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.”

my arms across my chest. “There will be no cookies if Mr. Morgan doesn’t help,” I said, to which all of the children began to protest loudly, some even going so far as to push Edrick toward me

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

kiss!” Now, the group’s cries of protest became even louder as some of

as I felt my face get hot. Next,

flour into this bowl,” I

group, helping them to roll the dough into little balls and place them on the trays, while Edrick

to have taken a liking to him, which reminded me

he rolled a ball of

have

“I do,” Edrick replied.

the tray with an unprecedented amount of force for such a small girl. Then, she turned toward Edrick and looked up at him inquisitively. “How come you never bake with your mom? If I

speak, but the words didn’t

across the

Clara drooped her shoulders and dug

his eyes. “My dad doesn’t always think that boys should do the same things that girls

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

dough in his mouth, suddenly spoke up. “That’s dumb,” he

the little boy. “Don’t eat raw cookie

evading me, and the children erupted into laughter again. When I looked up, I saw that Edrick was laughing,

led Edrick and I to the door; we hadn’t realized it, but we had

the doorway. “Your donation means the world to us. We’ve really been struggling lately — the government isn’t so generous with their money when it comes to human orphanages like this one. I really thought–” I watched as Sophia blinked back a few tears. “–I thought that we

out and squeezed Sophia’s arm. Edrick fell silent

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