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.”

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 with their tiny hands, begging him

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

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

hot. Next, I

cups of flour into this bowl,” I said, “and the baking

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

she seemed to have taken

asked as he rolled a ball of dough between his

you have a

“I do,” Edrick replied.

to the side a bit as she focused on rolling a wa d of cookie dough into a misshapen ball between her tiny hands, then slapped it down on the tray with an

mouth to speak, but the words didn’t

the room,

her shoulders and dug into the bowl of cookie dough to grab

think that boys should do the same things that girls do,” he said.

baking and doing traditionally feminine things, but I also had all of

cookie dough in his mouth, suddenly spoke up. “That’s dumb,” he said, his voice garbled through the

after the little boy. “Don’t eat raw cookie

and the children erupted into laughter again. When I looked

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 that the sun was

we stood in 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

arm. Edrick fell silent and appeared to

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