Page 1 of Big Bad Alphas

CHAPTERONE

EMILY

Istifle a yawn as the bell above the door rings, signaling a new customer has arrived. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I straighten my shoulders and paste a smile on my face as I turn around.Just a few more hours, and then I can relax with a new book before bed.

I’ve been at my bakery since four this morning, and I’m ready to head home for the day. Unfortunately for me, I still have three hours before I close up.

“Hey, Rya! How’s it going?” I ask as I see my old tenant come in.

Rya used to live in the apartment above the bakery, but she met her boyfriends a month ago and moved in with them. I miss her staying up there, but I’m glad that she’s happy now. Plus, I still see her every day when she comes in for her usual hot chocolate and cinnamon roll. She claims it’s a pregnancy craving, but she was getting them at least once a week, even before she was pregnant.

“Pretty good. It’s so nice outside,” she says, smiling as she looks back at the sun shining through the front windows. Rya has always been gorgeous, but she’s absolutely glowing today. It’s not hard to see why.

“I know. I’m sad that I can’t go enjoy it yet,” I tell her as she approaches the counter.

“You’ll be closing up soon. It will still be gorgeous out then, too,” she assures me.

“I hope so. What can I get you? The usual?” I ask her, and she laughs.

“Yes, please.”

I look over to Gage, one of her men, and he shakes his head.

“Nothing for me.”

I smile, nodding as I get Rya’s order ready. She always comes in with at least one of her guys. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit thrown off by Rya choosing not one, not two, but three hulking men as her partners in life. I’m beyond thrilled for her, though, especially since all of her men dote on her and treat her like the princess she is. It’s obvious that Rya is the center of their whole universe.

A pang of jealousy hits me, but I try to ignore it as I heat up her cinnamon roll. Everything Rya has with her men is what I want. Not the men themselves, of course, but I want someone to take care of me for once. I want someone who is excited to see me, someone I can trust and share everything with.

You don’t have time to date anyway;I remind myself as I start on the hot chocolate.

I just moved to town a couple of months ago, and I’m still getting my bakery established and up and running. I need to focus on my business so that I can afford things like food and my mortgage.

Even if I could date right now, bakery hours would probably derail that. I’m awake before anyone else is and asleep by the time most people are getting ready to go out for the night.

I need to be up and at the bakery to start preparing everything for the day by four in the morning, and then by the time that I close up and relax for a little bit, it’s time for me to go to bed.

“Here you go,” I say, passing the treats over to Rya.

“Thanks. They smell so good,” she gushes, and I smile.

That’s what I love to hear. I started baking with my grandma when I was just a kid. Those were some of the happiest times of my life, and it’s why I decided to start my own bakery. It was my way of honoring the woman who raised me.

I was the result of a one-night stand, and my mom… well, she wasn’t cut out to be a mother. She left me with my grandma one day and never came back. I tried to look for her, but after a while, I figured that if she didn’t want me, then I didn’t want her in my life either.

“See you tomorrow!” Rya says, and I smile.

“See you!” I call back.

I watch as Rya and Gage walk off, and sadness crashes over me like a wave.

My grandma made up for my lack of parents, and I loved her more than anything. She was my biggest supporter, always cheering me on with whatever I wanted to do. I remember telling her I was interested in painting one day, and I came home from school to an art studio in our living room. We laughed and tried to paint for hours that night. Turns out that I’m a terrible artist, but we had a blast.

She was always like that. When I wanted to learn to ride horses, she signed me up for lessons. Over the years, I’ve tried several different dance classes, art classes, archery, swim classes, pottery, golf, and yoga, but none of it stuck. Nothing except baking. I’ll always be grateful to her for giving me those opportunities and getting to try so many different things.

I wipe down the bakery case, trying to get lost in a mundane task so I don’t let the loneliness overwhelm me. She should have been here to see this.

My grandma passed away a couple of months ago and left me a small sum of money and a letter. She told me to go out and make our dream come true. We had been talking about opening a bakery together for as long as I can remember. We would debate color schemes and menus, locations, and décor. We landed on an eighties theme since we both used to love listening to that music when we baked together.

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