Sweet Dreams (Ladies of Stanford #1)

6. Five

Five

T he kitchen of Sweet Dreams was a full of chaos. Mixers whirred, ovens dinged, and in the center of it all, Beth pirouetted between workstations like a sugar-dusted ballerina.

"Reese!" she called over her shoulder, "How's that gingerbread house coming along?"

Reese, up to her elbows in royal icing, grimaced. "Let's just say it's more 'Leaning Tower of Pisa' than 'winter wonderland' right now."

Beth suppressed a laugh. "Well, as long as it's structurally sound enough to—"

The cheerful chime of the bakery's bell cut her off. Zack strolled in, a paper bag in one hand and a tray of coffee cups in the other.

"Ladies," he grinned, "I come bearing gifts. Thought you might need a pick-me-up."

"Zack," Beth breathed, "you're a lifesaver." She grabbed a cup, inhaling deeply. "Is this the new blend we talked about?"

Zack nodded eagerly. "Yep! Cinnamon and star anise."

Beth took a sip, her eyes widening. "Zack, this is even better than the first batch you brought us.”

Her phone buzzed in her apron pocket. Beth's heart did a little flip as she saw Yuri's name on the screen.

Yuri : "Dobroye utro, moye solnyshko! Quick question: is it normal to dream about drowning in a sea of gingerbread men? Asking for a friend. The friend is me. I may be spending too much time thinking about your baking adventures ."

Beth bit her lip to keep from grinning like an idiot.

"Beth?" Zack's voice brought her back to reality. "Everything okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Sorry." She gestured with the coffee cup. "This is great, Zack. It’s such a unique blend. I love it."

Zack beamed. "Thanks! I brought some ideas over for the collaboration." He held up the paper bag.

Just then, Beth's phone buzzed again. She glanced at it reflexively.

Yuri : "Also, unrelated, but how do you feel about mustaches? Considering growing one. Could be dashing, no?"

Beth snorted, then quickly tried to cover it with a cough when Zack looked at her quizzically.

"Sorry," she said, "throat tickle. You were saying? About the coffee treats?"

Zack's brow furrowed slightly. "Right. Well, I was thinking maybe some mocha macarons? Or espresso brownies?"

Beth nodded absently, her fingers already tapping out a reply to Yuri.

Beth : "Gingerbread dreams, huh? Sounds like a sweet nightmare to me. As for the mustache... let's just say I prefer my men clean-shaven and Eastern European. "

She hit send, then looked up to find Zack staring at her expectantly. "Oh! Um, those both sound great. Why don't we set up a time to experiment next week?"

Zack opened his mouth to respond, but a crash from the front of the bakery interrupted him, followed by Reese's muffled curse.

"Shoot," Beth muttered. "Zack, I'm so sorry, but I should probably..."

"No worries," Zack said, though his smile seemed a bit forced. "I'll just leave these samples here. Let me know when you want to get together."

As Zack headed out, Reese poked her head around the corner, a smear of icing on her cheek. "So, that was awkward."

Beth frowned, helping Reese clean up the remains of what appeared to be a gingerbread apocalypse. "What do you mean?"

Reese rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. Zack was totally trying to ask you out, and you were too busy sexting your European boyfriend to notice."

"What? No, he wasn't. And I wasn't sexting!" Beth protested, her cheeks warming. "Yuri and I are just friends."

"Uh-huh," Reese smirked. "Friends who make you blush like a teenager and ignore cute, available local guys. Got it."

Before Beth could argue further, the bakery door chimed again. This time, it was Jessie, looking frazzled and carrying what appeared to be a small chemistry set.

"Beth!" she exclaimed, "I've had a breakthrough! I think I've found a way to stabilize the molecular structure of your sugar cookies to prevent spreading during baking while maintaining optimal chewiness!"

Beth blinked, trying to process this. "That's... great, Jess. But why do you have a Bunsen burner?"

Jessie waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, that's for the caramelization experiment. But forget that for now. We need to run some tests on your dough. Where's your kitchen scale? And do you have any liquid nitrogen?"

Reese sidled up to Beth, whispering, "Ten bucks says she blows something up within the hour."

Beth elbowed her but couldn't help grinning. "Now, now. Jessie's ideas might be a little... unconventional, but they're always interesting."

Beth’s phone buzzed again as Jessie set up her impromptu lab on one of the free counters, chattering excitedly about glucose molecules and heat distribution.

Yuri : "Clean-shaven and Eastern European, eh? Well, lucky for you, I fit that bill perfectly. Though I must say, I'm a little hurt. I think I could rock a mustache. Very Freddie Mercury, no?"

Beth giggled, quickly typing back,

Beth : "Freddie Mercury, huh? Bold choice. Though I suppose if anyone could pull it off, it'd be you. But let's not test that theory, shall we? I like your face just as it is."

"Earth to Beth!" Reese's voice cut through her Yuri-induced haze. "Your cookie scientist is about to set fire to our sugar supply."

"What? Jessie, no!" Beth yelped, rushing over to where Jessie was indeed attempting to caramelize sugar with her Bunsen burner. "We have blowtorches for that!"

As Beth attempted to save her bakery from becoming a science experiment gone wrong, her phone pinged again. She resisted the urge to check it immediately, but her resolve lasted all of thirty seconds.

Yuri : "You like my face, eh? High praise indeed from a master of sweet things. Perhaps I should send you a picture, just to remind you what you're missing?"

Beth's heart raced. Was he flirting? Were they flirting? Before she could overthink it, she snapped a quick selfie–flour on her cheek, hair a mess, grinning like a fool–and sent it with the caption:

"Only if you return the favor, Mr. Minsk. Though I warn you, this is what “death by chocolate" looks like."

"Beth!" Jessie's excited voice broke through her trance. "I think I've done it! Come look at these cookies!"

Beth tucked her phone away, turning to see Jessie proudly displaying a tray of perfectly uniform, golden-brown cookies. They looked impressive; Beth had to admit.

"Wow, Jess. These look great. How do they taste?"

Jessie's triumphant smile faltered. "Oh. I, uh, I didn't actually try them. I was too focused on the structural integrity and surface-area-to-volume ratio to try them.

Reese snorted. "Only you would forget the most important part of a cookie–eating it!"

Beth felt her phone buzz again as the three women sampled Jessie's scientifically perfect (if slightly bland) cookies. She resisted for thirty seconds before excusing herself to check it.

Her breath caught as Yuri's image filled her screen. He was in what looked like an office, his hair slightly mussed, a five o'clock shadow darkening his jaw. He was smiling that crooked smile that made her knees weak, even though a screen.

The caption read: "Death by chocolate looks good on you, moye solnyshko. Though I must say, “death by paperwork” is significantly less attractive."

Beth felt a warmth spread through her chest that had nothing to do with the ovens. She was in trouble, she realized. Deep, sweet trouble.

"Beth?" Reese's voice floated from the kitchen. "Not to interrupt your virtual make-out session, but we've got a situation out here. Mrs. Klaus is back, and she's demanding edible glitter. I don't even know if that's a real thing!"

Beth groaned, reluctantly putting her phone away. "Coming!" she called back. To Yuri, she quickly typed:

Beth : " Duty calls. Apparently, I need to make glitter edible. Just another day in the life of a small-town baker. Talk later?"

His reply was almost instant:

Yuri; "Always, moye solnyshko. Go sprinkle your magic. I'll be here, drowning in paperwork and dreaming of sparkling cookies... and the beautiful baker who makes them."

As Beth returned to the chaos of her kitchen, a smile playing on her lips, she couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, this Christmas would be her sweetest yet.