Page 50 of Viktor at Sea

“I’ll go with the salmon, and you can choose between the chicken and the rabbit?” I offered, having already made my mind up about my choice of dish.

Astrid took a few moments to think about it, a thoughtful expression on her face. “The rabbit was great, but I have to go for the chicken. There was just something extra special about it.”

“Well, we have that settled then,” Gustav grinned and removed the fish dishes from in front of us.

“What’s next?” I asked, excited to try some more food.

“Dessert,” he told us, sounding excited. “Now, I only created one dessert because I didn’t have much time. If either of you don’t like it, I can work on something else to show you, but I’m certain it will be a hit.”

“What is it?” Astrid asked eagerly.

“Cake,” Gustav grinned, presenting us with two big slices. “Chocolate and mint cake.”

“I love mint,” I said just as Astrid did, “I love chocolate.”

“Then we might be onto a winner,” Gustav chuckled and took a step back, watching us eagerly as we tasted his cake.

The three of us were so engrossed in the food-tasting for our wedding in ten days, now onto dessert, that we didn’t notice the man running at us from behind. I broke off a piece of the cake and lifted it to my mouth, holding Astrid’s eyes as she did the same. While I was able to experience the luxurious taste of the cake, easily the best cake I had ever eaten, I couldn’t say the same about my future wife.

Astrid shrieked in surprise and rushed to rise from her seat as the cake was slapped from her hand. I instinctively pulled her out of the way and into my side, concerned that the perpetrator would attempt a second attack.

“What’s wrong with you?” I spat at the culprit, Crosby, once Astrid was safe behind me. “You’re lucky I don’t slap you how you just slapped Astrid.”

“I didn’t slap Astrid!” Crosby denied, a fierce look on his face.

“He slapped my hand,” Astrid said as she slipped out from behind me, a small frown on her face.

“That doesn’t matter. He still had the nerve to lay a hand on you. That’s a pretty serious offence in my book,” I growled, fisting my hands as I approached Crosby.

“Viktor, don’t,” Astrid tried to convince me, grasping my arm as she tried to hold me back. “Let’s just hear him out, okay?” She told me before turning to face the perpetrator. “Why did you slap the cake out of my hand like that, Crosby? What were you thinking?”

“I have an excellent reason to stop you from eating that cake,” Crosby huffed, an unpleasant look about him. “In fact, you should be thanking me for doing what I did.”

“Thanking you?” Gustav huffed, his lips pulled sharply down at the corners as he stared at a slice of his masterpiece pathetically lying on the ground, smashed, dirty and ruined. “You’ve ruined what would have been the perfect slice of cake. You should be apologising, not expecting us to thank you!”

“I’m the one that should be apologising?” Crosby scoffed, his glaring eyes flitting across us all. “There are nuts in the cake, you imbeciles!”

A moment of silence filled the air between us as Gustav, Astrid, and I glanced between each other, not quite sure what to make of the situation.

“I’m allergic to nuts,” Astrid murmured quietly.

“I knew that, and that’s why I slapped the cake out of her hand,” Crosby explained himself, an accusatory look on his face as he set his gaze on me. “As her fiancé and future husband, that is something you should know. How could you be so careless?”

“I did know that,” I said, wishing I could wipe shut him up with another punch to the mouth. His face was still bruised from our last encounter, and it seemed like he was back for moreof the same. “I mentioned to Gustav that Astrid was allergic to nuts, so there isn’t any in any of the dishes.”

“There are no nuts in the cake,” Gustav confirmed, looking offended at the accusation. “Both Viktor and Astrid told me that she is allergic to nuts, so I made sure the entire menu was rid of them. I made this cake myself. I would know if there were nuts in it.”

“Taste it then!” Crosby spat at him, an unpleasant, distasteful look on his face. “Maybe if you paid attention while you were baking, you would know that you put nuts in the batter by mistake.”

“I don’t make mistakes as big as that,” Gustav growled, but nonetheless, he reached for my slice of cake and took a big bite from it. We all watched in silence as he chewed and chewed, a purposeful expression on his face as he tasted the contents of the cake. His eyes grew wide, and he quickly took another big bite of the cake to confirm what he feared. “There are nuts in the cake,” he finally murmured, gulping. Gustav then turned to face Astrid, a horror-stricken expression on his face. “I’m so sorry, Astrid. I don’t know how this has happened. I don’t remember putting nuts in the cake, but I must have.”

“It’s okay, Gustav,” Astrid assured him with a soft, understanding expression. “I know it was an accident. Let’s just be grateful that everything is okay,” she said before turning to address Crosby. I didn’t miss how her face grew tight, her smile became forced, and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “I guess I should thank you, Crosby.”

“You’re very welcome, Astrid,” Crosby beamed at her before glancing at me. His expression immediately soured. “While I’m saddened that Astrid has chosen to accept your offer of marriage over mine, I wish no ill for her. Please be more careful next time. I would hate to see anything happen to Astrid,” he pursed hislips and shot me a hard glare. “Now, I must be off. I hope the rest of your food tasting goes well.”

We all watched as he walked away, struggling to believe all that had happened in such a short amount of time.

“I’m so sorry, Astrid, Viktor,” Gustav said, his tone deeply apologetic. “I’ve really messed up here. Somehow, I don’t remember adding the nuts, but there’s definitely nuts in the cake,” he gulped. “If you still wish for me to stay on as the caterer for your wedding, I promise this won’t happen again. I’ll be extra careful and double-check everything. I’ll even–”

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