Page 17 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

I smiled a little. “At least there’s one thing she and I agree on.”

As he drove away, I blew out a breath, while crossing my toesand fingers, hoping I hadn’t just made the second biggest mistake of my life in less than a month.

Because—zings or not—I was about to share a house with the devil incarnate himself.

CHAPTER 5Pancakes and Glasses Are Essentially Lethal Weapons

A tall, dark-haired woman was standing in front of the neighboring yarn store, looking curious as I walked back toward the shop after Alec had left.

“Hey there,” she called out. “I saw you going in earlier. Are you the new tenant?”

“I am.” I smiled and introduced myself.

“Oh, awesome.” She offered her hand. “I’m Kimiko Halim. You look so much friendlier than the grouchy old man who was here last. All the tenants in the neighborhood didn’t like him, and we were all so glad when he finally decided to retire.”

I grinned at the woman, instantly liking her. “Lovely to meet you, Kimiko.” I tilted my head at her. “Halim? Is that an Indonesian surname?”

Her eyes lit up. “Yeah. How do you know? It’s from my father’s side of the family. And please, call me Kim.”

“My parents are Chinese Indonesian,” I said. “They were born in Jakarta but moved to the States.”

My new friend clapped her hands in delight. “My grandpa is going to be so happy to hear about this.” She gestured to the yarn shop next door, its window display full of colorfully knitted sweaters, bright scarves and beanies, and cute crocheted animals. “That’s mine. Well, technically it still belongs to my grandparents, but I’m running it now. Are you a knitter?”

“Afraid not.”

She shrugged. “That’s okay, I won’t hold it against you.” She shot a curious look toward my store. “What are you planning to do here?”

“A bakery. Specializing in low-carb, sugar-free desserts. The usual things like brownies, donuts, cupcakes, and cookies, but we’ll be using natural plant-based sweeteners.” My confidence took a sharp nosedive when a slight crease appeared on her forehead. I struck a pose, like a 1980s game show model showcasing a product, trying to cover my awkwardness. “We offer healthier choices, but with the same great taste!”

When I said it out loud like that, the idea seemed silly, not worth the huge gamble of uprooting my life and investing all my savings into it.

“That sounds great.” Kim gave me an approving nod. “I promise I’ll be one of your most loyal customers. We small business owners must stick together.”

“Thanks. I don’t know when we’ll be able to open, though.” I pointed at the store, gesturing for her to peek inside. Her eyes went wide at the sight.

“That’s an enormous piece of tree.”

“And the best part is, it comes with its own squirrels.”

“Gosh.” She let out a low whistle. “You really have your work cut out for you.”

“Yeah. But a supposed expert in the building industry said I should consider myself lucky, because the location is excellent, and he thought I won’t need any other major repairs.”

“Better get that so-called expert to help you with the work, then. But he’s right, the locationisexcellent. Anyway, good luck, and let me know if you need any help.” She tilted her head, her brows drawing closer. “You look familiar. Have we met before?”

Damn YouTube video.“Don’t think so. I’m from out of town. It’s my first day in Port Benedict.”

Kim beamed at me. “Right. Must’ve mistaken you for someone else. Well, good to meet you, Ellie. I should get back to my store, but we should get together for dinner sometime.”

I returned her smile. “That would be lovely.” It was nice to meet a friendly new face in the middle of this debacle of a day.

Hopefully that was a sign that things were looking up.

Back home, my usual morning routine was to wake up at six, go for a forty-five-minute run, then take a quick shower before breakfast. The exercise helped me start the day energized and focused, while keeping my glucose levels under control.

But of course, I wasn’t home right now. I was in a new place, in a different time zone, three hours behind my hometown. And without my approval, my body clock had decided to forge ahead and take charge, stirring me at three in the morning because, hey,who needs an alarm clock?It insisted I open my eyelids, although the pitch-black darkness outside wisely recommended that I snuggle back under my comfortable blanket.

Heeding its advice, I tried to go back to sleep. Until images of gigantic tree limbs, hailstorms of chipped roof tiles, and squirrels as big as my arms innocently waltzed into my brain, finally catapulting my eyes wide open.

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