Page 93 of Secret Spark

“Which should tell you how cute you were.”

Sadie kicked at a lower cabinet with the toe of her sneaker. Damn it, theywerecute together. Their relaxing mornings and walks to work holding hands had been perfect. Could they still have those? Could she have a sustainable, honest relationship with Joan?

You still think of her as Joan. Not Catch. Not Spark.

Ugh.

“Can I take my break?” Sadie said. “I need some fresh air.”

“Sure.” Amit nodded at the mostly empty coffeehouse. “We’re not swamped.”

She ambled to the supply room in the back, checking her phone. Not that Joan would—or should—call or text. But still…

Once out of the alley, she breathed in the warm afternoon air. It sucked not being able to talk to her friends and family about everything. They’d only give her the usual“Again?”Plus, it wasn’t like she could tell them the whole story.“I assumed my new neighbor was a Superhero, but no, she’s actually Spark.”

She should’ve known Joan was too good to be true. She just didn’t want to believe Joan wasn’t who she’d made her out to be.

A small group of people congregated around the convenience store on the corner. One of the walls was missing a big chunk. As a tall man stepped to the side, Flight and Lunk became visible in front of a pile of bricks and broken glass.

Flight’s red cape fluttered in the breeze. “If you go on the SuperWatch app, you can file a claim for reimbursement,” he said to the Middle Eastern man and woman beside him.

A short young white guy in a suit held up his tablet for Flight to read something. He looked familiar. Wait—he’d ran past her recently when she was walking home from work.

“Mr. Flight,” the young guy said. “We have the meet-and-greet with the garden club in thirty minutes.”

The woman storeowner gestured at the rubble. “What are we going to do about this?”

Lunk scooped up armfuls of bricks. “I can put these back.”

He set them in the hole in the building, piling the debris atop a busted produce shelf. Apples and oranges rolled and squished out onto the sidewalk.

Flight motioned to the young guy. “Ward can take your information. We do want to assure you we successfully thwarted the robbery.”

The repairs would probably cost more than what would’ve been taken from the cash register, since most people paid by credit card.

Lunk took a step toward Ward. He must be a sidekick. “Is there going to be food at the plant thing?”

“Finger sandwiches and such,” Ward said.

“But I’m really hungry.”

“You did tell them no dairy, right?” Flight said to the sidekick.

Ward’s mouth hung open. “Uhh…” He consulted his tablet.

“You know I can’t have dairy. Now we’ll have to eat before we go, just in case.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I’m pretty sure I told them, but…”

Flight turned to the storeowners. “Could we get two sandwiches? Turkey or roast beef.No cheese.”

“Can I get three?” Lunk flexed his bulging arm muscles. “I eat a lot.”

“And large diet colas. We would appreciate it.” Flight flashed a winning smile. “Thank you, citizens.”

The woman made a faint semblance of a smile. She muttered to the man as they entered the store. The man shrugged likeWhat else can we do?

Two employees began picking up the fruit and throwing it away. What an unfortunate waste. Lunk signed an autograph and posed for a photo with a giggling middle-aged white lady.

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