is very down to earth, I’m sure you would like him. You should let me introduce you two.”
She sighed. “I’ll think about it.”
After dinner they had coffee and Leslie’s cake. Missy oohed and ahhed over how pretty it was, but when she tasted it, her eyes literally crossed.
“This is the best cake that I’ve ever had in my life!”
Leslie grinned shyly. “It’s a French recipe but I’ll take all of the credit.”
“Oh my god! You have to make Natasha’s birthday cake!”
“Of course. No one else better dare touch making her first birthday cake!”
When Leslie went home that night she felt very good for the first time in so long. Only one thing could make it better.
Chapter 9
~1999~
Leslie placed the eighth candle on the birthday cake. This year it was purple with fondant balloons pressed onto the oblong sides. The top was layered with faux balloons, the surface appeared to be a sculpture and in fact it was. She had cut the shape of a balloon onto the cake. Some might consider it wasteful but it was one of the more amazing cakes she’d ever made. Several customers had seen her decorating it and had ordered similar ones and James had taken a picture of it to put into their catalogue.
She lit the candles and smiled wistfully at how beautiful it looked.
“Happy Birthday, Angel. You are eight years old today. You must feel like a big boy. I bet you are rough and tumble with scars and bruises to prove it. I’m sure your mother kisses away all of your boo boos. In school you probably hate doing your English work but you probably love science and maybe even reading. I bet you are thin and perhaps your Mom has cut back your curls so that you will look like a big boy.” She smiled again. “Don’t forget me my sweet Angel. I love you now and forever.”
Leslie blew out the candles and she took a small slice and ate it as she thought of all of the things that she and Angel had done together; while she was a child as well as when she was an adult. The memory of him was tarnished now, but she never forgot the way he looked. That image was seared into her brain.
She did the dishes and finished packing. She was moving. For the first time in over twenty years she would live someplace other than the house that had been her and Grandmama’s. But she was twenty-eight, single, and had enough cash to live wherever she wanted. For now, she was moving to France to research some of the bistros for ideas. She didn’t know how long she’d be away and it seemed the perfect time for her to let go of her old home.
The bakery had become so successful that they’d opened two more stores. Missy, who had gained an extra fifteen pounds over the years, had also garnered an appreciation of Leslie’s pastries and so Leslie had given her a job of managing one of the stores. Their friendship had grown and blossomed and when Derrick and Missy had given birth to a second baby, she had been given the name Leslie.
Leslie’s love life was still non-existent. Both of her friends had tried setting her up with eligible and handsome bachelors, and for the most part she liked them, but they weren’t Angel. She wasn’t even sure what quality they lacked, it just seemed that there was nothing dynamic about them. They went about their day to day lives with little flair. She’d dated a musician once and he had been exciting but he didn’t turn her on.
She wasn’t sure if she was exactly waiting for Angel to come of age. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, but her life was definitely on hold. Missy had mentioned once that Derrick had made a comment about how it did his ego good to know that he was not the only one that Leslie had dumped with little to no reason. The women had cracked up laughing and Leslie had apologetically explained that maybe she was just meant to be single.
Her phone rang as she taped up the last of her dishes. She would place her personal
She sighed. “I’ll think about it.”
After dinner they had coffee and Leslie’s cake. Missy oohed and ahhed over how pretty it was, but when she tasted it, her eyes literally crossed.
“This is the best cake that I’ve ever had in my life!”
Leslie grinned shyly. “It’s a French recipe but I’ll take all of the credit.”
“Oh my god! You have to make Natasha’s birthday cake!”
“Of course. No one else better dare touch making her first birthday cake!”
When Leslie went home that night she felt very good for the first time in so long. Only one thing could make it better.
Chapter 9
~1999~
Leslie placed the eighth candle on the birthday cake. This year it was purple with fondant balloons pressed onto the oblong sides. The top was layered with faux balloons, the surface appeared to be a sculpture and in fact it was. She had cut the shape of a balloon onto the cake. Some might consider it wasteful but it was one of the more amazing cakes she’d ever made. Several customers had seen her decorating it and had ordered similar ones and James had taken a picture of it to put into their catalogue.
She lit the candles and smiled wistfully at how beautiful it looked.
“Happy Birthday, Angel. You are eight years old today. You must feel like a big boy. I bet you are rough and tumble with scars and bruises to prove it. I’m sure your mother kisses away all of your boo boos. In school you probably hate doing your English work but you probably love science and maybe even reading. I bet you are thin and perhaps your Mom has cut back your curls so that you will look like a big boy.” She smiled again. “Don’t forget me my sweet Angel. I love you now and forever.”
Leslie blew out the candles and she took a small slice and ate it as she thought of all of the things that she and Angel had done together; while she was a child as well as when she was an adult. The memory of him was tarnished now, but she never forgot the way he looked. That image was seared into her brain.
She did the dishes and finished packing. She was moving. For the first time in over twenty years she would live someplace other than the house that had been her and Grandmama’s. But she was twenty-eight, single, and had enough cash to live wherever she wanted. For now, she was moving to France to research some of the bistros for ideas. She didn’t know how long she’d be away and it seemed the perfect time for her to let go of her old home.
The bakery had become so successful that they’d opened two more stores. Missy, who had gained an extra fifteen pounds over the years, had also garnered an appreciation of Leslie’s pastries and so Leslie had given her a job of managing one of the stores. Their friendship had grown and blossomed and when Derrick and Missy had given birth to a second baby, she had been given the name Leslie.
Leslie’s love life was still non-existent. Both of her friends had tried setting her up with eligible and handsome bachelors, and for the most part she liked them, but they weren’t Angel. She wasn’t even sure what quality they lacked, it just seemed that there was nothing dynamic about them. They went about their day to day lives with little flair. She’d dated a musician once and he had been exciting but he didn’t turn her on.
She wasn’t sure if she was exactly waiting for Angel to come of age. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, but her life was definitely on hold. Missy had mentioned once that Derrick had made a comment about how it did his ego good to know that he was not the only one that Leslie had dumped with little to no reason. The women had cracked up laughing and Leslie had apologetically explained that maybe she was just meant to be single.
Her phone rang as she taped up the last of her dishes. She would place her personal
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