Love for Dessert (Contemporary Romance) (4 page)

**

The morning felt perfect. The sun was bright in the sky, it was nice and warm in the room, and the bedsheets were soft and comfortable. Except… Anastasia turned over to kiss Christopher good morning and discovered she was alone. “Christopher?” she called as she got out of bed and slipped on her underwear and shirt. When there was no response, she headed out of the bedroom into the living room. “Christopher…?”

Anastasia entered the kitchen, grabbed a glass and was drinking tap water when she noticed a small note on the table. “Huh?” she murmured as she moved closer and sat down, reading it.
Thanks for last night. It was fun.
And that was all it said. He signed off with a needlessly large and exaggerated C. Anastasia pursed her lips as she grabbed the pen beside the note and wrote down her number.

She had to go meet Ariana for lunch, and they would discuss the name of the bakery. It was the last touch before opening, for everything else had already been arranged. Anastasia pulled on her skirt, feeling a little odd that she was wearing the clothes from last night, and headed out the door, hoping Christopher would call. It had been quite the night, and he was an excellent lover. She reached her apartment rather quickly, and ran into the shower as soon as she entered the door. Anastasia picked out a loose black blouse and a summery skirt and put them on. She did her makeup, and grabbed her favorite purse before heading out to meet Ariana.

Aaron had come while Anastasia was out of the apartment and cleaned out his things ages ago, and she was glad that there was no longer any reminder of him in her apartment. She had finally moved on, though her heart was still scarred by the enormous pain he had inflicted. She was smarter now, and knew that she would never wait for a man to change.

Ariana and Anastasia headed to a lovely little café near Ariana’s apartment, one they frequented. “So, what kind of names did you have in mind?” Ariana asked.

“I haven’t been able to think of any.” Anastasia grimaced as Ariana laughed loudly.

“Oh, Ana, don’t worry. I’m good at this. How about… Cookie Crumble?” Anastasia shook her head. “Hmm… What about using your name? Ana’s Delights.”

“That’s not a bad idea… Ana’s Sweets!” Anastasia lit up happily. “That sounds pretty good, right?”

Ariana grinned. “It’s perfect.” Their food arrived and they began to eat, both happy. “So the opening is in three weeks, right? Damn, that’s soon. Can’t believe it’s all gone by so fast…”

“I can’t believe it either, Ari. I’ll just let the sign makers know. We still need to make flyers or something, to get the word out.” Anastasia pressed her lips together in a thin line, a trait she inherited from her mother, as she thought.

“Oh, I know the perfect thing! It’s a baking contest, and it’s happening the week after next. I heard the winner gets thousands of dollars, and a news story done on them! It’d be the perfect opportunity. And I know you’re good enough!” Ariana’s eyes lit up in excitement as she pulled the advertisement out of her bag. “Here, read!

Anastasia grinned. “This looks good. Thanks, Ari.”

The rest of the afternoon consisted of Anastasia and Ariana making final decisions about the bakery, and ordering adorable furniture. Ariana was a real help during the entire process, with her business mind. They had picked out a theme. They were going with the classic sweets café look, and it would look just perfect. The bakery across the street was advertised just as a bakery, so since theirs had a unique twist, they figured it would help bring in customers.

Christopher didn’t call.

**

Anastasia got home late, around eight, and she was tired. She dropped her bags off as usual and logged onto the computer, making her way over to the baking contest’s website. She signed up quickly, glad that the signup was still open. The requirements were that she make a dessert. It was probably a good idea to learn a new recipe, one that would knock the judges’ socks off, and she had two weeks to do so.

There was a list of contenders, and she scanned the list, looking for her top competition. There weren’t many names that she recognized, and she figured most of them were like her, starting up a bakery.

She checked her phone, and found that there was still no message from Christopher. Slightly disappointed, she poured herself a glass of wine and reminisced about the night they had shared. Anastasia sighed as she decided to go to bed early tonight, and perhaps he would call in the morning.

**

Anastasia awoke in the morning with a smile on her face. She had dreamt that she was getting married, to the perfect man of her dreams, though she couldn’t see who it was. Nevertheless, it left her in a happy mood. She dressed hurriedly and headed off to the bakery. The sign makers had sent her an email, letting her know that they were putting in the sign today. Ariana had promised Anastasia that she would take care of the design. Ariana was a rather talented artist.

She stood at the curb as she watched them pull out the sign, covered in cloth. It took them a while, but they managed to affix it to the front of her restaurant. “Can I see it?” she asked one of them.

“Of course.” He moved and pulled the cloth away grandly. She gasped. It was perfect. There was an expertly drawn portrait of Anastasia smiling gleefully beside the swirling words that read
“
Ana’s Sweets.”

Anastasia pulled out her phone and took a picture before calling Ariana. “Ari!” she gushed when her call was answered. “The sign, it’s absolutely marvelous!”

Ariana chuckled. “Glad you like it, Ana. I hate to leave, but I have a gyno appointment in like… now. So I’ll talk to you later. Meet at Lights
?
”

“Can we meet at Poison
instead?” Anastasia secretly wanted to see if Christopher was there, for there still hadn’t been any word from him. She was sure he had liked her, hadn’t he?

“Sure, see you later!”

Anastasia decided that she would need to make flyers, and she had excellent photo manipulation skills. So she walked towards her apartment, reassuring herself that it was alright that Christopher hadn’t called and that he would soon.

The hours passed by quickly, and as the clock hit eight, Anastasia had finished and printed out an abundance of copies to be put up around town. There was a text waiting from Ariana, letting Anastasia know that she was already there and to dress a little more risqué, for they were going to party hard tonight. Ariana was getting a little wilder these days, as she knew that once she was married, she had to tone herself down and be a good wife. Anastasia chuckled as she grabbed a sexy red dress from her closet, obliging Ariana’s wishes. She put on more makeup than usual and picked a bright red lipstick to match her dress.

Black heels added inches to her height and her black designer bag swung by her side. She felt confident, and beautiful as she flagged down a taxi. She arrived at Poison a few minutes later, and looked around the front, searching for Ariana.

“Ana!” she heard as she turned her head and saw her best friend running in her platform heels, dressed in an equally scandalous little black dress. “Alright, so we drink a little here, then we go party at this club, where I know the bouncer. He can get us through without waiting in line.” Ariana had her hand on the door and was about to push when Anastasia stopped. She had spotted someone familiar, walking down the street with a woman on his arm. Christopher. “Do you know him?” Ariana asked as she checked him out. “He’s hot.”

“I… We slept together a couple days ago when I was drunk. I left my number for him but… he never called. I guess he wasn’t interested.” Anastasia watched as the couple stopped walking and kissed passionately. She felt rather crushed that it was just a one-night stand, but there was nothing she could do about it. “I really thought we had a connection though…”

“Do you want to go directly to the club? It kinda looks like they’re coming towards this bar.” Ariana was concerned about Anastasia, and didn’t want her to be upset. This was supposed to be a fun night, and she didn’t want whoever this guy was to ruin it.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here.” Ariana hooked her arm through Anastasia’s and they headed off to the nightclub.

“Forget about that loser. There are plenty of available men at this club. Hey, Jonas,” Ariana said to the dark-skinned, extremely muscled bouncer at the front. “I’m friends with Nat.” The bouncer nodded and let them inside.

And Ariana was right. The club was one of the newer ones, and was packed. It had loud pulsing music that made the walls shake, and Anastasia could feel excitement coursing through her. Ariana was right, there were many attractive men tonight.

Anastasia and Ariana headed to the bar first. “Try a new drink tonight. Be spontaneous!” Ariana winked.

“Alright, alright. I’ll have… the Manhattan.”

Ariana grinned. “Good girl. And I’ll have a Bloody Mary, please.”

They got their drinks quickly, with Ariana downing about half of hers in one go. “Damn, girl, slow down!” Anastasia gave her a look of amusement. “You’re going to get alcohol poisoning.”

“Aw, don’t worry about me, chill out!” Ariana giggled and slightly hiccupped as she grabbed Anastasia’s hand and pulled her out to the dance floor. “Let’s dance!”

Anastasia smiled as she began to move her body, showing off her great figure. A man sidled up to her, and began grinding behind her. She whirled around, and found herself face to face with a burly Filipino man, who stared creepily at her through his beady little eyes. She winced as she smiled awkwardly and moved away from him. She found herself near the wall, a somewhat secluded place since everyone else was dancing on the floor.

She stood there, watching Ariana have the time of her life. She looked so happy, and Anastasia was glad that her best friend was so delighted.

“Dragged here against your will, too?” came a voice to her left, and she turned to see an oddly dressed, rather attractive man. He looked young, and his sweater was a contrast to the wifebeaters and tank tops that the other men wore.

She laughed. “My best friend felt like having some fun.” Anastasia pointed a finger at Ariana, who was whooping and shaking her hips like there was no tomorrow.

He laughed. “Mine is out there somewhere too, probably hitting on chicks that he’ll never get.” He had a nice smile, and though he didn’t look incredibly sexy, he looked wholesome and very out of place at this nightclub. “Hi, I’m Daniel.” He stretched out a hand.

“Anastasia.” She shook his hand, blushing slightly.

“You look too beautiful to be standing here chatting with silly old me…” Daniel grinned boyishly, showing off his adorable dimples.

“Aw, thank you.” She blushed, suddenly feeling slightly self-conscious under his gaze.

“So what is it you do?” he questioned, wanting to find out more about her.

And for the rest of the evening, Anastasia didn’t party hard, nor did she get drunk, but she did get to know Daniel Fields, someone who she found nice and attractive. Though Ariana did eventually drag her out to the dance floor, Anastasia managed to give him her number, and unlike Christopher, he promised to call.

“It’s one in the morning, Ari, don’t you think we should call it a night?” Anastasia shouted over the loud music. “My feet are killing me!” She didn’t look, but she bet she had gigantic blisters on her heels. It certainly felt that way.

“Fine, fine!” Ariana groaned. “Let’s go. I may have drunk a little too much…” She chuckled loudly as Anastasia pulled her off the dance floor.

“I’ll hail a taxi.” As soon as Anastasia and Ariana hit the cold outside air, Ariana’s stomach lurched.

She leaned onto Anastasia with wobbling feet. “Ana, I don’t feel so good…”

Anastasia sighed. “Alright, let’s get you home to Peter… He’ll know what to do.” Ariana mumbled in consent as they climbed into the yellow taxi.

They reached Ariana’s apartment quickly as the traffic was light at one a.m. Anastasia had already texted Peter, letting him know they were on their way. He met them at the bottom of their apartment building, and took Ariana off her hands. “Thanks, Ana. You’re a saint.”

“No problem and I’d love to stay and chat but it looks like Ariana’s about to throw up. You might want to get her to a garbage can.”

Peter nodded and thanked Anastasia again before carrying Ariana inside. Anastasia climbed back into the taxi and headed home. She felt her phone vibrate, and pulled it out, finding a text waiting for her from an unknown number.
Hey, Anastasia, this is Daniel. Remember me? Haha. I really enjoyed talking to you tonight, and I was wondering if you wanted to grab a cup of coffee or something. Perhaps tomorrow?
She smiled as she entered his number into her contacts.

She was thinking of what to reply with when another text came.
I hope texting you like this isn’t too early. I know some guys say to wait a couple days, but I really like you. I mean. Yeah. Sorry.
Anastasia chuckled, for he was being so cute about the whole affair. It was obvious that this wasn’t his strong suit.

She texted back quickly.
Tomorrow sounds great, how about noon?
And just like that, she had another date. Anastasia smiled to herself all the way home, excited that here was a man who was interested in her, and wanted to take her out on a real, proper date.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day, not only did she have a date but she had to put up all the flyers. Anastasia collapsed onto the bed as she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the wonderful life that was coming.