Page 151 of Catching Sparks

Johnny shrugs Wade’s comment off. “She will be.”

“Were you planning on winning her over by raiding the back of a Lammles?” Brody teases.

Anna offers Johnny a sweet smile. “Ignore him. He’s just jealous because he couldn’t find his favourite belt buckle this morning and now has to perform tonight without it.”

“Rory isn’t here, anyway. Wish she was—I’d love to show her a damn good time out here,” Johnny says.

Anna flashes a sympathetic smile. “I don’t really think this kind of thing is her style. Before I got to know all of you, I’d have avoided a place like this.”

I shift closer to Garrison and step into the space between him and the fence. Almost on instinct, he wraps his arm around me and holds me there, his hand branding my hip.

“Garrison was excited to come today. Weren’t you?” I ask, tilting my head to meet his waiting stare.

“More intrigued than excited.”

“Bullshit. You’ve been textin’ me askin’ all sorts of questions all week. You were excited,” Brody calls my man out.

Garrison glares at him. “You’re a tattletale, Brody Steele.”

“Guilty as charged.”

“A bunch’a children,” Wade scolds, but there’s no weight behind it. “At least you look good in those shirts.”

Someone catches Johnny’s attention from a crowd over, and he darts in their direction. The social butterfly knows someone everywhere.

“You’re a sweetie, Wade,” I sing, blowing him a kiss. “Where’s Eliza? I’ve been wanting a hug.”

At the mention of his wife, Wade’s eyes light up. My chest warms at the love there.

“I have a gut feelin’ Bryce has convinced her to get a tattoo at one of those pop-ups.”

Garrison breathes a laugh while I snort.

“Yeah, that tracks,” I muse.

“At least a tattoo is better than you three convincin’ her to try out one of your damn pole classes.” He shakes his head at me. “She’s damn excited, and I expect y’all to take care of her.”

I lift a hand to my heart. “You’ve got my word, Papa Steele. Your woman is safe with us.”

“Speaking of pole,” Anna says, leaning her head back against Brody’s shoulder. I spot her soft brown hat in his hand and smile. “Have you heard from that studio you were interested in?”

The first studio space for my hopeful Beautifully Bold expansion. My stomach explodes in a fit of excitement.

“Yes. I meet with the bank on Wednesday about the loan,” I answer giddily.

“There’s still time to cancel it. I was serious about helping,” Garrison murmurs, quiet enough that only I can hear him.

Keeping my voice at the same volume, I say, “You’re still not going to win this argument, babe.”

He was adamant on helping financially when I first brought up the studio space I found, but I want to do this on my own. Just like I did the first time. If I ever need help down the line, I know he’d be there to catch me, but right now, I want to do it alone. It’s not a pride thing so much as it is a confidence thing.

I know I can do it. I have complete faith in myself, and even though he’s offering to help, I know he has that same faith in me.

Anna’s grin is infectious, and I find myself returning it. My best friends have done so much for me over the past month, many things I’ll never be able to repay them for.

Beautifully Bold was closed for the first week while I was gone and looking for someone to take over the instructor position left empty in my absence. But as I was preparing to keep it closed for far longer than a week, I had one of the women from class reach out, and from there, I learned that she was interested in potentially filling that spot.

She comes to Calgary next week for training—hopefully in my new studio—and I’m feeling incredibly hopeful. Everything is falling into place, and it’s like something out of a dream.

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