CHAPTER 2
REMMIE
The walk to my bakery only takes me fifteen minutes.
All thanks to the hill I live on. Serene City is so peaceful this early in the morning.
Late fall was so beautiful here and life was never dull in a town full of monsters.
Since the veil fell, Serene City has become a hub for all kinds of creatures.
Our current Mayor is a seven-foot-tall Minotaur with a lovely human mate.
Their union helped his campaign and helped boost the rise in residency almost overnight.
It showed the older occupants of the city how we could work side by side and the city has been a safe haven ever since.
I have lived here my whole life, going to school with a lot of different creatures.
I don’t think I could Imagin a world without them in it now.
The sun was just rising, casting pink puffy clouds across the sky.
This was Grans’ favorite part of the day.
She used to say the sky reminded her of the color of my hair.
It’s always been dyed some kind of pink ever since high school, as it was my mom’s favorite color.
I first dyed it a month after she died of cancer when I was sixteen.
I went to live with my grandmother soon after.
And she was the most wonderful woman in the world.
Everything I loved in my mom was in her.
And she supported everything I ever wanted to do.
From joining a roller derby league my senior year, to enrolling in culinary school once I graduated.
She bought me my first mixer, and paid the down payment for my current bakery.
She would call me her little sugar mama and bring my desserts to all her friends at their weekly card game, and I adored her deeply.
She left me her home when she passed away, always taking care of me.
I wondered what she would think of me now.
I shake the thought of my gran’s approval away.
Truth is, things aren’t going well for me.
I haven’t had a customer in almost four months.
Ever since Black Cat Brewhouse moved in on the other side of Goliath park, business has all but disappeared.
Almost as if people don’t know I exist. I have changed my menu a few times, baking new and interesting flavors to help bring people back in.
What I need is a social media manager. Someone to help me get more publicity, but I can barely pay for my own services, let alone hire someone.
My only childhood friend Sharina could help, but between her teaching job and her home cookie business, adding work from me would be a bit much.
Not to mention my horrible affliction of being unable to ask for help.
Gran didn’t even let me know about the money for the bakery until it was already cleared. She knew I would have never asked. She understood me better than I did.
Come on, Remmie.
Time to shake off all these bad thoughts. Think, “What would Elle Woods Do!” She’d smile and push on with perfect hair and amazing outfits. I’ll try to do the same, minus the outfits, of course.
The neon pink sign glows bright, shining light on my jumbled feelings of pride and failure.
I twirl the onyx pendant my gran gave me out of habit.
The one she said would protect me. But maybe it didn’t mean from my own destructive thoughts.
She told me to never take it off. And other than to shower or sleep, I always have it with me.
It makes me feel just a bit better, like she’s still with me too.
You would think she was a witch with all the charms and candles she owned.
I know witches are real. Gran believed so.
My mom, not so much. But I think I would remember if she ever practiced, or told me she was one.
The attic still holds boxes of books and items she had around the house, though I keep her broches in an oak jewelry box on my bed side table.
Along with her rose gold ring. She always wore it even when it broke.
I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of any of them.
One day, I hope to fix the pieces that are broken.
The street is still and quiet, the other shops still closed.
The jingle of my keys echo against the concrete sidewalk as I go to open the door.
A heavy feeling of unease falls over me when I enter the dining room of my bakery.
At first glance, nothing looks out of the ordinary.
But the feeling that something is out of place grows stronger the closer I get to the entrance to my kitchen. Is there someone in there?
As a safety measure, I grab a rolling pin, the first weapon-like object I see and inch towards the door.
I peek past the wall, scanning the space as fast as I can.
I gasp when I see a man passed out the floor of my freaking kitchen.
How did he even get in here? The door was locked and it’s the only entrance.
I scan the ceiling. Nope, no holes. I hid on the other side of the wall, weapon ready to strike.
I’m no hero or particularly brave but damn this dude if he thinks he can break into MY place!
Exhaling, I slowly inch toward the sleeping form.
Now that the panic of finding someone in my space, I notice more about my dozing intruder.
For one thing, he’s not human and he’s freaking huge.
Black fabric of a rock band T-shirt pulled tight across his chest and arms. And his ruffed-up blue jeans do nothing to hide those thick thighs.
Flesh toned markings covered his golden skin.
And his horns, yes horns, protrude from just behind his hairline, curling back like a wave.
They crown a head of honey brown hair that looks so soft, the strands just begging to be touched.
His chiseled features were covered with almond bits and powdered sugar.
My cooling rack sat half empty against the far wall.
“At least someone enjoyed my pastries.” I say to myself.
“They were delectable, Sweetness.” The sound of his deep voice made me jump, the deep rumble of it zapping my core like a taser.
His eyes pop open and I forget how to breath.
They were a deep amber color. Like someone poured hot metal to make his irises.
They sparkled in the crappy overhead lighting, taking me in from head to toe.
A smirk takes over his face and I jump back, raising the rolling pin in swing position.
“Whoa there, little baker girl. No need for that.” The golden adonis stands to his full height and that air I was holding escapes my lungs.
Not only huge, but tall. Well over six feet.
I’m only five-three, so everyone is taller than me.
But, sheesh. I am surprised his head isn’t hitting the ceiling.
And is that, holy balls, he has a tail. I’m mesmerized as it swishes left and right, dusting himself off with it.
His tail was long and hung down from his backside, going from thick to thin.
It looks just as strong as the man it’s attached to and it takes a lot of effort to look away.
When I meet his eyes again, they are huge, like he’s seeing me for the first time.
“Wha… what are you?” I ask.
The creature has to bend down to look me in the eyes. His smile is wide, pulling at the raised scar on his right cheek. He chuckles as he responds-
“I’m your dream come true, Sweetness.”