Page 36 of Heaven Leigh’s Little Halloween

She rolled her eyes. “I never wanted them to call me chef. Honestly, I’m just a baker, but I didn’t think it would be a good idea to use my name, in case my family ever saw me. Cleary was Barbara’s last name,” she explained.

There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but she shook it off and continued, “Even though she never legally adopted me, I took it when I got emancipated. I did it because well, I loved her, but it turned out to be a good thing because the name took off after we started doing the show. Master Derek allowed me to use my birthname at the Ranch because… well, I didn’t want anyone to recognize me, though I guess there’s really no reason for them to.”

Angel just shook his head, astounded. “Are you kidding? I saw a couple episodes of that show! There was one where you made a fruit basket, but each fruit was a little cake.”

“That was one of my favorite pieces. It took almost fifteen hours to do them all and they cut it down to half an hour for the show.”

“Cleary’s Cakes and Cookies… that was the bakery. Wait, there’s a national brand out from that company now.”

“Cleary’s Cookies and Cakes actually,” she corrected him as she rolled out a fresh circle of dough. “And yes, there is, but they dropped ‘cookies’ from the name on the store brand since it really only focuses on the cakes.”

It really was the oddest thing to realize the Little he was interested in was a celebrity. Of course, it wasn’t like she was a pop star or something. But a celebrity baker… that was still a cool thing. He had to know though. “How are you able to handle the company while you’re here? It seems like it would be impossible to do.”

“By the time Barbara died, we were kind of redundant in the managing department. There’s a board who oversees the national brand. I’m on it and I have a controlling vote with her share, but I really didn’t want…” She took a deep breath and blew it out. “It was too much to deal with. They kind of shuffled me off and I didn’t really argue.”

“Ouch.” He couldn’t imagine going famous for his creations and then getting shoved out of the way.

She looked up and smiled. “It’s fine. Honestly, I need to make some permanent decisions, but I’ve been putting it off. I like it here and I don’t want to go back, but… I just don’t know.”

Go back?

He definitely didn’t want her to do that. It was her choice, but the idea of her leaving hurt more than he would have expected for two people who hadn’t known each other for long. Angel wanted to say “Don’t go back. Stay here,” but if he was going to be a Daddy, he needed to give advice based on what was best for her.

“If they’re holding things together, then there’s probably no rush,” he said carefully.

“No, you’re probably right. It just feels like I’m straddling two worlds and I need to step into one or the other forever.” She fitted the last shell into the pan. “There. Those are done.”

He glanced down at the pan, nodding, and then his eyes swept back up to meet hers. “If you need some encouragement to choose this world… I might be able to help with that.”

A flush rose to her cheeks and she laughed. “You’ve already been helping with that.”

“Good. Let me get these into the oven.” He paused, holding the pan. “Remembering that show and the work you did… makes me want to see you do a cake even more. We really need to make that happen.”

“Well, I might have an idea about that…”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, so I was thinking. The main problem is space and people getting in the way, but after dinner when they clean up and shut down, the kitchen is basically empty. So if you could write me a pass to come down and use it then, I could whip up a surprise.”

Angel wasn’t entirely sure it was the best idea. Leaving a Little alone in the main Ranch kitchen was not something he’d ever have done with anyone else. But it was Heaven, and she was a professional, even if she did have a Little side. “I don’t know, chiquita… Chef is particular about how the kitchen is left.”

“Oh, no worries. I promise everything will be clean and back where it belongs. I’ll have to work on it a little at a time since I’ll still have to be back in the dorm by curfew. But I could put in a couple hours a night easily.”

“Hmm. What if I come help? Then we could spend the time together.” He liked the idea of having extra time with Heaven every night. “You could show me your tricks.”

She was shaking her head before he even finished. “So… we could do that sometime, and I love working with you, but I really want it to be a surprise this time.”

“I don’t know…”

“Please, Angel?” Her blue eyes seemed to beg him for the chance.

He sighed. What could it hurt? She wasn’t one of those Littles who was in trouble all the time after all. She knew to treat the kitchen equipment with respect so it should be safe enough. “Well, I guess—”

Before he could even finish, Heaven squealed and threw her arms around him, very nearly knocking the pan out of his hands. He fumbled and recovered it at the last second. “Careful, chica. We don’t want to have to start over.” He patted her back with his free hand.

Her happiness made the agreement worthwhile. And he really was insanely curious about what she’d come up with. Whatever it was, he had a feeling it would be amazing.

Chapter 14

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