Page 48 of The First Spark

And she was my every fantasy come to life.

Grabbing my coffee, I stand up and offer Mina a mock salute. “I’d better get back, but thanks for ordering that book. Let me know it comes in.”

“Will do. See you guys at the festival.”

Thank God. A truly benign topic.

Our holiday festival is an outdoor street fair hosted every year by the powers that be in Sparkwood. Yes, outdoors. In winter. In upstate New York.

While the residents of Sparkwood know how to have fun, no one ever accused us of possessing a lick of common sense.

“Absolutely. Wouldn’t miss that tradition.”

Mina grins at me. “Ori thinks we’re all nuts for hosting a festival outside in the freezing cold.”

“Maybe we can convince her otherwise.”

“Maybeyouhave a better chance of that,” Mina replies, her eyes crinkling with thinly veiled amusement. “I have to ring up a customer.”

Do I let Mina have the last word? Yes, because if she’s anything like her boss, she’s got an arsenal of comebacks at the ready.

Of course, no one has a mouth like Oriana Thorne.

No one.

For the first time, I leave One More Page as a friend. This concept should reassure me, but I’m more confused than ever as questions swirl in my brain.

How many men have asked Ori out? How many offers has she accepted? How long until a man does swoop in and yank her from the market?

And why the fuck do I care so much?

I replay last night’s events over and over until I’m so tangled up in emotions that I’m tempted to pick the lock to Ori’s office and await her return.

Then, I’ll take exactly thirty seconds to sink inside her and finish what my brother interrupted this morning.

Not her type, my ass. I’ll make her beg for more, all the while screaming my name.

Leave it alone, Ash. Better yet, leave her alone.

Yep, that’s the safe option.

And yet, it feels like the worst choice imaginable.

Chapter 10

Burning Boundaries

Ash

“S

ign there and there.” Kiki slides the paperwork across the table to me, motioning to the two lines requiring my signature.

A new lease, allowing me to move ahead with my speakeasy plans.

I scan the agreement, noting Ori’s signature already in place. Her penmanship is feminine but with a quiet power. A surety in every stroke.

Delicate but deliciously dangerous.

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