Page 14 of The First Spark

Why bring up such an undesirable topic?

Asher and I can’t stand the sight of one another.

It’s an intense, mutual emotion.

End of story.

Mina slides a mug of coffee to me, and I accept with a smile. “Best brew in town.”

“Spill it, Ori. What the hell happened between you and Asher? Did you sleep with him, or something?”

I sputter my drink at her unexpected inquiry. “I most certainly did not.”

“Most of the town loves the man.”

“Probably because most of the town has slept with him.”

Hey, I’m not lying. In the six months since I moved to Sparkwood, Asher Hammond’s name has danced on the tips of countless tongues like a favorite treat.

Apparently, his sexual prowess is second to none, although he never keeps company with any woman for long. I’ve lost count of the number of beautiful women who hop on the back of his Harley at closing time, speeding away into the dark.

I’ve also never seen the same woman twice.

One would thinkthatpart of his reputation would be asnoteworthy as the size of his cock, but it seems to be a non-issue.

Guess there’s no accounting for taste.

Mina snaps her fingers, a sly grin splitting her face. “See? That’s the problem. You two need to screw and release all this pent-up aggression.”

“Hard pass. Besides, he’s got his flavor of the night to do that for him.”

“Is someone jealous?”

I snort out a laugh. “Seriously? Not even close.”

“You don’t think he’s hot?”

Swinging my gaze to Mina, I peer at her over the top of my glasses. “Beauty is more than skin deep.”

“True, but Asher Hammond is damn fine.”

With a scoff, I swig down more coffee, desperate to find another conversation path. I’d rather discuss boils on the butt of an aardvark than the comely owner of Black Lotus tattoo.

“Ori, what the hell did he do to you?”

Huffing out a sigh, I realize my young friend has no intention of letting this matter drop. I get it. Since my initial meeting with Asher, relations between the two shops have been tenser than an early morning duel, and it’s trickling down to the rest of the staff.

My employees live in a battle zone, with no idea what precipitated the war.

“Fine, I’ll tell you, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Mina leans her elbows on the bar. “Duly noted.”

“Right after opening One More Page, I hosted a poetry reading. I specifically chose a day when Black Lotus closed early, because I know things can get loud over there, particularly after dark. A moot point, since music blasted fromnext door, along with a constant stream of obscenities and sexually offensive declarations. We couldn’t hear a word the poet said over the din, even with a microphone.”

“Damn.”

“Still, I’m the new girl in town, right? Must tread lightly. I walked next door and asked them to keep it down. I even brought coffee and baked goods as a peace offering, but the guy who answered the door told me to shove my goodies up my ass. He declared he could—andwould—do whatever he damn well pleased because he had Asher’s permission. When I dared argue the fact, he made a snide comment about Asher warning him about me being a prissy bitch, and that if I didn’t keep my mouth shut, Asher would personally make me sorry. Then he slammed the door in my face.”

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