Page 13 of Sweet Dreams

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 torun 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?"

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