Page 92 of At First Spark
I glance at Lark to find she’s still watching. Still silent. She hasn’t stepped back. Hasn’t tried to soften what she said or take any of it back. Most people would. Would’ve already found a way to make it easier. Less complicated. But she doesn’t.
She just stands there likeshematters. And somewhere between Nolan talking and everything else that just happened something in me locks into place. Not a decision. Not something I think through. But something simpler than that.
I’m not stepping back from her. Doesn’t matter how complicated it gets. Doesn’t matter what it costs. I’m not walking away from this.
“She’s doing it,” I say again.
“She won’t if this keeps going.”
“This…”
I let the word hang.
“Yeah,” Nolan says. “This.”
Something in my chest shifts.
“You don’t get to decide what this is,” I say.
“I do if it affects the job.”
“It doesn’t.”
“It will.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know her.”
That’s the first time his voice sharpens, just slightly.
Something about that—about the way he says it—pushes something deeper in me than I expect.
“Do you?” I say.
Nolan doesn’t back down.
“Yeah,” he says. “I do.”
The air tightens further. Everything narrows down to the space between us.
One more step…one more word…and this turns into something else. Something worse. Something physical.
I feel it, right there at the edge.
“Okay.”
We both turn. Hadley leans in the doorway like she’s been there long enough to catch everything that matters and not a second more. Her arms are crossed, expression sharp. Entirely unimpressed.
Bailey stands just behind her, one hand resting lightly on the doorframe, her gaze flicking between Nolan and me with quiet awareness.
Lila is off to the side, posture relaxed but watchful. Ivy stands just behind them. Still. Quiet. Taking everything in.
The room shifts again, differently this time. Not just from tension.
Hadley pushes off the frame and steps inside. Her shoes hit the floor with quiet certainty as she crosses the room, her gaze never leaving Nolan.
“And you are,” she says, “standing in her family’s space, talking like you’ve got a vote.”
