Frosted Sweets (A Taste of Love Series Book 1)

by A. M. Willard

“Let me put my stuff up and review some emails, then I might answer you.” I start to walk off, but not before I notice the gleam in Zara’s eyes. It’s just another clue that these next few months are going to last forever.

  An hour or more passes by, and I have been able to avoid the conversation with Zara. I texted Natasha to see how her dinner was and received only a short reply.

  Natasha: We need dinner and then I will talk about it.

  That doesn’t sound right, and this morning we all received a message from Frankie explaining that she was coming home today, and would be in before dinnertime. We set plans into action for a girls’ dinner, as we all have something exciting to discuss.

  Jayden called to see how my day was going and I explained to him that it was perfect and that I have plans with the girls. Seems that works out for everyone, since he told me he had to work late. This is something I’m used to. Simon always worked late. Sometimes we would go weeks without seeing each other or having a date night. Now though, I wonder if it was work-related or whore-related. I’m still furious with him and the way he acted last night. I knew he could be a douche, but he took it to a whole new level, not to mention the embarrassment and betrayal I felt.

  “Are you going to make me wait? I want to know now,” Zara whines.

  “Yes, you will have to wait until tonight. Now, let’s talk about schedules and how you’re doing.”

  “I’m ready to pick my hours back up some. Hatcher might not be thrilled, but I need the money and I’m not napping as much. When I go home, I go crazy and start to panic when I think about what’s coming.”

  “Okay, we’ll work it out between you and Jaime. Do you know if you’re going to stay here after the baby comes?”

  “I plan on it. That is, if you’ll have me?”

  “Zara, you know you’ll always have a place here. The bakery wouldn’t be what it is without you.”

  “Thanks, Morgan. I’m still mad you won’t share with me.”

  “But you still love me. Now go to work so I can do inventory.”

  When Zara exits, I start to think over the plan I wanted to put into effect a few months back when I was going to marry Simon. Zara started this place with me, and she deserves to have a bigger chunk of the pie. I need to phone Hatcher and have him help work up the paperwork with me, then Natasha can draw up a contract. I know I can afford to make her partner, and with the baby coming, it just makes sense. The concept and recipes might be mine, but the atmosphere and success belong to us both. Plus, Zara can bake when she wants to. I’ve been lucky enough to witness some of her creations, but she always passes them off as nothing or that she doesn’t have the talent I do. Complete bullshit if you ask me. I’ll make her see the potential she has one day.

  The day dragged along as I worked through inventory and numbers Hatcher sent over, and thoughts of Jayden didn’t help. I’ve been lucky to not hear a word from Simon or Nick, and that’s a relief.

  I make my way to the front, inspect the goods left for tomorrow, and then go to look at what’s in the back. Jaime has proved to be better than I initially thought and has picked up the recipes quick. Once I’m satisfied, I freshen up in the restroom before it’s time to turn the open sign off and close the doors for the evening. Zara is sitting in a booth with her feet up as she takes a break before we leave to meet the girls. Jaime left an hour or so ago, and I question the fact that we didn’t invite her. I blow it off. I have to remember she’s an employee and tonight we girls have some serious stuff to discuss.

  “Come on, let’s go before we’re late,” I say to Zara and watch her slide out of the booth.

  When we step outside, I hear a voice from behind us that causes me to smile when I turn to face the one who owns it.

  “Hi, what are you doing here?”

  “I had a break and ran over real quick to catch you before you left. I just wanted to do this.” Jayden wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me to him. In the blink of an eye, his lips land on mine. He kisses me so hard and fierce that when he pulls back I’m left breathless with a heart beating so fast I’m sure Zara can hear it from where she stands. “Now I can have a good night. Have fun, and call me if you need someone to walk you home.” He turns to walk away, leaving me in shock.

  “WOW … Morgan, I have to say, that was hot and well, yes, I like him.”

  “Yeah, I like him too,” I whisper as my eyes watch him cross the street. He stops just on the other side and turns to look back at us. With a quick wave, he takes off in a sprint back to his side of the park.

  The whole way to the restaurant I can’t get him out of my mind. Who leaves work, runs to get a kiss, and runs back to work? Oh, that’s right, only Jayden. I swat at Zara’s shoulder as she has the biggest grin plastered on her face.

  ZARA AND I HEAD OFF toward Tapas on Fifth in silence. I don’t want to lose this feeling, and I dang sure am not ready to talk about it. Is this the beginning phase of a relationship? Is this what it’s supposed to be like? I don’t know, and this confuses me. I’ve never experienced this kind of emotion, nor had a man just show up to steal a kiss. I stop midstride and throw my head back and laugh at how ironic this situation is.

  “Have you lost your mind? What’s so funny?” Zara calls out.

  “Was that odd? I mean, has Hatcher ever done that?”

  “Seriously, you’re asking me if that was weird? Did you forget Hatcher knocked me up in your bakery?”

  “True, but let’s be serious. That was odd, right?”

  “No, it wasn’t, Morgan. You’ve just been with the wrong guys. He has it bad for our little baker.”

  “I think I have it bad for him also,” I say as we begin to walk again. I’m lost in my thoughts and don’t see Zara motion toward Frankie walking up the sidewalk.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Frankie asks, turning her nose up at me.

  “Nothing, why?”

  “You have this weird look on your face and I don’t know why, but your eyes are all shiny. Are you high?”

  Zara laughs. “No, but she’s high on love. She’s had a taste of love and she likes it.”

  “I haven’t been gone that long. What the hell have I missed?” She hugs Zara and then me before we enter the restaurant.

  “I’ll explain soon enough,” I say and flag the hostess down so we can get a seat before Natasha gets here.

  We barely make it to our booth before Natasha shows up, which surprises me, since I figured she’d get stuck in traffic as she made her way across town from the court house.

  “I need a drink,” she huffs as she slides in next to Zara.

  “Okay, you look like you’ve been run through the shredder, this one over here is all cupid eyes, then we have the glowing effect of a pregnant person over there. What the hell has been going on while I’ve been gone?”

  “A lot,” Zara says with a smile, which only makes me turn ten shades of red when I think back to last night.

  “All right let’s start one by one,” Natasha says, pointing to Frankie first, which means I can skirt by a little longer before I need to spill it.

  We sit and listen to Frankie talk about her photo shoots and how she had an incredible time. She even hints to a few phone calls from Brody, and that makes me happy. One day they will figure it all out. I think sooner rather than later. Zara explains her pregnancy and how Hatcher is still pushing to get married. It’s like I explained to him, she needs her space, and once she realizes they are getting married for love and not the baby, she will be onboard. Hatcher likes to jump in with both feet and just do it, and while Zara is like that with most things, this isn’t one of them. All eyes land on me, and just in time, our food arrives.

  “You can talk and eat at the same time,” Frankie says as she picks up her fork.

  “Fine, might as well get this all out.” I start to explain how dinner started last night with Nick, then how Simon started his crap. When I explain how Jayden punched Simon, they all laugh and wish they could’ve witnessed it.
I have to agree with them, it was pretty amazing. I even go into a few details of our evening back at my place and how I took my first shower with a man.

  “Was it everything you thought it would be?” Frankie asks.

  “It was more. I swear I have never felt this way. I mean, I thought I was in love before, but the way our bodies moved together, it’s like we were creating music last night. Then that kiss this afternoon … Who does that?”

  “Jayden is the only one, and I think you have a winner,” Natasha says.

  “I think you’re right. Enough about me, tell us how your date went last night.”

  “That man is something else. I finally get my car back tomorrow, and he wants another date.”

  “So are you going? I mean, he was pretty into you from what I could tell,” I say.

  “I don’t think it’s wise of me to lead him on. Did you know he has a kid? And I’m not talking about visitation, I mean full custody. Apparently the mom died or something and he’s been raising her since she was one. She just turned three.”

  “What’s wrong with a kid? Look at me, and what if Hatcher and I don’t work? Does that mean I can’t have happiness with a child?”

  “No, I mean … I’m not the mother type. I’m married to my work and those files are my babies.”

  “I think you need to give it a shot,” I say and earn a bunch of hell yeahs from around the table.

  “I don’t know. We’ll see, since he talked me into dinner again. I just don’t want him to think I’ll be a good fill-in for his child. What if that’s what he’s looking for? Think about it, he sees this fancy car and finds out what I do for a living. If it were me, I’d be stupid to not try to get with me.”

  “You need to start trusting men and just go with it. Isn’t that what you all tell me?”

  “How about this? I’ll go on another date and see what happens. I’m not making any guarantees.”

  “Sounds fair enough,” I say as we all agree to support her decision.

  Our night continues as we banter back and forth with what everyone is doing. It’s weird when I sit back and think about how all of our lives are being pulled in new directions. But … The one thing that has never changed is our friendship. The bond between us all has a pull over everything else in this world. At any given time, one of us could pick up the phone and the other is by our side in a heartbeat. Through thick and thin, it’s been them to support me, as I do them. I know Zara is holding out on her real feelings and what she wants to do with Hatcher. It’s only a matter of time before she opens up to us all about it. I’ve learned over the years that she has to come to terms with it before she can express her desires. Frankie, she’s one I just don’t know about. Her career comes first, but it’s only because her crush, or love interest I should say, hasn’t opened up and accepted her yet. I know when that finally does happen, it will be Brody that she focuses on. Natasha, our sweet career-driven, pencil-skirt-wearing lawyer. Lord help this man as he tries to knock down her walls. Do I think they are a great fit? Hell yeah, I do. He’s her polar opposite, family-oriented, and has excellent taste in women. This is one adventure I look forward to being a witness to for her. She’s been burned in the past and has married her work like she said this evening. The thing she won’t admit is that deep down she wants the whole package, and with her drive, she’ll get it. Me? I don’t know where my relationship with Jayden will take me, but I do know I’ll enjoy it while I can. The one thing I have vowed to never let happen again is for a man to control my life. This is me, take me or leave me, I don’t care. If I want to wear pearls with my jeans and Chucks, let me. If I want to dress up and bake all day, let me. Right now, I know Jayden fits perfectly in my life. A year from now, I don’t know.

  “Morgan, you know it didn’t go unnoticed that you shifted through you and Jayden’s relationship.” Natasha eyes me as she tries to make a point.

  “Wasn’t trying to avoid it, just not much to say. I think we’re dating, and the sex was hot.”

  “Are you ready for that? We all thought you were going to focus on other things?”

  “Oh, dear Lord let her have a man. If not, she’ll label my ass as I walk around the shop. Seriously, you all have to come see what she has done,” Zara says.

  “I will not. I have the apartment to focus on now that the shop is done.”

  “Thank you for that. I swear I’m afraid to pick anything up, she might flip out if I place the pen down and it’s not in the correct spot that says pens.”

  “I’m not that bad, now stop it.”

  Zara stares me down and looks around the table. “She is, and you will all come take a look when we leave here.”

  I narrow my eyes at her as I hear them all agree to come check out my mad labeling skills.

  “You know what would be great? We need to have dinner with everyone. I’m talking about all of us and the guys. We haven’t done that in years,” Frankie says.

  Natasha pipes in. “And we can blame Simon for that one. Do you all remember the last time we thought this was a good idea? Disaster. It was so bad that when I left I could have sworn they were going to call in the National Guard or cart Hatcher off to jail. How you ended up with Simon beats the crap out of us. Did he cast a spell on you?”

  “No, I just got caught up in his world. I forgot where I started and he began. That’s the main thing I want to avoid in the future. I understand being in love and wanting it all, but I don’t want my life to become all about him, or his all about me. I’m confident that a healthy relationship means we can have it all. A balance of friends, family, and love.”

  “It won’t if you don’t allow it,” Frankie says. “You are strong, Morgan, and need a strong man in your life. Simon was weak and the only way he felt like a man was to control you. I have a hard time seeing Jayden as that type of guy. Give it your all, and let’s have a dinner party.”

  “Fine … When and where? You know my apartment is too small for everyone.”

  Natasha lifts her water glass and looks over the rim before she says, “We can have it at my place. Might as well put that huge-ass table to use. This weekend will work, if you are all free.”

  “Perfect, gives us two days to plan,” I say as I rub my hands together and plan the sweets. What better way to celebrate friendship and new love than with a taste of love from my kitchen?

  “Let’s bust out of this joint. I need to get home soon and sleep,” Zara announces as she yawns, making us all laugh.

  I say a silent prayer that she’s ready to go home, which means I get to escape them all going back to pick on my new system. After we pay our checks and step outside, I go to hug them to start the goodbyes. But no such luck.

  “Oh, you aren’t getting out of it. Let’s go,” Natasha says as she turns me around and pushes me in the direction of the bakery. We walk side by side, chatting about nothing important as we soak up the fresh breeze blowing through the night air. It’s brisk, but welcoming as I enjoy the winter weather. The only part of winter I don’t enjoy is when we get a real winter storm, bringing snow and sleet. This is acceptable, though. It’s just enough where you have to bundle up, but not where you have to have five layers and can’t walk anywhere before you freeze.

  The sign to the bakery is in sight and this is the moment where they all get to say how they shouldn’t have left me alone over the holidays. I have to disagree with this, since I made progress on things that had been put on the back burner.

  As we enter, I disarm the alarm while Zara flips the lights on. “Come on,” I say as I wave them to follow me. The biggest change has been in the kitchen and office. So we start in the kitchen first, as this should distract them from everything else.

  “Okay, I have to say that it hasn’t been this bright in here ever,” Frankie states as she walks around, stopping in front of the new shelf and canisters.

  I watch them all as they walk around taking in the new little white labels and the accessories I’ve added. I don’t see what the big
deal is; I like to be able to find my stuff. Plus, this helps when Zara is in here cooking and doesn’t know where to put stuff back. Not to mention we now have Jaime, and since I’m training her, this makes things easy.

  “Oh, you haven’t seen the best of it,” Zara says. “Come on.”

  Just like that, they all follow Zara like we’re on a treasure hunt for candy. As I approach the open door to my office, their heads all spin in my direction with a what the hell happened to you? expression.

  “What?”

  “If you did all this here, we really don’t want to see what you’ve done with your place. Is anything safe from you? We might need to do an intervention; hand it over.” Frankie sticks her hand out to me.

  “It’s not here, and you will never touch my machine. Off limits to you all. If you want to play, get your own.” I stomp my foot for extra dramatics.

  I notice Zara yawning and figure it’s time for all to head home. I gently usher them out of my bakery and lock up behind me. Once I arrive home and have slipped out of the day’s clothes and into my pajamas, I grab my phone to text Jayden.

  Me: That was a nice surprise tonight. You up for dinner with my friends on Saturday?

  I toss my phone down next to me as I slide further down under the covers. The bed feels so lonely without Jayden, and it worries me that I might be too attached to him this soon. This is something I need to be careful of. Right as my eyes close, the phone beeps, alerting me to an incoming text.

  A smile escapes when I read his response.

  Jayden: I couldn’t go another minute without it. I have a new addiction and it’s just not your sweets. Sure I’ll join you, should I bring anything? Can I pick you up or do I have to meet you?

  Me: You can pick me up at five. That will give us enough time to get across town to Natasha’s.

  Jayden: Do I get to see you before then or are you going to make me wait?

  Me: You’ll have to wait. I’ve got work to do at the bakery. Pop some gum in your mouth to curb your sweet tooth.

  Jayden: You’re a cruel woman, Morgan. I’ll see you soon.