Her Chocolate Fantasy (4 page)

Chapter Four

Thankfully, I had the next day off, which should have meant sleeping in for as long as I wanted to, but that was not the case today; I had a class to go to.

No
, I’m not taking any college courses or anything. Those days are long gone.

As
you know, my love for chocolate knows no bounds, and a few years back, I decided to go to the source. I had been going to Ode au Chocolat so long, I’d practically become part of the owners’ family. Charlotte and Andre Lamoure were the proprietors of the little chocolate shop, and every day off, I would visit them. The moment I stepped inside their shop, the wonderful bouquet of odors from the different chocolates hit my senses, awakening me to so many possibilities.Charlotte was expecting twin boys, and she and I had grown so close, she had even decided to name me godmother.

A
bout an hour after I awoke, I arrived at the shop.

“Ah, it’s my favorite customer and prized pupil. How are you
, Sarah my dear?” Andre called out.

I have to admit that even though Andre was in his fifties, he
looked and acted like he was in his twenties and every time he saw me, he flirted outrageously and kissed me twice on both cheeks.

“Hello
, Andre. I am very well, thanks. How is Charlotte doing?”

He quickly
called for Charlotte in French, and soon she appeared from behind the kitchen door. Charlotte oozed French beauty, with her delicate, pale skin sprinkled with freckles, inquisitive, big green eyes that, when combined with her naturally curly blonde hair,made her look like an angel. Her face, which normally was very angular, was now a bit plumper due to her pregnancy, but still, she put on a brilliant smile whenever she saw me at her shop. She always wore her hair in a half done ponytail that lay over one shoulder.

“I am shocked that you are still on your feet.” I walked over to giv
e her a kiss on both cheeks, as well as a hug, which was more of a one-armed side kind of thing because I couldn’t get my arms completely around her.

“You know I don’t like being cooped up in the house
, plus, I enjoy being in the shop and if I do get tired…” She walked me toward the back of the shop, where a beautifully done up daybed sat against the far wall. “I can come back here and rest. Andre brought it for me since he knows I love being here. And, it’ll be great for after the babies come too. Now…what are we working on today? Oh, yes…today, we will be working on making truffles.”

Truffles were my favorite candy
, and I had been waiting to make them with Charlotte. Both she and her husband had been master chocolatiers, but honestly, you wouldn’t think so by looking at them. Both were too laid back and had a more bohemian-like attitude than you’d expect from someone who had been making chocolate for over two decades.

“So
, how has work been going?” she asked me.

“Oh
, it’s been going just fine, except for the hours. But I’m thankful to have my days off.”

“And that guy
, Monsieur Max, have you gotten to talk with him yet?”

I
could talk with Charlotte about everything, for she was more like a sister to me than a mere friend. “Actually, we had lunch together twice.”

Charlotte let out a squeal and bumped me on my side with a giggle. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? So
, how did the first lunch date go?”

“It went pretty good
, except for the fact that I kept staring at his lips; my God, he has the fullest lips, ever. I think he has a thing for chocolate, and I think it’s probably even as bad as mine, because something happened during our second lunch date.” I couldn’t help but smile, because honestly, the entire moment was too funny not to smile over it.

“Well
, go on…go on.”

“
On our second lunch date, we went to the park and bought food off of those trucks, and then after we ate, he surprised me with this huge slice of chocolate cheesecake. I ended up eating the entire thing myself; it was just that good. Well, after I came out of my euphoric chocolate dream, he just sat there in a cold sweat, and then he got a napkin to wipe off his face, grabbed the plate, and just left me there. Come to find out, when I got back to work, his shades in his office were closed, along with his door. He was in there for about ten minutes before he opened up everything. I walked by, and I could tell he had been doing something in that room.”

I
smirked, and Charlotte gave me a look that told me she wanted to hear more.

“
I will leave what he was doing to your imagination, my dear, because if I told you what he was doing, you would be redder than my nail polish.”

We both ended up laughing
, while I added some of the dark chocolate to the pot for melting.

I stirred the chocolate for a bit
, watching the bars of chocolate slowly melt. I honestly loved times like those, when I came to the shop. There,I could relax and not worry about work or family or anything else. I could come here to my other private “church” and be at peace with my thoughts and ideas.

“Alright
, we will pour this into the dish and wait a while for it to cool a bit. I’ve already made some ahead of time, so we can make the truffles. Grab the melon baller there, and we will use this to make the truffle itself. You must try not to use your hands, because the warmth from them will melt the chocolate. You want to handle them as little as possible. Once you make the ball, toss it into the powdered chocolate. We like to sometimes pipe a bit of chocolate on top…make some swirls or something. After we make these here, I’ll show you how to do piping.”

Nodding
, I continued to make the truffles, and by the time I was done, I had made over fifty of them and had tossed them into the dark chocolate powder before putting them on a tray of waxed paper. She went to open up the fridge, and I grabbed the tray and put them inside.

“Now
, let’s do some piping. Andre, are you busy right now?”

“Give me a minute
; I’m with a customer right now,” he shouted to us, and then I heard him tell the customer, “I’m sorry, but we normally make our own chocolates here by hand. None of the chocolate I have in my shop is from other places, sir.”

“Let me see, you have so many delicious
candies here, what do you suggest?” the customer voice.

Wait just a minute
.
No! That can’t be him
.

“Is this for
you or for maybe a special someone?”

“Actually
, both; I want to get a box of your finest chocolate bonbon’s and truffles for myself and my special someone,” he said.

“She must be a very lucky woman
,” Andre told him.

“Indeed
, she is. She shares my love of chocolate, so I know she’ll enjoy these.”

Good lord
. That can’t be him. Oh my God, if it’s him, I will die
.

“Charlotte,” I whispered.

She looked at me, obviously puzzled, and asked, “Why are you whispering?”

Hushing her quickly
, I told her, “I want you to go out there and tell me what the customer that Andre is helping out looks like.”

“Why?”

“Just do it for me, please, Charlotte. I would so appreciate this. Just go and ask Andre if he needs help or something.”

I could tell by her expression that Charlotte was having a problem with understanding what I was asking of her.

“I think that’s Max out there. I just need for you to go find out what he looks like.”

“What are the chances…?” she asked.

I gave her a pleading look, and finally, she smiled, nodded, and slowly walked through the doors. A moment later, I heard her talking to Andre in French. I just stood there for a moment, but then I started to pace a bit back and forth along the table. Then I could hear her giggling, and then I heard another voice—
Max’s voice
—speaking French, as well. I raised my brows. Max spoke French?
Hmm
…Soon, Charlotte came back into the kitchen with a light blush coloring her cheeks and neck. I had never seen her act that way before over a customer.

“So? What does he look like?”

“Mon Dieu, what a handsome man. He looks like he stepped out of a painting or something. So handsome! His hair is dark brown and long, and he has it in a ponytail. Very handsome face, beautiful smile and dimples. He looks like he needs a shave, unless he’s decided to grow a beard. Nicely built body, reminded me of Michelangelo’s David statue, and he has eyes like honey.” She whispered as she picked up one of the cake boards to fan herself.

“Oh
, my God; it’s him. It’s Max.”

Charlotte looked at me
, obviously shocked.“Are you serious? That gorgeous creature is the guy you’ve been telling me about? My God, Sarah, if you don’t get with him right away, someone else will. He’s probably getting that box of chocolate for you. He ordered a pound of it.”

“A pound
. Good grief, I’ll be eating on that for weeks. What was he wearing?”

“Why don’t you go and see for yourself
? He’s still out there picking out his chocolate.”

“I can’t
. I don’t want him to see me. Just tell me what he was wearing.” I didn’t want to sound desperate or anything, but at that moment, that’s exactly how I felt.

Charlotte just stood there laughing at me
. “He’s wearing a white, long sleeved shirt and black jeans that shows off his fine ass to perfection.”

Honestly
, I couldn’t help but smile at my antics. I was majorly lusting after the man, and I could only imagine what he had in store for me on Friday, as he had yet to tell me what he had planned or when he was going to pick me up. I figured I’d find out when I got into work the next day.

* * * *

Sure enough, when I arrived at the office the next morning, I found a big box of chocolates from the shop sitting on my desk. I trailed my fingers over the box before I opened it, and then I just stood there, admiring the selection of bonbons, truffles, and petit fours. All of them rested neatly in their little golden paper cup rows, and after a moment, I picked a petit four in pink fondant with white piping and popped it into my mouth. Only then did I bother to check out the card lying right next to the box.I pulled it from its envelope, and chewed slowly as I read.
Be ready on Friday at seven. Also, make sure you dress up, because I am taking you to the opera. Call me so I can get your address. Enjoy the chocolates. Max
.

I snatched up
the phone and called him, looking over to see him at his desk. He glanced back at me before he grabbed the phone and smiled.

“I see you got my candy and card.”

“Thanks for both. I will enjoy the chocolates very much, and as far as my address, it’s 8921 Stonecrest Place. Have a great day, Max, and thanks again for the candy.”

“Again
, you’re most welcome. Goodbye, Sarah.”

While I continued working that day, I would
eat a bonbon here, and another petit fours there. I decided to stop myself from eating the whole box by putting it inmy desk. That way, I couldn’t mess up my lunch later on. Off and on, I would sneak a look over to see what
he
was doing, but he had seemed pretty busy that morning. Everybody had been real busy, which wasn’t unusual this time of the year. Sometimes it got so bad we would have to put in overtime. I didn’t mind working extra hours, though; more work meant more money in my check. Thinking about making extra cash made me remember I’d need to go shopping soon. I didn’t have a thing to wear to the opera.

I sighed and snuck another piece of chocolate, thankful
Darla had the day off and wasn’t there to tease me about my gift from Max.

My phone rang
, and without thinking, I answered, saying, “This is Sarah.”

No
one responded, but before I could say anything, I heard a soft groan come over line. Whoever it was, they sounded like they were in pain.

“
Hello, is someone there? Are you alright?”

“Yeah
, I’m fine now; I had to stretch for a minute.”

It was
him
, and while I waited for him to say more, I continued typing on my computer.

“Do me a favor
, Sarah.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“I want you to take a piece of the chocolate I gave you and eat it for me.”

I was puzzled by this request
, and when I looked over toward his office, he was standing in the doorway, leaning against the jamb, and watching me with a gaze so penetrating I swear it went right through me. I never had a man who could get my panties wet with just a look like Max could.

“Which one do you want me to eat?” I went back into the drawer and grabbed hold of the box. I wanted to know what he was going to do.
“The bonbon. I would love to watch you eat one of those.”