. It was finally happening. There were so many creations he’d been itching to make but simply couldn’t have managed in his tiny corner. The idea of having all that room… it couldn’t happen soon enough. “That sounds perfect.”

“Great! We’ll keep you up-to-date on everything. Expect me to check in with you in a few weeks, and then more often as things progress. We’ll want you to visit the site once we get the basic structure together before we start building the interior walls.”

Heaven Leigh tilted her head and asked, “Why?” before he could.

“Well, sometimes a space feels different on paper. There’s nothing like being able to walk around the rooms, to really get an idea of what you’ll be living with. We’ll mark the floors so you canfeelthe layout. That way if something doesn’t seem right, we can make the adjustments without too much trouble. Once those interior walls go in, moving things is a lot harder.”

That made perfect sense to Angel, and he loved the idea of one last check. “And if we do want to change anything? Will that set the completion date back much?”

Craig shook his head. “Not if you make those corrections before things go in. Afterward?” He laughed, and it had a slightly frustrated edge to it. “It willdefinitelyhold us up.”

Angel got the message. “Right. All changes should be made early.” He looked over at Heaven and grinned. “Looks like things are finally moving,chiquita.”

Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle as she nodded with enthusiasm. “I can’t wait to have my own kitchen again.” She started to say something else, took a breath, and then in a hesitant voice continued, “I know there’s probably going to be delays, and things you can’t control, but do you have an estimate of how long it will all take?”

Angel could practically feel her cringing, as if afraid of the answer. And he was right there with her. Starting a building from the ground up was bound to take longer than just renovating one that existed, but he had no idea what they were looking at for a timeline.

Craig didn’t answer immediately. His brow furrowed, he focused on the plans again with a fierce look of concentration. “Well, without figuring in any delays, assuming we can get started this week, and that all our shipments arrive on time…” He spoke slowly, dragging out every word while Angel and Heaven held their breaths.

“I’d say… we’re looking at about three months. That might be alittleoptimistic,” he added hastily. “But Mr. Hawkins has made it clear that Rawhide Ridge is a priority. We’ve already got the permits together. I’ve put my whole crew to work there, and so far, things have been moving smoothly.”

Angel reeled in his seat. Only three months? He’d been worried it would take a year to finish.

Heaven’s wide eyes said she was equally surprised. “Three months?”

“Yes, if youabsolutelywant us to finish sooner, it’s going to run up the overtime bill, and I refuse to cut corners on safety, so at most I’d be able to speed things up by maybe a week. Not worth the cost, in my opinion.” His shrug made it clear he thought trying to rush would be a dumb decision.

“No, no. Three months is fine,” Angel assured him. He’d already waited far longer than that. He could certainly survive twelve more weeks. “I think we’re both a little surprised that it could be done so quickly.”

“Well, there’s no guarantee. Like I said, things happen. There could be delays,” Craig warned them.

“There always are,” Heaven said, laughing. “But three months is faster than I expected, so if we’re anywhere close to that I’ll be thrilled.”

“Don’t forget that this is just for the construction aspects too. The cosmetics will add a couple more weeks, at least, depending on the details. Painting, appliances, shelves and cases—that will all take time.”

Still… under four months for their very own bakery and chocolate shop. One designed to theirexactspecifications. It was like a dream come true.

They left the office feeling a little shellshocked, but extremely happy. Heaven Leigh had a bounce in her step. “Can you believe it will be done that fast? It’s nothing but dirt and brush now, and in just a few weeks…”

He pulled her against him, wrapping an arm around her waist as they walked. “Honestly, I’m gladyouasked. I was afraid to do it. If he’d said we were looking at half a year or more, I probably would have…” He trailed off, frowning. “I’m not sure what I’d have done. Maybe thrown myself on the floor in a full tantrum.”

His girl looked up at him and snorted. “You’re silly, Daddy. There are some Doms I could see having a tantrum like that, but not you.”

“No?” He laughed and shook his head. “You have no idea how tempted I’ve been a few times. I love it here. There’s something magical about living in a place where everything is so open, but my head is full of elaborate ideas that I really want to try and I just… can’t. Not in the current situation.”

Heaven Leigh sighed, letting her head bump against his shoulder. “I know how you feel. When I dropped everything and came here, I thought…” She trailed off and sighed again. “I thought I’d be happy to leave everything behind. It hurt to evenbein a kitchen, let alone bake. I just—I just wanted to experience a childhood and let other people take care of me, but it’s not enough.”

She stopped short and turned to him. A panicked look crept into her eyes. “I don’t meanyou’renot enough, Daddy. You’re the most amazing thing in my life and I’m so glad we’re together now. I swear, it’s just?—”

“Heaven,mi corazón, I understand.” His tone was reassuring as he stroked her arm. “I have found so much joy in our relationship. It’s incredible how quickly we’ve built a life together and I’m looking forward to our future. But one person can’t be your whole world. It’s natural for you to want other things now that you’re healing.”

“Healing?” She sounded surprised. “I guess Ihavestarted to heal. Thanks to Rawhide. Thanks to you. You’re the best Daddy ever and exactly what I needed. I just don’t want you to think I’m not happy with you, with us, because I am. I just miss baking.”

He pressed his lips against her forehead and held them there for a second before he leaned back to look her in the eyes. “What I think is that you are slowly recovering from grief, and it’s natural for you to want to ease back into the things you enjoyed.”

“I guess that’s it—” She stopped and shook her head firmly. “This is probably a conversation for home anyway. I think I’m just emotional because things are about to change. It’s great, but a little scary.” She let out a long shuddering breath and offered him a weak smile.

Great but scary was exactly the right way to describe it, and he was in sync with her. “Why don’t we take the rest of the morning off? We can head home and talk. It sounds like you’ve got some big emotions in there.”

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