Page 24 of Secret Spark

She moved slowly across the hall. Seriously, how did she getthatinjured working at a gym? Sadie lightly touched Joan’s short shirtsleeve and said, “I hope you filed a workers’ comp claim. You really got banged up.”

“It’s all part of the job,” Joan said. “How’s work going for you? Did you get your broken window replaced?”

“Yeah, it got fixed the other day. Oh, guess what? Someone anonymously gave us a huge amount of money.”

“Really? Do you think it was to cover the repairs?”

“It had to be,” Sadie said. “Why else would the Supers do that?”

Joan paused outside Sadie’s door. “The Supers?”

“We assume it’s from Lunk, since he’s the one who broke the window. Isn’t that thoughtful? I mean, you wouldn’t expect any less from the Supers.”

“So you assume it’s from Lunk.”

Sadie set a hand on her chest. “Personally, I do. Amit—my boss—thinks it was from the Supers in general. He said it’s guilt money, so he doesn’t care who it came from.”

“Amit might have a point,” Joan mumbled.

Hmm. An odd thing to say. Maybe she had some inside information…

They entered Sadie’s cozy inner sanctum. She followed Joan’s gaze straight to—whoops, the bras and panties hanging on the drying rack. “Laundry day,” Sadie said.

She gently guided her guest into the kitchen, even though the rack was still visible beside the couch. The plain C-cups were more functional for work than the pretty ones she reserved for dates.

Joan focused on the gadgets lining the counters. The espresso machine and makeshift coffee station. She zoned in on the small food processor. “Is that the newest model?”

“No, the old one. The new one’s a little bigger. I like this one because it saves space but still has a large enough capacity for what I need.”

“I have the old one too but am looking to upgrade.”

Sadie pulled her bin of bandages and various ointments from a cabinet. She found the much-used tube of arnica gel. “I’m always getting bruises from banging into stuff at the café,” she said. “This really helps reduce swelling and discoloration. You can rub it into your shoulder to help with aches and pains. Use it twice a day.”

“That’s nice of you to share,” Joan said. “I’ll buy you another one.”

“Okay.” Sadie unscrewed the cap and squirted a bit of gel onto her fingers. “Let me put some on now.”

Joan started to speak, but stopped when Sadie dabbed beneath her eye. Her fingers felt extra chilly against Joan’s warm skin. “Sorry my hand’s so cold,” she murmured.

“That’s okay,” Joan said. “It feels good.”

Sadie took a step closer to softly pat the gel. Joan was a little bit taller, so she tiptoed up to get level with the bruise. That gingery bite mixed with citrus wafted off Joan. Her mesmerizing eyes looked into Sadie’s, heating her deep inside.

“That should do it.” Sadie lowered her heels but kept her gaze locked on Joan’s.

“Thank you for fussing over me,” Joan said. “I don’t get fussed over very often.”

“Well, that’s a tragedy. Come over anytime you want to be fussed over.”

Sadie gave her a smile that said she meant it. Joan’s grin grew sheepish. She scratched her eyebrow with the bandaged hand.

Sadie touched her wrist. “All this from a coworker error. Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s just…” Joan wrinkled her nose in an unexpectedly cute move. “I stood up for something, and the guy reacted like a whiny man-baby. A client mistook the situation. I tried to smooth things over, but tripped and fell into some equipment. That’s why I’m all banged up.”

“Was it the man-baby who left the equipment in the wrong place?”

“More or less,” she said. “That was part of what I’d been trying to tell him. Safety, and what’s best for everyone.”

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