Chapter 32: Sweet as Sugar
Moana

The children all began to cheer once Edrick agreed to stay longer so that we could make cookies. I lifted my gaze from Clara to see the Alpha billionaire standing in front of me, but he wasn’t looking at me; he was looking at the children.

We all made our way down to the kitchen. I lingered at the back of the group, still in utter shock as I tried to wrap my head around Edrick’s sudden change in demeanor. Had the tour of the orphanage and seeing how disadvantaged children lived given him a bit of compassion?

Once we were in the kitchen, I put on an apron and started to get out the ingredients to make the cookies while the children watched hungrily, licking their lips in anticipation for the sweet taste of sugar in their mouths.

“Do you like to bake, Mr. Morgan?” Clara asked, standing on her tiptoes as she gripped the edge of the counter to see.

“No,” Edrick replied, avoiding eye contact with the little girl. “I don’t.”

“Not even cookies?”

“No, not even cookies,” Edrick said. Then, in a slightly lower voice: “I’ve never baked anything.”

The children erupted into gasps, causing me to stifle a laugh. “Here,” I said, grabbing an extra apron and tossing it to Edrick. “I’ll teach you.” Edrick caught the apron and gave me a puzzled look while the children exploded with a chorus of giggles.

“I think I’d just mess it up,” he replied. “You can do it.”

will be no cookies if Mr. Morgan doesn’t help,” I said, to which all of the children

the apron on, coming over to me. Without thinking, I reached out and rolled his sleeves up for him. Our eyes caught

kids shouted. “They’re gonna kiss!” Now, the group’s cries of protest became even louder as some of the boys even

my face get hot. Next, I showed Edrick which ingredients to pour into the

into this bowl,” I said, “and the baking

had enough cookie dough for an entire army. Sophia took half of the children as a group, helping them to roll the dough into little balls and place them on

have taken a liking to him, which

as he rolled a ball of dough between

have a

“I do,” Edrick replied.

the tray with an unprecedented amount of force for such a small girl. Then, she turned toward Edrick and

mouth to speak, but the words didn’t

across the

Clara drooped her shoulders and dug into the bowl of cookie dough

once more, “it’s alright.” He bent down to Clara’s level and looked at her with unexpected honesty in his eyes. “My dad doesn’t always think that boys should do the same things that girls do,” he said. “So, I grew up thinking that if I tried to ask to do things like

baking and doing traditionally feminine things, but I also had all of the opportunities in the world to try traditionally masculine hobbies. I couldn’t imagine not being allowed to try those things just because of my gender, but it explained so much about Edrick’s personality… And it made me dislike his father a little

little boys, who was sneakily stuffing raw cookie dough in his mouth, suddenly spoke up. “That’s dumb,” he said,

after the little boy. “Don’t eat raw

erupted into laughter again. When I looked up, I saw that Edrick

the children were happily stuffing their chocolate-covered faces. Sophia led Edrick and I to the door; we hadn’t realized it, but we had been there so long

We’ve really been struggling lately — the government isn’t so generous with their

reached out and squeezed Sophia’s arm. Edrick fell silent and appeared

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