“Hey, Tori. Could I borrow you and Karen for, like, five minutes?” Chef asked as they deposited the last trays of produce for today’s delivery.

Tori looked to Karen for confirmation. She shrugged.

Returning her attention to Chef, Tori said, “Sure, what’s up?”

“We want you two to test some desserts for us,” Chef responded.

Tori brushed her hands against the thigh of her jeans before following Chef into the dining room. Karen quietly followed.

One of the round tables was set with four place settings and an array of desserts. Les was chatting with the hotel owner, who was already seated.

A single butterfly in Tori’s stomach flapped in happiness to see him. Had he gotten better looking somehow this week? It wasn’t until he smiled that the rest of her nervous butterflies began to riot.

“Hey, Les, Marc.” She greeted the two men and took a seat as Chef indicated. Karen sank into the chair next to her.

Les began talking. “We just want your opinion on a few new desserts we’re considering.”

Tori excitedly shifted her attention away from Les, as gorgeous as he was in his bright white, perfectly clean chef’s jacket, and onto the confections in front of her. Les had already proven to be an expert at cheesecake. He had to be or Chef would never have hired him. What was she about to thrill her taste buds with?

The door from the kitchen swung open. A quick glance let her know she did not need to pay attention. Josh. She thought that by ignoring him, he would eventually stop pestering her. She could hope.

“Jeez, Chef, you could have asked me. I’d tell you Hernandez bakes crap. These two won’t know quality taste,” Josh whined. Josh always whined.

“I want an untrained palette. Their opinions will be more valid than yours as a trained chef,” Marc responded, justifying the selection of taste testers.

Tori stared at the space in front of her, trying desperately not to let Josh bother her.

“Look at her, she’ll eat any—”

“Stevens! Back to the kitchen,” Chef yelled, cutting him off.

Maybe she needed to rethink having taken back this delivery route.

“I’m just saying…” Josh persisted.

“One more word out of your mouth, and you are fired. One thing. Try me,” Chef growled.

The swinging door flapped as Josh retreated into the kitchen. Tension swept from Tori’s shoulders with Josh’s exit.

“Thank you, Chef,” Les muttered.

Tori looked up. Les was staring at her. His expression soft, like he wanted to ask if she was okay.

“Ready?” he asked.

Tori nodded.

Les slid a small glass dome in front of Karen and then gave one to Tori. It wobbled a bit, so it wasn’t glass. Gelatin? In the center was an arrangement of flowers. It looked like a dust collector her mother would put on a shelf. It was too pretty to be a dessert.

“I can eat it?” Karen asked the question Tori was thinking.

Tori poked at it with her spoon a few times to make sure it really wasn’t solid.

Sharp and clean, slightly fruity, the flavors sparkled on her tongue. “This is the fanciest Jell-O I’ve ever had.”

“That’s too strong,” Karen whispered as she pushed the plate away from her.

“I think it’s fine. I like the flavors, but I can’t place them,” Tori admitted.

“Sparkling white wine, from the DeLuca vineyards, of course, for the clear layer, and a sweet cream panna cotta for the base. I wanted something that was sweet, with local flavor. And not too heavy for the summer.”

Marc seem to like it, since he continued eating his piece.

“Good flavor,” Chef agreed as he put his spoon down.

Les passed around plates with small pale cubes dusted in confectioner’s sugar.

“What are these?” Tori asked. The powdery white cubes were different colors under the outer coating, and slightly bigger than a square inch.

Karen picked a cube up and blew on it, scattering the sugar like fine powder.

“Those are Turkish Delights,” Les explained. “There will be six, two of each flavor, in a serving.”

Tori bit one of the paler cubes in half. Her teeth slid through the jellied candy. It tasted like the sparkling wine gelatin. Delicate yet sweet. She popped the entire next cube into her mouth and let the sugar dissolve. She closed her eyes as her tongue made contact with the flavor underneath. She breathed deeply through her nose and relaxed around the lavender flavor. The candy had the perfect balance. Not too sweet, and not too lavendery. The last one made her think of her grandmother.

“What’s this one?” Tori pointed to her mouth. “The first one I had was the sparkling wine, the second lavender, but I can’t place this one.”

“That would be rose. I selected the flavors that would best represent the valley, with out being overbearing.”

“You want to serve candy in the restaurant?” Marc asked.

“It’s the kind of light accompaniment that would be perfect for a tea serving or a lunch dessert. We can call them Grand Delights or Napa Delights. If they are popular enough, you can package them up and sell them in the gift shop,” Les suggested.

The next piece Les indicated was a yellow wedge with thick white frosting, and accented with a perfect curl of lemon zest. The cake was light and perfect. A salted caramel blond brownie, and a decadent chocolate and sour cream cake followed.

“The chocolate is too heavy, I think,” Marc commented. “I thought you were going for lighter faire for the summer months? The Turkish Delight was a surprise. But I’m not sure on this one. The brownie is too sports bar.”

“We need something chocolate,” Chef replied.

“I can work on something else if the cake is too much,” Les added.

Tori scooted her chair back, ready to return to work. “Those were great. Thanks for asking us to help.” She was a little disappointed there hadn’t been cheesecake. Les had mentioned he specialized in her favorite dessert, and yet nothing.

“Oh, we’re not done.” Les smiled before turning away. He bent over and pulled something from the lower level of the serving cart behind him.

Tori’s eyes went wide.

Les held two long white rectangular plates with five round mini towers of cheesecake.

“I don’t eat cheesecake.” Karen quietly pushed out of her chair. “I’ll see you in the truck.”

Everyone watched as she quietly left.

“Is she okay?” Marc asked.

“She’s just really quiet and shy.” Tori screwed up her face. “And socially awkward. But I think she appreciated being asked to help out. She said something.”

Tori turned her attention back to the cheesecakes. Now this is what she was hoping for. She smiled with delight as Les slid the long plate in front of her.

“Are you going to do a cheesecake flight? That would be awesome.” She looked at Les expectantly.

“Hadn’t thought about that. Hmm.” Chef tapped his fork against his mouth. “That might be worth looking into.”

“A flight?” Marc asked.

“Yeah, you’ve had them. It’s like a wine tasting where you get a smaller portion of different flavors. People have been doing it around here for so long, but they don’t call it a flight, just a tasting,” Les answered. He turned to Tori. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

“Sorry… I… ah… yeah.” She slid the fork into the first cheesecake. Chocolate by the coloring. It was delicious, smooth, and perfect. The coco flavor was almost as intense as the cake earlier.

She wanted to dive in and finish the entire small piece, but Karen was waiting and there were four more mini-cakes.

The next one played a myriad of flavors across her tongue. She closed her eyes and savored the nuances of a red wine combined with white chocolate. She may have moaned.

Les watched as the tip of Tori’s tongue touched the morsel of food on the fork. She guided the fork into her mouth and closed her pink lips around the piece of cheesecake. The fork slid ever so slowly from between her lips, wiped perfectly clean. His body pulled. What he wouldn’t give to be that fork right now.

Stop it, dude, that’s just Tori.

She focused on a bite of a different flavor. Mouth, lips, tongue. She made a stuttering mew of a moan. The look on her face… Les felt a throb in his crotch.

Chef cleared his throat and put his fork down. Les looked over at Marc, who shifted uneasily in his chair. Damn, Les wasn’t the only one thinking that Tori might be enjoying her cheesecake a bit too much. Then again, what would it take for a man to satisfy her to that level?

Les started clearing the table as Tori sampled the last flavor on her plate. Watching made him feel almost dirty, like he had been caught sneaking into his tio’s Hustler collection.

He shook his head. Tori was cute and all, but no, not Tori. Not with her plus-sized jeans.

That was when his brain began to argue with him. Shut the fuck up, Les, you’re beginning to sound like Stevens. Why not Tori?

After a few false starts and a voice crack, Chef managed, “You certainly enjoy your cheesecake. That was positively…”

“I feel like a bit of a voyeur having witnessed that,” Marc added under his breath.

Tori blushed and stared at her plate embarrassed.

That rosy pink on her cheeks made him throb again. Les cleared his throat. “No, boss-man, that’s exactly the reaction we want. Tori, you clearly had favorites, share.”

“Um, okay.” She pointed to the chocolate. “This was nice but boring, especially after trying the rest of these. The wine, what’s the chocolate?” Tori slid her fork back into the swirls of the cheesecake in question and then slipped another small bite between her lips.

“White chocolate ganache with black currant marbling.” Les swallowed the dry lump in his throat. The way she enjoyed the dessert made it hard for him to focus. He needed a moment or three in the deep freezer to cool off.

“Yeah,” she hummed. “It’s amazing, but I think too rich for a full slice. You really should consider a flight, because this amount would be perfect. Include a plain cheesecake as a cleanser between the fancy ones.”

She tapped her fork against what remained of a soft orange and lavender tinted piece. “This is the one you’ve been teasing me with, isn’t is? It’s amazing. It could easily stand on its own. I’ll make sure to get all the lavender I can for you.”

The kitchen doors swung open. “Your ride is honking, and it’s distracting.” Stevens sneered at Tori.

“That’s not like Karen. I better go.” Tori stood in a hurry. “Thank you for letting me try all these out. You have to do the honey-lemon and lavender. It’s amazing.”

“You didn’t like the chocolate cheesecake?” Les asked. People loved his chocolate cheesecake.

“Don’t get me wrong…” Tori flushed again. “The chocolate was fantastic, but I want to have the honey-lemon and lavender’s babies. Why have just good, when you can have orgasmic?”

In the back of his brain, Les was kicked with a thought. What would it be like to have Tori look at him as if he were cheesecake?