Page 29 of Save a Wish

“Oh, I never meant to stay this long,” Sadie said. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Beckett.”

“Who said you were inconvenient?”

She paused in shoving all her little papers back into her tote bag, let the bag sag on her chair, and put her hands on her hips. “Can you honestly say you were looking forward to working on this with me today? Your sister volunteered you.”

I rocked back in my gaming chair. “Okay. I admit to being a little peeved at Vanessa at first for getting me into this, but you didn’t turn out to be the headache I had anticipated.”

Sadie put a hand to her chest and let out an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, such poetry.” Then she rolled her eyes, which struck me so funny because the expression didn’t seem to fit her . . . her poised demeanor.

“Hey, I never claimed to be a poet.” I put my hands up. “I’m a tech nerd, not a bard.”

“A skilled tech nerd.” Sadie resumed collecting her papers. “All that’s left for me to do is add my short biography to the website and get the word out.”

I moved back toward my laptop and hovered my hands over the keyboard. “We could pump out the bio right now. I’ve got more gas in the tank.”

“That’s all right. I can at least puzzle over that part on my own.”

Sadie had been reluctant to work on a bio with me when I suggested we do that part earlier. No photos. Not wanting to write a bio. Randomly showing up in Greenridge from I didn’t even know where.

Was she merely super private or was she hiding something?

I was about to ask her, but a little voice in my head told me not to ruin a perfectly nice day. Especially because that day was ending and I didn’t want either of our auras to darken as we parted ways.

And look at me all concerned about auras.

“Do you know that Patty has a board in Patty’s Pit Stop that advertises local stuff?” I shut my laptop and stood to walk with Sadie out into the living room.

“I do know that.” She rested her tote bag on one of the oversized chairs. “Patty invited me to put up a flyer.”

“Great. That ought to get the word out.”

She started packing up her singing bowls. I wanted to help, but now that I’d seen them, I was terrified I’d break one of them. They were so delicate and she clearly knew how to handle them.

After she zipped the cases closed, she brought them over to my front door while I carried her tote bag over.

“I had another launch idea.” And maybe I wanted her to stay a little longer.

“I’m listening,” Sadie said. “So far all your ideas have benefited me.”

I had a couple of ideas that would benefit both of us, but we weren’t ready for that yet.

Were we?

I shook my head, reminding myself again not to ruin the day.

“So we often have special events at Hartley’s Nest,” I began. “My sister and my oldest brother, Darius, run art and academic classes here. One of my sisters-in-law-to-be, Carina, will be starting a preschool here after the winter. The public comes here to use our nature trail. What I’m saying is that Hartley’s Nest is part of the community so what if you did a free mindfulness event here as a kickoff to your business? It would be a great way to showcase your services. You know, give people a taste and leave them wanting more. More they have to pay for.”

Sadie was quiet for a few moments as she chewed on her bottom lip, looking sexy as hell while she contemplated my idea.

Then I couldn’t wait any longer to get an answer from her. “So . . . what do you think?”

“I think your generosity knows no limits, Beckett Hartley.” She fiddled with the sleeve of her sweater where it rested at her wrist. “You’ve already done so much.”

“But doing an event here at Hartley’s Nest wouldn’t be me doing anything,” I said quickly. “You’d be the one doing the doing.”

She grinned. “More poetry.”

I nudged her shoulder. “C’mon. What do you say?”