Regina Mills is a single mom who lives in the city of New Orleans. She has one son and his name is Henry. Henry is 10 years old and attends Newman School.
Regina owns a bakery in uptown New Orleans. Henry attends school by scholarship and that is how he is able to attend one of the top schools in the city. They live in an apartment not far from Henry's school. It helps because she is able to walk him to school and also walk to work.
Regina's bakery is one of the best in the city. Regal Sweets is Regina's whole life. It has been given four stars by the food critic for the delicious treats that are homemade. Her bakery is located on one of the busiest streets in the city. There are many schools around and she gets a lot of business from the local high school students and even the two colleges that are located down the street.
It was a beautiful day in September and Regina was walking Henry to school. "How do you like this new school year so far?" She asks Henry. "It's really fun. We have already been learning a lot and we are going on a field trip next month for History class." He says excitedly. "That sounds exciting. You can tell me more about it tonight." She says as they approach his school. "Okay, mom. I'll see you after school." He says giving his mom a hug. "Have a good day." She says as he runs into the school.
Regina walks toward her bakery and sees her employees waiting for her. Her employees are also her really good friends and they would take turns babysitting Henry whenever she needed them too.
Emma Swan is a college student at Loyola University and she would work every day between classes. She loved her job and always wanted to spend her time at the bakery when she could. She worked the front counter and dealt with sales.
Mary-Margaret Nolan graduated from Loyola with a business management degree. She wanted to help Regina as much as possible. She married David Nolan a couple months after she graduated. They have been married for a little over a year now. She also works with Emma at the front counter, but also began helping Regina manage after she graduated.
"Hey! Sorry I'm late. I just dropped Henry off at school." She says unlocking the door. "It's okay Regina. We were only here for like 5 minutes." Mary-Margaret said. "Okay let's get this day started." She said with a smile.
They walked inside and Regina went straight to her office. She set up her laptop and put her purse under her desk. Mary-Margaret followed her and started working on the business and making sure everything they needed was ordered. Regina walked to the kitchen and began working. They didn't open till 1:00 pm, but they were open from 10-12 strictly for placing orders.
Regina worked alone in the kitchen. That's why she went in so early every day. She baked everything on her own. She starts with the same thing every day, cookies, then cupcakes, then brownies. She had three ovens in the back and she made batches in bulk. In one mixing pot, she could make about 200 hundred cookies, 10 pans of cupcakes, and 10 pans of brownies. After she does the most common things, she starts making some specialties. She makes apple pie, crème puffs, specialty cakes, and her favorite apple turnovers. She makes other pies and turnovers but only at request.
It is normally around 10 when she begins to make her specialties. She makes a certain number of pies, crème puffs, and specialty cakes every day. Before she begins, she brings out the cookies, cupcakes, and brownies that she has finished and brings them to Emma to put out. Regina then goes back to work in the kitchen.
Regina just put everything in the oven around 11:30 and has some time to rest. Emma runs in the kitchen. "Hey I have to get to class and Mary-Margaret is on the phone. Can you take this order for me?" She asks. "Yeah, Emma go to class." She said smiling.
Emma runs back into the store. "The owner will be with you in a moment." She says. "Thank you." The gentleman says and she runs out the door.
Regina grabs a towel and wipes her hands. "Can I help you?" She asks.
The man turns around and he is taken aback. He finds himself staring at the beautiful woman who is standing behind the counter. He comes out of his thoughts. "Yes, are you the owner?" He asks.
"I am." She says smiling.
"Great, I need to place an order for cupcakes." He says.
"Okay." She smiles and turns around to grab an order sheet.
He couldn't help but stare at this woman. She had the most beautiful curves and her eyes were a beautiful dark brown. All he could do was smile.
She turns back around and leans on the counter. "Okay. I need your name, a phone number, and when they need to be ready." She says looking up at him.
"Robin Locksley. My cell number is (504)-565-1905." He says putting his hands on the counter. "I need them for next Friday." He says smiling.
"Okay. How many, what flavor, and what type of icing?" She asks still looking down.
"I need 200. That's why I came a week and a half early." He says with a laugh.
She looks up. "Well, thank you." She says smiling.
"I was thinking 100 of them chocolate and 100 of them vanilla." He says. "Do you do specialty icing like flowers?" He asks curiously.
"I do actually. It's time consuming so thank you for giving me warning. I can make roses and sunflowers." She says.
"Sounds perfect. Put the sunflowers on the chocolate ones and the roses on the vanilla ones." He smiles.
"Okay, well I will have these for you for next Friday. You can pick them up anytime next Friday." She says. "Your total will be one hundred even."
"Okay, thank you." He says reaching into his pocket and handing her a credit card.
She does the transaction and gives him the receipts. "Just bring this back when you pick them up." She says smiling.
He takes them from her. "Thank you..." He stops because he didn't know her name.
"Regina." She says with a smile.
"Well, thank you Regina." He smiles and walks out.
Robin is the Vice President of major advertising firm in uptown New Orleans. His drive from the bakery is about 20 minutes depending on traffic. As he drove to work, the only thing on his mind was Regina.
-
He went back to the bakery the next day. He needed to see her. She had been on his mind since he ordered the cupcakes. He went back right before she closed which was at 10.
Regina happened to be the last one there and she was sitting behind the counter. She looked up when she heard the bell on the door. She stood up.
"Hello, Regina." He says with a smile.
"Robin? Right?" She asks hoping she remembered.
"Yes." He smiles. "I was hoping I could get a cupcake before I went home."
"Sure." She smiles. She went and got a chocolate and vanilla cupcake. "Here ya go." She says.
"Thank you. How much do I owe you?" He asks.
"Don't worry about it." She says with a smile. She grabs her purse and her keys. She walks out behind him.
He sees her start to walk by herself. "Regina, do you need a ride?" He asks.
"No, I live right down the street. I just walk." She says.
"Well, how about I walk with you." He says smiling. "Can't have a beautiful woman walking alone at night."
She smiles. "Okay." She says looking away.
They began to walk. "Where do you work?" She asks curiously. "I'm the Vice President of an advertising firm uptown. We have a benefit next week and that is why I was ordering the cupcakes."
"That's interesting and I appreciate you coming to my bakery." She smiles.
They approach her apartment because it wasn't far. "Okay, this is my stop. I appreciate you walking with me." She smiles.
"It was my pleasure. I'll see you soon Regina." He smiles and walks away.
She walks inside and closes the door behind her. She leans against it and smiles.
Robin finally got home and his son, Roland, was there to greet him. He put his son to bed and then went to his room. He laid down in his bed and fell asleep with Regina on his mind.
Robin continued the same routine every day. Except instead of walking her home he would start a conversation up in the store. One night he stayed an hour passed closing and they had coffee and dessert. He was really starting to like this woman and he wanted to ask her out. He just wanted to wait for the right moment.
Regina loved the fact that this man was so nice to her. He walked her home one night, he stayed till closing to make sure she got home safe, and he even stayed three nights passed closing just to talk. She didn't want to admit it, but she really liked this guy.
It was the Wednesday before Robin was supposed to pick up the cupcakes. He walked in at his regular time, right before she closed.
She smiled when he walked in. "Hey, Robin. I assume you want a cupcake." She said laughing.
"I think I'm going to change it up." He said leaning on the counter.
"Oh are we going to get a cookie today?" She asked walking toward the cases.
"Actually, I was hoping for a date." He says.
She turns around a little shocked.
"I was hoping you would accompany me to the benefit Saturday night." He says.
She was still shocked and couldn't believe this was happening. She came out of her thoughts and she grabs him a cupcake. She grabs an icing bag and writes something on it.
She walks back and smiles. She hands him the cupcake and goes to get her purse not saying a word.
He looks down. On the cupcake, in icing is "I'd love too." he smiled and looked up.
"Want to walk me home?" She asked with a smile.
He looks at her and hands her the cupcake. She laughs. "You can eat this one." He says. "I've had plenty this week." He laughs.
She smiles. She locks the door to the bakery and they walk toward her house. "So, what should I wear on Saturday?" She asks.
"I hope you don't mind, but it is formal." He says looking down.
"No, not at all. I'll just need to find something." She says. He walks her up to her door. She turns around and faces him. "What do you see in me? I mean you come to my bakery to order cupcakes and then you comeback every night just to talk." She says with a chuckle.
He smiles and takes her hand. "I see a beautiful woman who I want to get to know better." He says and kissed her hand. "And I'm hoping she won't mind if I drop by her work so we can have lunch tomorrow."
"I don't think she'll mind." She says smiling.
"Then I will see you tomorrow at noon." He says. "Until tomorrow, Regina."
She smiles and watches him walk away. She walks inside and leans against the door. She couldn't believe what just happened, but she was so happy right in that moment.
Regina took the morning off to go shopping. It didn't take her long to find the perfect dress. It was a red A-line dress that hugged her curves just right. She ran back to the bakery and it was 11:45. She knew Robin would be there soon, but she needed to start on some baking. She went into the kitchen and started with cookies because they were running low. They were in the mixer when she heard a knock on the door. She was alone today and that's why she locked the door. She walks to the door and sees Robin. She smiles and unlocks the door.
"Hey, sorry I'm by myself today so I locked it." She said letting him and closing the door behind him.
"That's okay." He says smiling. "I hope you don't mind, but I got us subway because that was the closest thing." He says laughing.
"I love subway." She says smiling. "Come in the back I have to put cookies in the oven."
He followed behind her and she gave a stool to sit on. She starts scooping out cookie dough onto pans and he watches. Then she started a conversation.
They talked about where they grew up and went to school. Just things about themselves. One thing she was afraid to mention was that she had a son, but she felt like he needed to know. She puts all the pans of cookies in the oven and then sits down across from him.
"Robin, there is something I want to tell you." She looks at him. "I have a son."
"There is nothing wrong with having children Regina. I have a son as well." He said smiling.
"His name is Roland and he is 5 years old."
"My sons name is Henry and he is 10." She says.
They began discussing where they both went to school and just things they liked to do for fun. Regina had finally finished eating and took the cookies out of the oven and put them in the cases. He just stayed sitting and watched her work alone.
She finally comes down and sits. "Wow, you have quite a system here." He says.
"Yeah, I got used to it after a while. This is my safe place, my home and I don't really like people in here and knowing my recipes." She says.
"I'm just amazed you do it all on your own." He says smiling.
"Yep, always have." She said proudly. "I did want to ask you, what time I needed to be ready tomorrow night."
"I will pick you up at 7. The benefit starts for 8." He said grabbing her hands in his. "I'm so happy you said you would come with me." He says with a smile.
"Me too," she says. "I even found a dress."
"I'm glad. I don't want you to freak out about meeting people though. There will be a lot of people, but I'm going as the VP of the company and I will know very few people there as well." He said laughing.
"That's okay. I'm just shocked you asked a complete stranger." She said.
"You're not a stranger to me. I've gotten to know you over the past week and I feel like I have known you forever." He says squeezing her hands.
She smiles not knowing what to say.
"I have to get back to work, but thank you for letting me have lunch in your safe place." He says standing up. "I can't wait for tomorrow night." He says and kisses her cheek. "See you tomorrow Regina."
Something about the way he said her name just made her fall a little harder. Then she realized he doesn't have her number. She quickly writes it down. "Robin." She says running from the back. "You might want this." She says handing him a piece of paper. "Thanks for lunch." She smiles and walks back into the kitchen.
He opens the paper to find her name and number on it. He smiles when he reads the note. "Can't wait for tomorrow!" He smiles and heads back to work.
Regina wakes up the next morning really excited. She had Mary-Margaret and Emma take Henry for the day so she would be alone. After she told Henry goodbye, she went upstairs to check her phone. She laid down on her bed and saw that she had a text message.
She opened it and it read. "Good morning, beautiful. I can't wait to see you tonight! -Robin."
Regina had butterflies in her stomach. She never thought someone could make her feel like this again. She smiled and texted him back. "Good morning, handsome. I can't wait to see you either."
They texted back and forth for two hours just talking and flirting. At around noon she told him she had to go.
"I have to go "
"Awww why :'("
"I'm going eat, then I'm going to start getting ready."
"Ohhh for what?"
"If I remember correctly, I have a date with a sweet and handsome guy.;)"
"Ohhh. Who is the lucky guy?"
"His name is Robin. I think you may have met him."
"A few times😄"
"I'll see you tonight. "
"Indeed you will."
She read his last message and then ran into the kitchen to quickly eat. After she ate a sandwich, she began getting ready.
It was now ten minutes to seven and she was finally ready. She had her red A-line dress on, black stilettos, and bright red lipstick. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she was nervous.
The doorbell rang at exactly seven. She opened the door and Robin was in a tux holding a dozen white roses. She was in awe.
"Regina, you look stunning." He says standing in the doorway.
"You're not so bad yourself." She said smiling.
"These are for you." He says handing her the flowers.
"They're beautiful, Robin. Thank you." She says kissing his cheek. "I'm going to go put these in some water, if you don't mind."
"No, go ahead." He says with a smile.
She runs to the kitchen and finds a vase. She gives them water and hurries back.
"Okay. Ready whenever you are." She says grabbing her purse.
He opens the door and she follows locking the door. She turns around and sees a limo. Robin holds his arm out for her to grab. "Shall we?" He asks.
She smiles and takes his arm. "I didn't know it was that fancy of an event." She says.
"It was already paid for, so I thought I would take advantage of it, since this is our first date." He smiles. "Well, official." He says with a chuckle.
He opens the door for her. "Thank you." She says as she sits down. Robin closes her door and runs around to the other side. He opens the door and sits down next to her. He immediately grabs her hand and intertwines their fingers. She loved that about him. The fact that he didn't hesitate and he isn't afraid to show how he feels.
She looks at him. "Thank you again for the flowers, Robin. They were really beautiful." She says smiling.
"You are very welcome." He smiled and kissed her forehead. "I'm glad I decided to get the white ones since you're wearing red." He says with a chuckle.
She looks down and laughs. "I would have loved them no matter what." She said looking back at him.
They talked till they arrived at the Hilton hotel in downtown New Orleans where the benefit was being held. He runs to the other side and opens her door. He reaches for her hand and helps her out of the car. He pulls the tickets out of his pocket and hands them to a man. He walks inside with her hand in his and they find a table and sit down.
They decide to eat first. They stand up and find all their favorite foods. They sit down and he asks her if she wants something to drink and goes gets them both a glass of red wine. They talk, eat, and drink. Regina was having the best time with him and it was almost if nobody was in the room with them; it felt like they were alone.
"Regina, would you like to dance?" He asks standing up.
"I would love too." She smiles and takes his hand.
They walk to the dance floor and a slow song began to play. She wraps her arms around his neck and he wraped his around her waist. They began dancing to one of Regina's favorite songs, Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran.
"I love this song." She says smiling. He smiles and takes her hands and starts spinning and twirling her around. He loved seeing her smile. It was so loud in there that he couldn't tell her or barely talk to her. It was so hard to hear. They continued to dance for another 30 minutes. He leans into her ear. "Do you want to go for a walk? He whispers. She nods her head. He takes her hand and they head outside.
They walked to the river walk. It was a beautiful night and the lights of the city shined off of the river. As they walked by the river, the wind picked up and became chilly. He took off his jacket and gave it to her.
"Here, it is a little chilly out here." He says holding it out. "Thank you." She smiles and puts her arms in the sleeves. She reaches for his hand and intertwines their fingers.
She looks up at him. "Thank you for tonight. I had a great time." She says with a smile.
"Well, thank you for coming with me." He says looking at her. "I was actually really nervous about asking you." He says shyly.
"Really? Why was that?" She asks.
"Because you are so gorgeous and I really wanted to get to know you and I was so afraid you were going to tell me no." He said with a laugh.
She blushes. "I'm glad you did." She says stopping and facing him. "Me too," he says grabbing her other hand.
This was the perfect moment. He lifted her chin and kissed her. It was slow and sweet. Something else Regina liked about him. He was caring. They pull away slowly. She looks at his lips and sees her red lipstick on his lips. She laughs a little. "I'm sorry." She says bringing her thumb to his lips and gently wiping her lipstick off. He laughs with her. "Don't worry about that." He says and kisses her lips again. Just as slow and sweet as the last one but it lasted longer. His hands were in her hair and hers were around his waist.
They finally pull away. He leans his forehead against hers and she smiles. She takes his hand and they keep walking. "So, I was thinking if you don't have to be anywhere; we could go back to my place and have a glass of wine and talk." She says looking up at him. "That sounds perfect." He said smiling.
They walked back to the hotel in comfortable silence. The waited outside for the limo. He pulls up and they both get in. The same comfortable silence on the way home. They arrived at her house and walked inside.
"Make yourself comfortable, I'm going to go change out of this dress. I'll be back." She said smiling and walked down the hall. He admired her as she walked. She walked with so much elegance and poise that it was hard to look away.
She put on a pair of yoga pants and a long sleeved shirt. She came out of her room and went straight to the kitchen. She grabbed to glasses and a bottle of wine. She went into the living room where he was sitting on the sofa. She poured the wine and then handed him a glass. She puts her glass down on the table and goes to the fire place. She starts the fire and then sits down next to him. He puts his arm around her and she puts her head on his shoulder. They sit in silence until he spoke.
"Thank you for coming with me tonight. You made this so much more fun than it was going to be." He said kissing her head.
"I'm glad you asked me. I haven't been out in a long time. It was really fun." She said smiling.
He looks down at her. "You know you have a beautiful smile." He said.
She looks up at him. "Thank you. You are being such a gentleman tonight. I have never been treated like this. I feel like royalty." She said with a chuckle and puts her empty glass on the table. He does the same and takes her hand in his.
"Your beautiful name is Latin for Queen. You should always be treated like royalty." He says seriously.
She was speechless after that. She turned her body and put her legs on top of his. "I actually didn't know that." She says looking up at him.
"Well, now you do. And now I really have to step up my game for the queen." He said with the biggest smile on his face and put his arm on top of her legs.
"After tonight, I think you have already won me over." She says with a smile. She grabs his face and kisses him. Much more passionate than the first two. This felt normal and right. She couldn't believe she was falling for him so quickly. One of his hands was tangled in her hair and the other was slowing rubbing her back. Her hands were now on his shoulders. They hadn't pulled away. It was perfect and neither wanted to be the first to break this moment.
She pulled away first and kept her forehead against his. "That was perfect." She said smiling with her eyes still closed just taking in the moment.
"No, no you're the perfect one." He said rubbing her cheek. She opened her eyes and looked at him with so much love in her eyes. All she saw was his beautiful blue eyes. She was mesmerized. "I'm the furthest thing from perfect." She said. "Not to me." He said kissing her again. The passion from him was unreal. They kissed for what seemed like forever. She pulled away breathless.
"You really know how to take someone's breath away." She says smiling.
He smiles back. "You should know a lot about that. You have been taking my breath away since the moment I saw you. When I saw you at the bakery, I was mesmerized."
She smiles at his words. "You are the first person to ever tell me that." She says and wipes the corner of her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry." He says kissing her nose.
She laughs. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I normally don't cry in front of people." She says wiping her eyes again.
"Even when you cry, you are so beautiful." He says moving the hair out of her face.
"Okay, stop or I'm really going to cry." She says laughing.
He laughs. "Okay well it's getting late. I should be getting home." He says standing up and reaching for her hand.
She takes his hand and walks with him to the door. "Oh wait your jacket is in my room. I'll be right back." She walks to her room and grabs his coat. She comes back and hands it to him. He smiles. "Thank you." He says grabbing her hands. "I had a really great time tonight Regina."
"Me too. Thank you for the roses. I love them." She said smiling.
"Anything for the queen." He says kissing her lips. He pulls her close. She wraps her arms around his neck and wraps his around her waist. She turned her head to the side to deepen the kiss. When she did, he brought his hand into her hair. They kissed for around five minutes until she pulled away completely breathless. "Until next time, Regina." He said pulling away from her. She smiled and watched him walk down to the sidewalk. He turned around and he smiled then disappearing into the night.