Page 27

As predicted, the weather was perfect for a Saturday afternoon stroll through Friendship Park. Joan studied the elaborate paint job on an Asian fusion food truck done in shades of red, orange and yellow. Two rows of trucks and other mobile vendors lined the large, open greenspace. The air was filled with conversations, mouthwatering competing scents, and happy pop music playing nearby.

Sadie took a bite of her shredded chicken empanada. She’d been very patient with Joan nerding out and asking the vendors a bunch of questions. “Thanks for humoring my curiosity,” Joan said, and gave her a smile. “In retrospect, this maybe wasn’t the best idea for a first date.”

“When you said you were interested in food trucks, I didn’t know you meant, like,interested,” Sadie said, eyes widening in an exaggerated expression of fascination.

“I tried to warn you in my texts.”

“You did.”

“I’m learning a lot, so I appreciate it.”

“I don’t mind.” Sadie grinned at her. “It’s cute how excited you are.”

“Thanks.”

She looked cuter than cute with her old-school, curled red hair and 1940s-style green dress with little yellow polka dots and espadrille sandals. Her fire-engine red nails coordinated with her bright lipstick. The deep V on her dress highlighted the twin swells of her delectably more-than-a-handful breasts.

Joan took care not to drop any ground beef from her empanada on her buttoned-up, short-sleeved patterned shirt and black pants. In crowded situations, it was best to play it safe and blend in. Nobody needed to notice her. If anything, someone might stare at her bright white new kicks with red stripes.

She adjusted her black Wayfarer sunglasses—a necessity in public due to her eyes occasionally flaming up when something triggered her.

They walked past the big rock with a plaque commemorating the creation of the park. Its metal had tarnished with age, but one could still read the inscription about how a Supervillain attack had damaged the area’s buildings beyond repair. It lauded the Heroes for thwarting the worst assault in Vector City’s history.

Sadie chose a wrought iron bench beneath a large, shady tree. She set her cup of horchata between them. Joan did the same, then pulled her stash of business cards and menus from her back pocket. Mark had already scoped out the festival and texted her the names of a few specific trucks to check out. Their plan was to come back tomorrow and take extensive notes.

“So many,” Sadie teased. “The vegan truck is my favorite so far. That was the best chicken and waffles I’ve ever eaten, and it wasn’t even real chicken.”

“I’ve had their food before,” said Joan. “Everything they make is perfection.”

“My empanada’s really good,” Sadie said, poised to take another bite. “How’s yours?”

“It’s interesting. I’m trying to work out the blend of spices.” Joan munched on hers. Cumin, chili powder, a hint of oregano.

She flexed her sore hand. That arnica gel did help, but it took time to recover from smacking her gloved fist repeatedly into Catch’s facemask. That thing was made out of a lightweight but strong-as-hell material. She almost wanted to ask Darlene what it was.

Melvin.What a dick. Running away and letting someone else fight his battles for him. Unnecessary conflict was so…unnecessary. And Darlene thought all conflicts were very necessary. On the bright side, it’d caused Sadie to fuss over her. It might not be so bad to get clobbered if Sadie was there to take care of her.

Sadie smiled over her empanada. “You’re really trying to figure out those spices,” she said, laughing.

Joan blinked and refocused on her food. “Oh. Yeah. It’s rich and complex.”

“Do you want to try mine?”

“Sure.”

Sadie held hers out for Joan to take a bite. The chicken was missing one more layer of flavor. “Good, but I like mine better,” Joan said.

She offered hers for Sadie to sample. Sadie wrapped her fingers around Joan’s hand and took a small nibble. She chewed, nodded, then said, “Yours is better. I’d get one, but I have to save room for those fancy strawberry shortcakes.”

“Those look so good.”

They grinned at one another. The whole afternoon had been fun and relaxed. Sadie was really easy to talk to and joke with. Her warm brown eyes were constantly filled with good humor. Her whole vibe was so comfortable and comforting, you never wanted to leave its orbit. She was beautiful and charming and made you feel like you’d known each other your whole lives.

The way she’d fussed over Joan the other night… Plus, she’d texted every day to see how Joan was feeling. No one outside of Mark had ever done that.

And she was into learning more about Joan. Which wasn’t as bad as she’d thought it would be, since Sadie seemed to like nerdy foodies. Joan could give her nerdy foodie for days.

Ah, damn it. It wasn’t fair to pretend she worked at a fitness center. Another “gym injury” would for sure raise suspicion.