Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
“One at a time, Riley,” Ellie corrected, moving two bars to the side after checking out Riley’s fingers. “Those bars have a high chocolate content. They’re not creamy like a candy bar. You’ll have to be careful as you cut them up. They’re tough.”
It was incredible to work for a boss who valued her over the expensive chocolate. “Got it, boss. Sorry.”
“Blaze couldn’t operate if you were sidelined. We’d kind of miss you here, too,” Ellie said with a twinkle in her eye.
Riley began again. Chopping one bar at a time, she transferred the slivers of chocolate to an enormous bowl. Ellie could add as much as she wanted to perfect the recipe. The chocolate aroma blended into the delicious cupcake scent that filled the kitchen. Riley loved working back here. The cupcake crafting area was always warm and happy, filled with her boss’s love for concocting scrumptious treats for her customers.
As she put the last bar on the cutting board, a handsome face drifted into her thoughts. Milo Dante. Handsome devil—the man captivated her. If only he wasn’t so into Shibari. She shuddered, remembering the last time she’d tried it. For Riley, being bound required her complete submission. She’d had ultimate trust in the man wielding the rope. Unfortunately, he’d turned out to be an immature jerk.
“Ouch!” Riley yelped as the heavy knife blade cut through the glove and into her finger. Blood gushed as she automatically stepped away from the workstation to keep from contaminating the precious ingredients.
“Did you hurt yourself?” Ellie set a tray of deep red cupcakes in the rack before rushing to Riley’s side.
“It’s nothing. Let me get a towel,” Riley reassured her boss as she stepped to the handy sink. She peeled off her gloves and grabbed a handful of paper towels to wrap around her finger.
“Let me see that,” Ellie demanded, following her to the sink and peeling the quickly saturated towels away. “That’s not good.”
Ellie turned to dash away. Riley anticipated she’d return with the first aid kit from the office. Pressing the absorbent material around her finger, Riley tried not to be sick at the sight of her blood soaking through the layers. Maybe she’d really hurt herself. Riley leaned against the wall and took some deep breaths as time ticked by. Where was Ellie?
The jingle of the bells on the front door rang merrily and Riley could hear two voices. The deep one contrasted to Ellie’s soprano tones. Suddenly, Milo walked through the door.
For a couple of seconds, Riley could do nothing but stare at him. Struggling to pull herself together after the pause, she protested, “Really, it’s okay. I’m sure it will stop in a few minutes.”
“He’s going to look at that to see if you need stitches,” Ellie directed with a wave of her hand. Her tone was matter of fact and serious.
“You cut yourself?” Milo asked in a quiet tone as he approached. He ran a gentle hand down her arm to reassure her.
“Dumb chocolate. I was chopping the last bar when the knife slipped. I don’t think it’s too bad, but it’s bleeding,” Riley whispered as she shifted a bit closer to his warmth. Her worry eased just having him close. She didn’t like blood.
As if on cue, his partner walked through the swinging door with a large medical case. Immediately, Tom opened it and handed Milo a pair of gloves before pulling on his own.
“Let me see what you did, Little girl,” Milo insisted, drawing her hand toward him. Carefully, he unwrapped the soaked paper towels and looked at her finger.
Probing the edges, he glanced up at Tom. “This isn’t deep enough to need stitches. Let’s clean it up and pull the wound together with sterile strips.”
Riley winced.
“You sliced this good, baby. It’s going to hurt for a while. Do you have any allergies to medicine? I’d like you to take some over-the-counter pain tablets,” Milo instructed as Tom selected the items they’d need.
“I don’t want to bother you. I can just put a bandage on it,” Riley rushed to assure him.
Ellie jumped into the conversation, looking as stern as Riley had ever seen her. “You’re not just putting a bandage on that! Let the experts fix you up. I’ll bribe them with free cupcakes.”
“I’m glad we decided to eat a cupcake before leaving the parking lot. Your boss caught us with frosting on our hands,” Tom joked. “And I’ll work for those cupcakes anytime.”
“We help community members all the time,” Milo assured her as he cleaned the wound.
Meeting her gaze, he said softly, “Those we care about don’t even have to bribe us.”
Riley felt her cheeks flush and knew she was blushing. She’d tried to ignore that she was aware Milo was interested in her. He spent too much time at the bar at Blaze talking to her. Either he had an addiction to club soda, or she was his focus. Having him say it aloud forced her to acknowledge it.