Read The Skye Trilogy: Isle of Skye, Isle of Night, and Isle of Dawn. * Bonus: Scrumptious Skye Confections Cookbook* for Free Online

candlelit room. The bedposts looked like something out of a fairy tale all tied up with ribbons, and the roses sweetened the air with their fragrance. It was then I felt a pang of loneliness in my stomach.
     
    While I was not a nun, I was not what you called experienced. My first love was my high school boyfriend. Rob lived down the street from me growing up, and we knew each other our whole lives. He was the quintessential boy next door, tall, sweet, and a shy sense of humor. With his sun streaked blonde hair and swimmer's body that he magically developed overnight our junior year, I fell head over heels for him. It was in his backyard on a warm, starlit night soon after graduation that I lost my virginity to him, and we proclaimed our undying love. That was, of course, until the end of summer when he went to school on the other side of the country while I stayed here in Yuma.
     
    The handful of guys I dated in college didn’t count since none of them was into any long lasting relationship. That is why after a few tries dating I focused more on my studies than the opposite sex. Suzy used to call me the queen of the first date. She told me that unless I was going to put out they were never going to call me again. I responded with, “Then why on earth would I ever want to see them again, if that were the case."
     
    My first adult relationship lasted two years. I had just opened my bakery and was working like a dog when one night Polly dragged me down the street to a pub. David was both the owner and the bartender. We hit it off right away. At first it seemed ideal; we both were young and opening up our own businesses. Soon the reality of him working nights and me working early mornings caught up to us. I almost think we stayed together for as long as we did because it was convenient. Neither of us expected the other to place demands on our relationship nor did we have any desire to live together and move forward. We simply saw each other when we could and for a while it worked for us. That was until I surprised him one early morning at his apartment. I used the key he had given me for the first time six months earlier and found him asleep, naked as the day he was born, with one of the waitresses who worked for him.
     
    Even though, I was initially pissed and filled with righteous anger I got over it pretty quickly. That was when I realized that obviously I didn't love him. If I did, I would have been devastated but I wasn’t. I was almost relieved. The pressure of running a business and having a boyfriend was a hassle I didn’t want. Polly and Jon have been trying to set me up, embarrassedly, with men that would come into the bakery for the past year. Nobody had caught my eye though or gave me butterflies. I know the expectation of sparks flying was unrealistic, but I still hoped that one day it might happen.
     
    That didn’t mean I had ice in my veins. I still missed the thrill of those first few dates. When you are trying to get to know each other, and it’s awkward, but there is something there that makes you want to see them again, those first hesitant kisses that grow into passionate embraces. The gradual slide into more comfortableness when you can just sit on the couch together, watch TV and realize later you haven’t spoken for over an hour. Those were the little things I missed about being in a couple.
     
    Maybe Suzy was right (Oh God did I just think that!?) I didn’t think I was necessarily drowning but I was in a rut. I suppose a little wardrobe makeover was in order. After all, shorts, jeans and t-shirts caked with flour weren’t exactly attractive. I didn’t want new things to attract men. I wanted new clothes for me. Clothes that made me feel good about myself and more confident.
     
    I looked around my parent’s room, bathed in candlelight, and realized I did want a partner to stroll through life with me. I never thought I was the kind of girl that needed to have a man in my life to complete me,