Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
It was sweet. It was special. It was scary. What if it didn’t last? What if he got bored of her or changed his mind?
When they pulled into his driveway a few minutes later, Wyatt quickly erased her concerns when he reversed the pattern from when he’d helped her into her car by reaching in to help her out almost before she’d put the car in park.
“Ready to see your house?” she teased, feeling lighter as she shook off her worries.
“Yes. You take the keys.” He pressed the shiny new tools into her hand before sweeping her into his arms.
“I can walk,” she laughed when he paused in front of the door.
“Open the door, kitten,” he directed, dipping her down to the level of the lock.
Lark fumbled with the key for a second before slipping it into the doorknob. With a dramatic flourish, she twisted the handle and pushed the door open. “Welcome home!”
Wyatt turned slightly sideways to carry her over the threshold as he stepped inside. “I like the sound of home, Little girl.”
Pressing his lips to hers, Wyatt kissed her softly. “Welcome home, kitten.”
Tears welled in her eyes, surprising her. She didn’t know why she was so emotional. This was his house, not hers, but it didn’t feel that way.
At the sight of her tears, Wyatt set her feet down on the ground and pulled her close. “What’s wrong, Lark? Are you okay?”
“I’m just so mixed up. Why does your home feel like I should be here?”
“Because we love to be together. Wherever you are seems like where I should be as well,” he told her softly before hugging her tightly.
They stood together in the foyer of the new home, wrapped around each other. Lark rested her head on his shoulder, waiting to see what her Daddy would do next. When he took a small step away from her to look into Lark’s eyes, she held her breath. Something good was coming.
“I love you, Lark. I bought this house because I knew it would be a place where we’d be happy together. No pressure, kitten—just an open invitation to spend as much time here as you can devote to us.”
“You love me?” She picked out the most important part.
“I love you, Little girl.”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Lark pressed herself against his body. Love and excitement filled her heart. She wasn’t ready to tell him. All she knew was she’d never felt like this toward anyone.
“I stashed a few things in the kitchen. Want to see?” Wyatt asked softly.
Her eyes went wide. “How did you get in?”
He shrugged. “I left the back door unlocked when we were here yesterday taking measurements.”
She gasped. “I never do that.”
He chuckled. “You didn’t. You checked every lock. I went along behind you and unlocked that one so I could come back and leave a few surprises. I brought some things in earlier today before we closed.”
She swatted at his chest. “That can’t be legal, Mr. Police Officer.”
He kissed her nose. “It was harmless.”
“I guess so.” She shook it off. “So…what did you leave here?”
“Come see.”
Wyatt led her to the kitchen where a pile of packages sat on the counter. He picked up a blanket and handed it to her.
“Can you spread this out on the floor, Little girl?” he asked, draping it over her arm.
“Sure.”
Gathering several other items in his powerful arms, Wyatt brought them all to set on the floor. Bending over, he opened a large cooler first.
“Champagne?” She laughed as she continued to spread out the blanket.
“This is a first-rate celebration, kitten,” he assured her as he continued to remove items.
“A cheese platter? Are we having a picnic?” she asked as he handed her the plate of snacks.
He picked up the champagne again. “Bingo! You’ve got it.” With a loud pop, the cork exploded from the bottle. He poured the bubbly mixture into two glasses and handed Lark one.
“A toast to our new happy place,” he proclaimed before clinking his champagne flute to hers.
“Mmm! This is good. I don’t usually like champagne,” she confessed.
“Definitely the good stuff. Let’s sit down and continue the celebration.”
Wyatt placed the snacks he had prepared on the blanket before settling cross-legged on the floor. He reached up to hold Lark’s glass as she gracefully sat down. Leaning forward, he kissed her lips softly.
“Thank you for finding this house.”
“You knew it was yours the moment you walked in, didn’t you?” Lark asked with a smile.
“Not a question in my mind.”
Wyatt placed a slice of cheese on a cracker and held it to her lips.
“I can feed myself,” she protested, reaching up to take the cracker.
“Let Daddy,” he corrected, pulling it away and waiting for Lark to lower her arm. When she did, Wyatt again held it to her lips. Lark took a tiny bite.
“Eat, kitten.”
This time, she ate half the cracker.