Page 40 of Secret Spark

“No,” Sadie said. “She hasn’t been in yet.”

“Did you hear about this one?” Nyah raised her pierced eyebrows at Amit. “She has a job, no pets,anda permanent residence.”

“There has to be a catch,” Amit said.

Sadie stifled a giggle.There’s a Catch, all right.

“She’s in a band. Or has some bizarre hobby.”

“She does have some ideas about opening a food truck. Good ideas. I’m brainstorming a logo with?—”

“There it is,” Nyah laughed.

Sadie narrowed her eyes. “What?”

“She’s gonna hit you up to invest in this food truck.”

“No, she’s not.”

“She’ll at least get you to do a bunch of unpaid labor,” Amit said.

“It’s just for fun,” Sadie told them. “I don’t know how serious Joan is about it. She’s gathering information and resources right now.”

She was also appreciative of Sadie’s input, and oh yeah, was aSuperhero.

Nyah shared a look with Amit and hummed an “Mm-hmm.”

“It may or may not happen. Her job keeps her pretty busy.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“You can ask her about it as long as you don’t act this weird.”

“Mm-hmm.” Nyah stepped from behind the counter to collect the dirty mugs off a nearby table.

“I assure you, this one is different,” Sadie promised them. It was so annoying to have to justify everything to her coworkers, to her friends and family. Nobody trusted her to make good decisions.

The door opened to a familiar figure. Her pulse triple-timed. Joan wore a black baseball cap and sunglasses and a collared white shirt with tiny black dots and salmon pink, straight-legged pants. Pants Sadie very much wanted to slip a hand inside and explore.

“Hey there, Joan Malone,” she all but sang. Her grin stretched as wide as the counter.

“Hi, Sadie Eagan.” Joan smiled in her sexy, self-assured way. She pulled her sunglasses off so Sadie could revel in the amber-gold of those exquisite eyes. “How’s your workday been going?”

“Good. A little busy earlier, but good.”

Joan turned to stare at the wall of windows along the front of the coffee shop. “Looks nice. You’d never know there have been so many disasters.”

Sadie glanced up through her lashes. “We had a thoughtful and generous donor.”

Amit sidled up to her, giving Joan a deep glower.

“Joan, this is Amit.” Sadie gestured between them. “Amit, this is Joan.”

Joan gave him a warm greeting.

“So Joan.” Amit studied her suspiciously. “What do you do for work?”

Joan’s eyes darted to Sadie. “I work at a gym.”

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