Chapter 8
SPENSER
When I go downstairs for my shift, I find Juliet standing near the checkout counter, books open in front of her, muttering to herself. It’s been a week since our misunderstanding with the moth decorations, and things have been kind of awkward and tense between us.
“Hey,” I say as I approach. “Everything okay?”
She shakes her head. “Fine, I guess. But tomorrow night is book club, and I wanted to adapt my grandma’s cookie recipe to appeal to both human and monster palates.
Turns out, I don’t really know what I’m doing.
Neither test batch turned out great. Hence the cookbooks.
” She gestures at the two baking tomes laid out before her.
“I see. Are you using regular human ingredients?”
“Yeah, of course. What else would I use?”
“Specialty ingredients that appeal to monster palates.” I grin at her. “I happen to have some in my kitchen. If you’re free tonight, why don’t you come over and I’ll help you bake the cookies.”
For the first time in a week, her whole face lights up in delight. “Really?”
“Yeah, you can come up with me right after we close. Unless you need to go home for the recipe?”
She pulls her phone out of her pocket. “Nope. Got it with me.”
The day sails by, and before I know it, we’re closing the store and going up to my apartment. I let us in and bypass the harsh overhead lights, instead turning on my various table lamps. I preheat the oven, tie on an apron, and open the pantry.
Flicker follows and hops onto the kitchen counter, apparently prepared to help.
“Do you want anything to drink?” I ask. “I have water, tea, and my personal favorite, juice.”
She cocks her head and looks at me, curious. “Your favorite is juice?”
“Yeah, especially blends. I order them from the juice bar. This week is a mix of pineapple, guava, and honeydew juices.”
“Okay. I’d love to try it.”
I pour us each a glass and find another apron in the pantry for her. “Okay, what are the ingredients for the cookies?”
She pulls the recipe up on her phone and shows it to me. It’s labeled ‘Grandma’s Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookies.’
“The usual stuff, of course. Flour, baking powder, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, eggs, butter, chocolate chunks.”
“Okay, I think with a couple substitutions and some additions, they should be great. Instead of chocolate chunks and vanilla, we need these.” I disappear into the pantry and rummage around, emerging with specialty ingredients.
“Okay, we have shadowmelt chips, which activate only in candlelight, and banshee’s wail vanilla, which screams when the bottle is opened, but is much richer and more potent than anything you can find from Madagascar.
Instead of brown sugar, we can sub in phoenix crystals, which are sort of…
charred?...like they’ve been toasted extra dark.
Oh, and some dragon’s flame cinnamon, which is incredibly potent and smokes when it hits warmed butter. ”
Juliet is staring in wonder, probably mentally filing all the information away in that busy brain. “I’ve never heard of any of these.”
“I’m not surprised. Harmony Glen is your first monster town, right?”
“Yeah. In fact, you were the first monster I met, followed closely by Gabe.”
A little bolt of pride puffs in my chest. I must have made a good impression for the monster community, given that she stuck around and is trying to make cookies that monsters will like.
“Well, this stuff is usually sold in specialty markets or online, although some of this is available at the grocery store here in town.” I go to the antique cabinet in my living room and dig out a candle for the shadowmelt chips.
She leans close, wanting to watch the activation process, which will be disappointing.
You can’t see anything happen, but somehow the candlelight makes the chips extra gooey and melty.
As she peers at the little plate of chips, completely absorbed in what’s about to happen, I can’t help myself—lighting quick, I flick one at her, and it catches in her hair.
She squeal-giggles and immediately retaliates, sending a puff of flour in my face.
It sticks to my various furry parts…and wafts up my nose.
“ACHOO!”
The sneeze is horrifically loud, though I do manage to do it in the crook of my elbow and not all over the ingredients. It’s immediately followed by three smaller sneezes as my nose tries to remove the flour.
Offended, Flicker jumps down and goes to her spot in the front window.
I blink several times, and when my eyes clear, I see Juliet doubled over against the counter, still giggling. She manages to squeak out, “Bless you.”
“Thanks,” I say, washing my hands, making sure to get soap under my claws.
“Hey, do you mind if I turn on the overhead light?” she asks. “It’s hard to measure everything precisely with just dim lamps.”
“Oh, of course.” I actually hate the overhead lights, which are too severe for my eyes, but in this moment, when she’s finally happy again, I’d give her anything she asked for.
JULIET
I swing downstairs to Harmony Hardware on my way to work.
I’m pretty sure Gabe will have exactly what I need.
During our baking adventure, I got the chance to suss out Spenser’s apartment.
It’s cozy and masculine, and my perusal of the pantry confirmed that he does like plain foods—I saw a lot of pasta and oatmeal.
I also saw some of his books, and to my surprise, there were a ton of westerns. I never would have guessed.
However, there was one thing that was definitely missing, which is why I’m here.
“Hey, Juliet!” Gabe greets. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Everything going good?”
I can’t help but smile at him. He’s so open and friendly, so…affable. His personality has definitely rubbed off on Maggie, who’s a lot more relaxed and jokey than she used to be.
“Yeah, all is well,” I tell him. “I do need something, though, and I’m hoping you have it.” I explain what I’m looking for and he helps me find the exact right items.
While we’re looking, my text alert dings. It’s another message from Braeden, who’s been reaching out more and more. All the same thing. Never “how are you?” or “I hope you’re well.” Just a series of insistent demands to get back together.
Ugh.
“I think these are the best choice,” Gabe says, and I tune back in.
I inspect the box and nod. “Looks perfect.” I still have time before my shift, so after I pay, I run back upstairs and wrap it. If I’m giving a gift, I might as well go all out.
When I get to work, I find Jin at the counter. “Has Spenser come down yet?”
They shake their head. “Not that I’ve seen.”
“Cool, I’ll be back in a few.” I jog up the stairs to his apartment and knock.
When he answers, I literally feel my mouth drop open. He’s wearing nothing but a towel, slung low on his hips, and water droplets glisten in his black hair and in the furry spots at his neck and ankles.
Every muscle in his gray skin is on display, from the enormous biceps to the six-pack abs to the taut calves.
Holy shit.
“Juliet, are you okay? Do you need something?”
I realize he’s been speaking to me and give myself a shake. “Um, sorry. Is this a bad time?”
“Not really. I just got out of the shower. Obviously. Come on in. Just give me a minute to get dressed.”
He disappears into what I assume is his bedroom, and that’s when I notice the dumbbells on the floor. He has a whole rack of them in various weights, as well as other fitness equipment I don’t recognize.
AHA. So that’s how he stays so ripped. He must work out every day before his shift. I could tell from the way his clothes fit that he was in good shape, but seeing him nearly naked? Good heavens. My imagination didn’t do him justice at all. The man is a six-foot-five mountain of muscle.
By the time he comes back, fully clothed, I’ve nearly managed to mop up all my drool. “Sorry to just drop by like this, but I wanted to give you something.” I hand him the wrapped package.
He takes it, looking at me curiously. “A present?”
I shrug. “It’s nothing much. A little token of appreciation for your help with the cookies the other night. They were a big hit with the book club.”
Still looking puzzled, he gently uses one of his claws to slice through the tape and carefully unwraps the box. “Light bulbs?”
“I know it seems weird, but I noticed the other night that you aren’t a huge fan of overhead lights.
When I turned the kitchen light on, you got all squinty.
So I thought it was time for you to install some smart bulbs.
You can control the temperature and brightness of these from your phone.
That way, when you need brighter task lighting, you can adjust it so it doesn’t hurt your eyes. ”
His expression softens and he breaks into the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on him. “Juliet, this is genuinely one of the most thoughtful gifts anyone has ever given me. It never even occurred to me to get different bulbs, but these will be great. Thank you. Really.”
I stand up. “It’s no problem. I live above a hardware store.”
He takes two big steps and envelops me in a giant hug. “The fact that you even noticed and cared enough to do something about it. You can’t know how much I appreciate it.”
His hug—and the feel of his incredible body pressed against me—is making me tingle in places I shouldn’t. I should step back, but I don’t.
“I’m glad you like it,” I whisper, my voice rough. I get the impression that he isn’t used to being noticed. He’s too busy being the noticer.
He finally backs up, letting me go, but he looks as affected as I feel. “I like it a lot.” His own voice is gravelly, and I wonder if I’m hearing things or if there’s a hidden meaning in his sentence.
Because it sure feels like what he’s actually saying is, “I like you a lot.”