I had half of the day off the next day and I had plans to pick up some stuff from the farmer’s market.

I got up bright and early and slipped on a pair of denim cut-offs, a white shirt and my yellow canvas slip ons. I made myself an omelette and a cup of tea and I was in the middle of breakfast when there was a knock on the door.

I went to the window to peek and saw three strangers standing outside.

Dammit. It was too early for this but I went to the front door closet and took out my gun.

“Who is it?” I yelled from behind the door.

“We’ve come to speak with you, Miss Vance,” an almost musical male voice answered. “We will introduce ourselves formally if you would please open the door.”

I cracked the door open slightly, my gun pressed against my hip.

A young man was standing in front of another man and a woman and the first thing that drew my attention right away was how fair and beautiful they all looked, their skin smooth and pale and radiant.

They were in casual clothing, jeans and shirt and they all wore a smile on their faces.

“Who are you, people?” I asked grimly knowing I have never once seen them in my life.

“My name is Devon,” the young man in front said, his blue-green eyes sparkling. “Nathan and Diana are with me as well.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ollie,” Diana said with a lovely, endearing smile.

I couldn’t be sure if it was just me but their radiant faces and brilliant smiles were doing something to me but I could feel a light wave of calm washing over me. I felt a bit lightheaded, my body weighing less and less with every second.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, steeling myself against this influence I could feel emanating from them. “Whatever you think you’re doing to me, stop it.”

Their blinding smiles dimmed significantly at that and Devon nodded in understanding.

“I apologize,” he said. “We shall cut to the chase then, as you humans say it. We are here to talk to you about your involvement with Tristan Black and company. May we please come in? We are not here to harm you at all, just to talk.”

I made a mental note to thank Tristan for this array of unwanted, uninvited supernatural guests coming in droves to my house and opened the door wider, exposing my shotgun.

Devon glanced at it and smiled patiently. “I assure you, the gun is not necessary. We are not bad guys, Miss Vance. In fact, we’re the exact opposite. We are part of the Stellars and we are warriors of the light.”

I raised a brow at him. “And that means?”

Devon hesitated. “We normally do not identify ourselves with humans but in your case we will make an exception seeing as you already know about the existence of otherworldlies. We are soldiers of the divine—our job is to ensure peace and secrecy from among the supernaturals to keep human attention away from them.”

My eyes narrowed again. “And why were you trying to influence me? How can I trust what you say if you were being sneaky about that.”

“My apologies, that was me,” Diana said, her cheeks reddening. “We usually find it easier to discuss with humans when they’re in a more relaxed and open-minded state. They normally don’t notice and I’m not sure why you did but I am sorry for that.”

I felt bad for the girl. She seemed really sweet but I was wary of the whole supernatural connection considering the previous visitors I had here almost chewed off my arm.

“What do you want from me?” I asked, opening the door fully. 

“We came to ask you just a few questions about Tristan,” Devon said, looking at me meaningfully. “We are aware he’s been well acquainted with you. It’s not a crime to mingle with humans as long as they are not put in harm’s way and their discretion about all of our existence is secured.”

“What do you want to know about him?” I asked defensively. They claim to the be good guys but with all that I’ve seen and been through so far, I only had Tristan to trust.

“We want to know if you know anything about him being possibly involved with the death of a local farmer in your town recently. The victim was Duds Packett,” Devon explained. “Do you know anything about that?

I sighed. Giving information was a risk but I wanted to clear Tristan’s name. “Yes. It was a were-demon attack and I saw it with my own two eyes because it attacked me on Thursday night. I’ve already confronted Tristan about that and he and his friends combed the town for the demon and tracked him down here. They saved my life actually.”

The other guy named Nathan smirked and shook his head. “Same old Tristan. Still fixing problems on his own.”

Diana nudged him on the rib and he straightened up.

“And where is this demon now?” Devon asked. 

“Dead. Burnt. Gone,” I answered with a shrug. “It was about to turn me into a meal so forgive me if I don’t feel sorry for that thing.”

Devon nodded. “We understand. Were you at all injured?”

“Just a sprained wrist but it’s all well now,” I said, holding up my hand to prove it. 

“Did you find out what it wanted from you or from that farmer?” Devon asked.

I remembered that brief moment it was demanding information from me about Tristan but then so were these trio that I didn’t feel like mentioning it.

I shook my head. “I think it was just hungry.”

“Yes, were-demons are typically ferocious and impose grave danger on innocents which is why they’ve been banned in absolution to ever enter the human realm,” Devon said, his eyes sharply fixed on me. “If someone’s let them out and let them prowl on Willow of all places, we need to know why.”

“Beats me,” I told them with anther shrug. “You can talk to Tristan.”

“Oh, count on it,” Devon assured me with a smile as he took a step back. “It’s not like he isn’t expecting us. We’ll be on our way, Miss Vance. Thank you for your time and we’ll be around to make sure all is well with you and this nice town.”

I wondered if that was a threat he just told me but his and the other two’s wonderfully bright smiles were hard to distrust.

I nodded at them awkwardly before shutting the door close. 

When I looked out the front window, the front porch was empty, no sign of anyone or any vehicle they could’ve come in with. 

I sat back down on the kitchen table and forced myself to finish my breakfast. 

Then I got my cellphone out and typed out a text message to Tristan saying to come see me at the bakeshop today before lunch. I could call but I wasn’t prepared to talk to him just yet after last night.

I definitely needed to clear my mind and the farmer’s market was a good place to do it. 

I got into my truck and didn’t notice much difference inside but when I turned it on, the engine hummed smoothly. I smiled, my cheeks warming. Despite being the devil sometimes, Tristan had a good heart. He didn’t want anyone to see it but he cared and he cared a lot and deeply and he doesn’t want it pointed out.

As to whether he cares about me or not in the way that matters to me is a totally different story. 

He said himself he won’t plead an exception and I need an exception.

I drove to the farmer’s market set up by Country Grove Park where they hold it every Sunday morning and the scene of wooden tables laid out with fresh produce, home-made jams and goods immediately lifted my mood.

I said hi to a lot of people I knew and made my rounds starting at the fruit section.

“Let me guess. Strawberry pie?” a male voice and I looked up to find a tall, broad-shouldered guy standing behind me, smiling as he looked gestured to the basket of fresh strawberries I was holding.

He had thick dark hair, tanned skin and warm brown eyes and under the white shirt he was wearing, I could see the strain of tight muscles. 

I smiled. “Nope. That’s too obvious,”

He tilted his head as if to think. “Strawberry shortcake? Or strawberry cheesecake?”

I shook my head, laughing. “It’ll be strawberry crepe with orange ragout.”

His brows raised approvingly. “Sounds fancy. Sounds delicious.”

“It’ll be,” I assured him. “I’m trying it out and if I like it enough, I might put it on the bakeshop menu.”

“Are you talking about Belle’s Bakeshop?” he asked curiously. “The one by the corner of Carter Avenue and Howard Street?”

I nodded and he looked impressed. “Yes, it was my mother’s but I run it now. Have you ever been? I don’t remember seeing you there at all.”

He shook his head. “I haven’t because I actually live in Hillside. I’m a firefighter there and one of the guys brought in a box from your bakeshop once before and it was amazing. I just drove in today to drop off some of my friend’s stuff after he left them in my basement while he found a new place to move into here.”

Then he extended a hand. “My name’s Jack Whitfield by the way.”

“Ollie Vance,” I said with a smile and shook his big, rough hand. There was something very masculine about him with his thick hair, rugged looks and deep, rich voice. He was quite a contrast to Tristan who was sleek and tall, fair and smooth.

“You should come by sometime, Jack,” I told him. “We’re not that far a drive. Hillside is just next town.”

He angled me a charming look. “I definitely will although now it’ll be for something more than dessert. Would you like to get together for some dinner sometime?”

Well, that was direct.

I looked up at him and with his crinkling eyes and big grin, it was hard to say no and I think Jack knew that. 

I tried thinking of the last time I’ve been asked out on a date and that was last year, just around Christmas when Mary Anne’s cousin was in town to see her and asked me out to see a movie. He was a nice guy but I didn’t go because I was too busy that time of the year and I wasn’t interested. I’ve gone out on a few dates since Scott and I broke up in high school but I’ve never had any other type of long-term relationship because I’ve just been devoting all of my time and attention to the bakeshop.

Then Tristan came along and has you melting like hot wax, a voice in my head said and as much as I hated to admit it, it was right. Maybe a distraction would be handy and Jack looked like a pretty attractive option right now. I wanted something uncomplicated and normal, if you know what I mean.

“Sure,” I finally said, indulging him with a smile. I briefly thought about Tristan and all the weird things going on in Willow that I immediately added, “I haven’t been to Hillside in a while. Do you mind if we find a nice place to eat there instead of here? We could go to a restaurant you really like. It tells me a lot about what to serve you when you’re in the bakeshop next time.”

I was not an expert flirt but over the years, I’ve had very little trouble getting guys to agree with me. It’s the face you see.  I don’t abuse it as much as my brother does but it’s handy every now and then.

Jack grinned. “Sure. I know a good place for steak there. When’s a good time for you? I’ll pick you up.”

I bit my lower lip in thought. “The only other day I have off this week is Thursday. Could we do it Wednesday night so I don’t have to worry about getting up so early for work the next day?”

“Yeah, sure. That’ll work great,” Jack nodded earnestly. “I find it’s always easier to get in on a weeknight because it’s slow.”

We swapped numbers and I gave him my address and for the rest of my shopping trip in the farmer’s market, he walked with me, picking up a few things for himself as well.

That was probably the quickest invitation to a date that I’ve said yes to but I felt good about it. Jack was good-looking, a fireman and most importantly, normal.

He walked me to my truck and promised to pick me up on Wednesday night.

I was humming a tune when I pulled into the employee parking spot behind the bakeshop. 

I always go through the front entrance to say hi to the customers but as I turned the corner, I saw Heather straighten up from leaning against her car and head towards me.

Without saying anything, I knew she was there to talk to me. I stopped and waited.

I crossed my fingers mentally and hoped she wasn’t here to ruin my Sunday.

“What’s going on?” I asked as she finally made it to where I stood. She was in a skimpy, baby blue tank top and the usual white jeans.

“I wanted to find out why Scott hung out with you during the concert,” she demanded in a low but catty voice. “He said he didn’t want to go at all and then left on his own and someone told me he was there at your booth.”

I looked at her in confusion. “Yeah, for like five minutes. He stopped by and said hi and I asked him if he was feeling better and that was it.”

I recalled he warned me about Tristan but I didn’t really want to agitate Heather further by telling her Scott was still looking out for me. 

She didn’t look convinced. “He didn’t spend the entire evening with you?”

I rolled my eyes. “No. I was there with Mary Anne and Patrick. I have no idea where else he’d been that night. That was all that I saw of him.”

She frowned deeper as if my not providing the answers she wanted annoyed her more. I wasn’t really sure why she was more disappointed that I told her I didn’t fool around with her man.

“I just want to remind you again, for the nth time, that he’s now mine, Ollie,” she said, the loathing in her voice unmistakable. “Just let him go and move on, for crying out loud.”

“She’s long moved on, I assure you,” a voice said in amusement and we both turned and found Tristan standing there in dark jeans and a moss green shirt, his golden hair gleaming under the sun. 

He sauntered towards me and slipped an arm around my waist before lowering his face to kiss me smoothly in front of what I could only imagine was a stunned Heather. 

Kiss me like you mean it, he said mentally, his teeth lightly catching my bottom lip.

Not really needing the encouragement, I closed my eyes and kissed him back.

I almost forgot about Heather if Tristan didn’t gently pull away to turn to her with a satisfied smile.

Heather was staring at us with an open mouth and disbelieving eyes.

“That should be enough proof that she is not interested in your man,” Tristan said smugly.

“Excuse me,” Heather muttered under her breath before storming away.

When she was in her car and gone, Tristan let go of me and I bit my lip to catch myself before I swayed back to his direction.

“You wanted to see me?” he asked, his hands shoving into his front pockets.

I shook my head as if to wake back up to reality and remember what it was I wanted to tell him.

“Yes but let’s talk somewhere private,” I said, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him towards the direction of the bakeshop’s back door. 

I led him to the walk-in pantry just right before the kitchen and shut the door behind us. The room was cozy but with Tristan’s towering frame, it felt like a shoebox.

He looked around at the bags of flour and big glass jars of different ingredients and smiled. “Hmm... Kinky.”

He backed me up against the wall and braced his hands on either side of my shoulder, his face leaning closer. As if last night’s silent confrontation never happened, he moved in to smell my hair, the tip of his nose nuzzling my temple.

“Tristan...” I started, putting both my hands against his chest to push him away but he only captured them with one of his own and held them there.

He pressed a tentative kiss on my lips, as if testing the water, and when I didn’t have the time to react, he followed it with a more coaxing one.

“You smell like strawberries,” he murmured between languid kisses. At the mention of strawberries, I remembered Jack and my resolution to distract myself from Tristan.

“Tristan, stop.” I finally said, pushing him away slowly. “You can’t just randomly kiss me whenever you like. I appreciate your intervention with Heather earlier but there’s no audience to fool anymore.”

He grinned. “Who said I was fooling anyone?”

I ignored his provocation and focused on the task at hand. I stepped away from him and perched on the edge of a small table by the corner. “Listen, another set of your friends paid me a visit today.”

“Friends?” he repeated, frowning. 

“Yes, they said you should be expecting them,” I added. “There were three of them—Devon, Nathan and Diana—and they said they were not bad guys but warriors of the light or divine or something like that.”

His face dawned with understanding. “The Stellars. Of course.”

“What are those?”  I asked curiously. “They didn’t look anything like the were-demons. They were very beautiful and delicate and glowing! And they tried influencing me to be calm and everything but I told them to cut it out.”

He looked surprised. “You noticed their influence? You must’ve gotten a kick out of that with Devon.”

“He wanted to ask if I knew anything about Duds Packett’s death and the were-demons.”

Tristan crossed his arms in front of his chest. “And what did you tell him?”

I shrugged. “I told them you tracked the demons down and killed them, saving my life in the process. Who were those people, Tristan, and why were they nosing around?”

“The Stellars are angel warriors,” he explained. “They essentially police the peaceful coexistence of all otherworldly creatures and humans. We were banished from the human realm several millenia ago after having caused havoc in the struggle to dominate and we had strict rules to never cross paths with humans. The problem was, humans had free will and sought out powers and creatures they only vaguely remember from a distant past, gradually integrating us back into the system. We’re all over society and have been allowed to as long as we cause no harm and keep a low profile.”

I blinked, making sure I heard him right. “Did you say angel warriors? Were those three angels? I was talking to messengers of God?”

He laughed softly. “Yes, they are angels and they are of the Divine. Which God of the many different versions this world has debated about for ages, no one knows. There is a Higher Power, a Creator, but the creations’ fates rely on the choices they make. The Stellars are only there to ensure the weak and the innocent—most of the time constituted by humans—are not victimized.”

I took all of this in, disquieted by this knowledge yet fascinated by it at the same.

“They seem to suspect you’re doing things you’re not supposed to be doing,” I told him, recalling the suggestion in Devon’s words. 

Tristan shrugged, unaffected. “They always will because I’m too neutral. I’m not here for a power trip—I’m here for money. I’m a businessman.”

“They’re interested to know why were-demons, who were banished completely from the human realm, have been let out here,” I said, getting up and slowly pacing around. “They’re going to be hanging around.”

“Nothing new,” he said with another shrug. “If they keep harassing you though, let me know. They usually stay away from humans but when they find one who knows something and is willing to talk, they milk them dry.”

I eyed him meaningfully. “They also seem to think we’re involved. Which we’re not. Can you tell them that when they come to talk to you?”

He leveled me a steady gaze. “Why does it matter? It’s not a crime if the human consents. They can’t go after you or me for that.”

“But they got it all wrong and I don’t want them to think that,” I argued, irritated by his lack of concern. “I don’t want my house to be a quick stop for anyone interested in you. I’m not supposed to know anything about any of this and I feel like I’m digging myself a bigger grave by getting closer and closer to you. I don’t want any of it.”

He was silent for a while, just studying me. 

“Is this really your wish?” he finally asked in a serious voice.

“Yes,” I answered in a heartbeat. “I want my life to be back to normal when I was blissfully ignorant of these things. I know I can’t wipe my memories clean but I don’t want to collect more secrets.”

He slowly walked to me, stopping just a foot away.

I looked up to his face and saw there was nothing there at all—not a trace of emotion.

“If this is what you want, then I I will give it to you,” was all he said before pressing a feather-light kiss on my hair, the gentleness causing my eyes to flutter close.

I knew before I opened my eyes that he was gone.

I looked around the pantry, seeing all the familiar things in it, and feeling strangely alone.