Page 5 of Secret Spark
“Just knock if you need to borrow a cup of sugar or something.”
“That’s mighty neighborly of you.”
“It’s important for new residents to feel welcome.” Sadie tipped her head to the side, conveying that Joan was a very welcome addition to the building.
Joan continued to her apartment. She paused and gave Sadie a devastatingly sexy look over one shoulder. “Goodnight, Sadie Eagan,” she said quietly.
“Goodnight, Joan Malone.”
Good night, indeed.
Sadie peeked into the hallway as she leisurely closed her door. Joan stood at her door for a moment. Was she listening? For what? A pet, maybe. Or with Sadie’s luck, a spouse. Though Joan had saidI just moved in, notWeorMy equally hot partner and I just moved in.
Joan unlocked her door and slipped inside, closing it just as fast.
Sadie flicked the lights on in her small, open-concept kitchen. It was pretty late. She’d probably have a hard time winding down and going to sleep. Not just from the ordeal at work, but from meeting a gorgeous, flirty new neighbor who lived steps away and was possibly available.
Without Lunk, she might not have met Joan tonight. The Supers had done it again. Bringing good things to the residents of Vector City whether they knew it or not.
Thanks, Lunk.
CHAPTER2
Joan yawned as she slumped onto the laminate tabletop. She propped her head up in one hand and shook her iced coffee with the other. Wrong move—the ice would melt. She used the straw to stir it instead.
Monday afternoon sunlight filtered through the cracks around the thick curtains inside the warehouse. Kind of a metaphor for her life: glimpsing bits of light wherever she could.
Mark picked up his coffee mug and sighed. He set it next to Joan. “Can you…?”
She tilted her head to give her twin brother a look. He made a pathetic face in return.
“It’s cold,” he whined.
She reached over and touched a finger just inside the maroon ceramic mug. His more-oat-milk-than-coffee began to steam.
“Thank you,” Mark drawled.
“Learn to embrace iced coffee.”
“Yeah, when you embrace a steaming bowl of chili.”
The thought would make her shiver. If she could shiver.
Joan shifted in her plastic chair with a groan. Just because it was their secret lair didn’t mean it had to be so…secret lair. A nondescript workshop that could be for a mechanic or a woodworker. Or a group of Villains staying on the down-low. The fridge hummed louder than a buzzsaw, and the faucet in their makeshift kitchen rattled every time a truck drove by. A handwritten sign above the sink declared “Keep Our Lair Beautiful! Wash your damn dishes. That meansyouIrving.”
Mark sipped his coffee, careful to use the mug’s handle. Like how Joan tried to only drink from a straw. Beverages were the worst when it came to temperature regulation.
“You’d think we’d have figured this out by now,” Mark said. “Spark and Ice, world-renowned Supervillains?—”
“Are we?”
“—can conquer any daring feat of villainy, but can’t drink coffee without it turning into room-temperature sludge.”
“The norms have the advantage there,” Joan said.
Mark reclined in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. His blond hair was in its usual polished perfection. As were his pink short-sleeved polo and tan chinos. Like he’d gotten a full night’s rest compared to Joan’s wet mess of hair, jeans and Vector City Vultures baseball shirt.
Her outfit said they’d had a tiring evening evading the Supers. But then she’d run into her cute neighbor.