Chapter 1

Authors note: Yes I'm well aware my title isn't exactly very inspired but it fits the story so please read and review. Absolutely no flames!

Dave placed his plate of truffles on the table then unloaded the other goodies he had brought. This was the 10th bake annual sale in Los Angeles and he hoped to sell out. He didn't necessarily need the money that the bake sell would make him, but still, he had wanted to try his skill. There were other people here that needed the money much more than he did. The recipe for the truffles he had brought for the sale were from a dear friend that had passed away a long time ago. Of course, he had numerous other goodies as well not just truffles but cookies and cakes and tortes. There were enough goodies that he could open his own bakery.
The woman who had taught him how to make the truffles had been one of his many lovers over the centuries. Lucy had been a great cook and could've had a great career if she'd been born in a time where a woman could have jobs as chefs, but unfortunately, it had been a man's job to provide for the woman. Some women had worked but cooking had been a man's job back then, at least professionally. Occasionally, a woman would take over for a family member in a restaurant kitchen when they died, a husband or a brother but it didn't happen very often. It hadn't been until the 1970s that women had broken out of that mold and that was only a few decades ago.
Still, Lucy, despite having no formal training, had been an excellent chef and she could cook anything including chocolates. She had done excellent pancakes back before there had been mixes and her eggs had always been light and fluffy. A lot of people always overcooked their eggs, even if you say, wanted them sunny side up.
Lucy had certainly had a talent in the kitchen and Dave had learned a lot from her over the course of their relationship. It was just too bad that Lucy had been born at the time that most women just couldn't cook professionally, though there were a few exceptions.
This was the first time that he had done Lucy's truffle recipe since her death. He had also brought brownies, his personal recipe, several types of cookies and even tortes. He had spent the last several days cooking up a storm so he would have a good selection for this big sale all the money going to local charities involving animals, which is why he had been happy to participate.
"Ladies and gentlemen this is the beginning of the 10th annual bake sale..." an announcer said over the speaker.
The other people's contributions looked really good and Dave was looking forward to buying some things to take home with him.
Dave waited patiently for someone to approach his table, even as he spotted woman with dark hair like his own. The woman was turned away from him but even seeing her from the back had him intrigued. There was something about her...
Dave couldn't move away from his table since he didn't have anyone to watch what he had brought, but that didn't stop him from looking.
Whatever money he made was going straight to charity, as he didn't really need it in his bank account to pay bills. His personal pet charity at the moment was an animal rescue that took dogs and cats off the street and found them good homes. The animal rescue did good work which is why he was more than happy to give any money he made to them so they could continue to do so. In fact, he was considering adopting a dog from there but hadn't decided as of yet.
He could use a companion someone he could love since he wasn't married and didn't have a woman on a constant basis.
He had made quite a fortune over the centuries so he donated generously to charities that inspired him.
One of the reasons he had entered this bake sale was because he was bored. You see, he was immortal. Unfortunately, immortality was not all it was cracked up to be and you had to pass the time someway. He had enjoyed mixing up Lucy's recipe for truffles and experimenting with other recipes over the years. Creating different recipes helped pass the time faster but still, he needed more in his life then learning new or creating recipes. There was only so much cooking he could do at one time without becoming bored and also have a freezer and fridge full of food.
"These look really good," a woman told Dave.
"Thank you," Dave told her.
"It's going to be so hard to choose what to buy," said the woman.
The woman bought several things from what he'd made then left after paying. Dave watched her go finally taking a bite of one of his own truffles.
Dave looked around for the woman that had intrigued him so much a few minutes previously and thought he saw her over on the other side of the building that had been set up for the sale.
He still couldn't see her face just the back of her head and the way she tilted it, as she was talking to someone, for some reason intrigued him. He wasn't entirely sure what interested him so much, as he hadn't even seen her face.
Dave studied the woman and noticed that she was tall, but hardly lithe. Still, she wasn't fat by any means.
"Did you bake all this yourself?" asked one woman, as she studied what Dave had brought for the bake sale. "It's just that it's so rare to find a man that can cook so well."
"There are plenty of men that are chefs," Dave said.
"True, but those type of men don't participate in an event like this and that's usually only regular food not desert type items or at least that's true in my experience," the woman said.
"I won't say you're wrong," Dave acknowledged.
"Where did you learn to do desserts so well and can you cook to? If so why hasn't some woman snatched you up, as I'm assuming you're not married."
"No, I'm not," Dave agreed. "I would love to be married, I just haven't found the right woman yet," Dave said not bothering to tell his customer that he hadn't met his mate yet.
"I would snatch you up in an instant if I wasn't married," the woman told Dave. "I wish my husband cooked like you apparently do, as it would literally save me from the cooking duties if he did. Unfortunately, like a typical man he can't cook to save his life and he's not interested in learning."
"Some people just don't have the talent for it and not just men," Dave said.
"In this case, he is not even willing to try to learn to prepare some simple dishes that aren't at all complicated," the woman said. "All he does is sit on his butt and read the paper or watch the game on TV."
"A lot of men are like that, lazy to the bone," Dave said his lips twitching at the description. He know plenty of men just like this woman described. "However, I learned to take care of myself a long time ago, as I've never been married and eating out all the time isn't exactly very healthy."
"And also expensive," the woman said.
"True," Dave acknowledged not telling the woman he could afford to eat out all three meals if he wanted to. He didn't have the same problem regarding eating out that other men did all that fat and grease wouldn't give him a heart attack like it would mortals. Still, if he wanted to maintain his current weight he either had to exercise or try to eat healthy.
"So what animal charity are you giving the money you earned to? That's what this sale is all about after all," the woman asked Dave curiously.
"I have a specific charity in mind," Dave said. "Pet rescue and they could use the influx of cash. I know $500 isn't that much in the grand scheme but still it will help."
Dave didn't mention the large donation he was going to add to the money that he was going to give the rescue out of his own funds.
"That's really nice of you," the woman said. "I'm Sydney Loughlin by the way."
"David Rossi," Dave introduced himself.
The two shook hands cordially.
"I better get this stuff home, as my daughter will be waiting," Sydney said. "I promised I'd bring her a treat, as she is a chocoholic."
"Nothing wrong with that. I'm something of a chocoholic myself but then, many people are. I definitely sample my own baking."
"I can't blame you as it smells delicious," Sydney said, even as she rummaged around in one of the bags and emerged with a large brownie. Sydney took a bite and made yummy noises as soon as the mix of chocolate, caramel and peanut butter hit her tongue. "Definitely decadent."
"I'm glad you like them. Here let me help you take your packages to your car," Dave offered, as Sydney had bought quite a few items from the bake sale at various tables. He could tell the bags were heavy just from the way that Sydney carried them.
"That's really nice of you Mr. Rossi," Sydney said. "Thank you for your assistance, as I know I bought a lot, but I also know that all the proceeds are going to charity so it was worth it. Both my daughter and my husband will be very happy with all the goodies I'm bringing home."
"You're welcome," Dave said. "I could never leave a lady like yourself, to try to handle it all on her own." He took the heavy bags from her. "Lead the way Mrs. Loughlin."
The two of them chatted, as they walked towards the parking lot and it wasn't long until they reached Sydney's car. They put all of Sydney's bags in the passenger seat and then bid her goodbye.
Dave returned to the bake sale and simply wandered the aisles picking up several things for himself after helping Miss Loughlin take her packages to her car. Dave wasn't even thinking about the mystery woman that had so intrigued him earlier when he literally ran into someone.
"Excuse me," Dave said automatically. "I'm sorry I bumped into you."
"It's all right it was an accident," said a soft voice.
Dave looked up at the soft voice and was immediately transfixed.
It was the woman that had so intrigued him while he had been selling his wares. Dave finally understood why he had been so interested in this woman, even though he hadn't seen her face earlier. She was his mate. Something inside him had known, even if he hadn't seen her face until now.
"It was entirely my fault my lady," Dave said gallantly quickly getting over his shock. "In order to apologize for nearly running you down why don't I take you out to dinner as a kind of I'm sorry for bumping into you. I simply wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
"Oh, no, that's OK, it was an accident," the woman said touched by the offer.
"I am David Rossi by the way," Dave introduced himself.
"Dulcinea Waverly you can call me Dulci."
"Well, I see your parents like unusual names that comes from Don Quixote – Man of La Mancha. Dulcinea was Don Quixote's made-up vision of the perfect woman," Dave said. "You can call me Dave by the way."
"My father always did like that play, which is how I ended up with that name," Dulci responded smiling. "It's nice to meet you Dave."
"About that meal," Dave suggested. "It could be any meal you like breakfast, lunch or dinner."
"If you insist," Dulci finally said really liking David Rossi who she had just literally bumped into. "You don't need to though."
"What if I want to," Dave suggested with a raised eyebrow. "It's not like I mind buying a meal for a beautiful woman. I live alone and rarely have beautiful female companionship."
Dulcinea blushed when Dave called her beautiful in an offhanded way. She could tell that he was sincere, so she finally accepted his offer of a meal.
The two exchanged phone numbers before parting for a few hours, Dave with a spring in his step.

~~~Dave and Dulci~~~

A week later

"I hope you're not allergic to dogs or cats," Dave told Dulci.
"I'm not allergic to animal dander if that's what you're implying," Dulci replied, as the two of them walked hand-in-hand along the nature trail. "I am allergic to pollen but I take some good allergy meds so that's not usually a problem."
"That's good," Dave said pleased.
"Why do you ask?" Dulci asked Dave.
"I've decided to adopt a dog from the pet rescue that I donated my money from the bake sale to," Dave explained. "I just wanted to make sure you aren't allergic, since I would like our relationship to continue. I wouldn't want us to break up, just because you were allergic to animals with fur. I saw some pictures on their website and they have a lot of really cute dogs that need good homes."
"That's very thoughtful of you Dave," Dulci said smiling at her boyfriend's thoughtfulness.
That first meal had led to others so a week later they were now officially dating. Dave was such a good guy not only had he made a whole bunch of desserts for the bake sale he given the money he made to the charity of his choice, which was an animal rescue.
That's what the bake sale had all been about and that was to give the money made to your favorite animal charity, but still, Dave hadn't had to give it to help animals or participate in the bake sale at all, which just told her that he was very kindhearted.
He wasn't the least selfish, as he could've kept the money for himself and claimed he was giving it to a charity, but Dulci had been with him when he had handed over the money from the bake sale to the people who ran the animal rescue so she knew exactly where it had gone. He had also handed over a large check to the rescue people and he hadn't had to do that. Dave's thoughtfulness had impressed her and it was one reason they were dating now.
Dulcinea assumed that he could well afford the money he had given to the pet rescue and she couldn't see him doing so just to impress her if he couldn't. She hadn't asked about his finances because it wasn't really her place.
"You should realize by now that I'm a thoughtful person," Dave said smiling. "Besides, it gets very lonely living all by yourself and while I don't mind getting married if I find the right woman that's not exactly very easy."
"No, it's not," Dulci acknowledged. "I've dated some real bozos over the years. I've also dated some nice men, but they didn't click well enough with me for me to even consider tying the knot with any of them if they had proposed."
"I agree about dating some nice women over the years and also about that other statement, though I wouldn't call those women bozos just demanding and clingy. I don't need a woman that's going to cling to me like a limpet, no offense."
"I take no offense, as I understand what you mean," Dulci agreed. "Women can be clingy. It's not exactly easy to find someone that's compatible enough with you that you want to settle down."
Dave didn't say what he was thinking and that was it was even harder for him, since he was immortal, then it was for a regular humans like Dulci.
"Would you like to come with me to help choose a dog?" Dave suggested.
"I would love to," Dulci said obviously thrilled with the offer.
"This place is genuine, not a puppy mill. I did my research beforehand," Dave said.
"I've heard that puppy mills only care about making a profit not about the dogs," Dulci said making a face.
"That's definitely true," Dave said. "I've encountered puppy mills a few times and I've always reported them when I do. The female dogs are often overbred and aren't given time to recover from giving birth. The dogs also aren't fed properly or given their shots by a registered veterinarian. Also, they are often in cages that are way too small for them and not let out to get exercise. It's just sad."
"Places like that need to be shut down," Dulci said.
"They often are, but that doesn't stop new ones from popping up somewhere else," Dave said.
"So, when can we go?" Dulci asked eagerly.
"Saturday," Dave said pleased at Dulci's enthusiasm.
"So, are you going to get more than one?"
"I hadn't thought about it," Dave admitted. "I certainly have the money and the space for at least two."
"If you have the money and the space I would adopt two personally, as they are so many dogs or cats for that matter that need good homes," Dulci recommended. "You certainly have the love and affection to give them and that's what matters most.
"It's clear you like animals," Dave said pleased all over again.
"I do, though my father and I never had a pet when I was growing up I did have a friend when I was a child that had several dogs," Dulci said. "I fell in love with them and was over there so often I practically lived there."
"I wonder why your father never got you a dog or a cat," Dave said.
"He was allergic, deathly allergic," Dulci said. "His allergies were so bad that we just couldn't have an animal at home or he'd start sniffling and sneezing. He always sounded as if he had a bad cold. Fortunately, I didn't inherit those allergies. No allergy meds that he discovered seemed to work so we just couldn't have an animal that had fur. It was a shame really but at least my friend had dogs and I made sure I change my clothes once I got back from playing with them so my dad wouldn't start reacting to the fur on my clothes."
"That makes sense," Dave said. "I'm glad you didn't inherit his allergies to animal dander."
"So am I," Dulci said smiling. "I would love a cat or a dog myself, but my apartment doesn't allow animals."
"You're welcome to come over to my place anytime you like to spend time with whatever dogs I end up getting," Dave offered.
"I might just do that," Dulci said pleased at the offer. It would give her more chances to see Dave and that did not displease her at all.
The two continued to talk for quite a while before they parted.

~~~Dave and Dulci~~~