"Do we need to worry about it happening in other buildings?" Reina asked.
"I'll need to inspect everyone's pipes. I assume everyone's plumbing uses the same material that will eventually wear down and break."
Her face screwed up. "Not what I wanted to hear."
The door opened, and a large family filed in, talking and laughing.
"Let me order so you can help the rest of your customers. Do you know what Angela and Ayla would want?"
"I know exactly what they like." Reina smiled, then moved away, packing pastries in a bag and telling the barista what drinks to make.
When she handed me the bag, I said, "You didn't ring me up."
"Breakfast is on the house."
"I couldn't possibly accept that," I said as Reina raised a brow.
"You're holding up my line."
I put a generous amount of cash in the tip jar that read Cake? The other one said Pie? Cake was winning.
Then I moved to the side while I waited for our drinks. I spent so much time in Christmas Town that the shop owners knew who I was. I enjoyed the small-town feel.
I grabbed the drink carrier before heading across the street to Tempting Dreams. It was a fitting name, because I was temptedby Angela in that skimpy lingerie yesterday. Hopefully, she didn't make it a habit to wear lingerie to work.
I should be safe since Ayla would be present today. She'd make the perfect buffer.
I used the key that Eve gave me to unlock the door and set everything on the counter.
The door opened. A little girl with long brown hair burst through the door. "It's empty."
"Remember? I said we put everything upstairs so it wouldn't smell."
Ayla stopped, and her nose wrinkled. "It stinks."
I chuckled. "It's hard to air things out when it's winter. Too cold to keep the doors open."
This morning, Angela was dressed in jeans and a jacket. It should have been a relief, but I couldn't get the vision of her bare legs in those shorts yesterday out of my head.
I held up the white bakery bag. "I brought breakfast."
Ayla grabbed the bag from my hand, and pulled out a donut.
Angela removed her jacket, revealing a soft-looking green sweater that I was itching to touch and brought out the green flecks in her blue eyes. "Ayla, you shouldn't grab things from people."
Ayla looked up at me with a regretful expression. "I'm sorry."
"I bet you're starving. There's no food at the house," I said.
"I'll have to go to the store when we leave," Angela said as Ayla took a large bite of the donut.
I handed Angela the drink carrier. "Reina said she knew what you liked."
"Thank you." Angela grabbed her cup and sipped the hot liquid.
I handed Ayla the smaller cup, and she said sweetly, "Thank you for breakfast."
"Of course." I had a feeling if I had a little girl like her, I wouldn't be able to say no to her when she used that tone of voice.
