“My talent is saving lives. Isn’t that enough?”

“There’s nothing wrong with being multitalented,” Samiah threw over her shoulder as she started for the reception desk.

“You know there’s a sip-and-paint place not too far from your condo, right?” Taylor asked.

“They weren’t interested in beta-testing my Just Friends app. The owner of this place is at least willing to discuss it.”

That explained why Samiah had insisted they drive so far out of the way. Just Friends was designed to help people find platonic friends by matching users’ interests. Then businesses could curate one-of-a-kind experiences based on some kind of algorithm Samiah’s brilliant, tech wizard brain had developed.

“So this isn’t about finding me a hobby at all,” London surmised. “It’s about business.”

“Two birds, one stone. And don’t pretend you wouldn’t be complaining no matter what hobby we were trying out tonight.”

Samiah gave her name to the greeter at the desk and the three of them were shown to their section of the cavernous studio. Each station was comprised of a medium-size canvas on a short easel, a paint palette, several brushes of various sizes, along with wineglasses and small plates of cheese, crackers, and fresh fruit.

“Hmm,” London murmured as she picked up a strawberry. “This doesn’t look so bad. I didn’t realize it was a paint by numbers kind of thing. I can do this.”

“Places like this are more about the booze and the socializing than the actual painting,” Taylor pointed out. “But like Samiah said, maybe you’ll discover that you actually like it.” She took her seat at the easel to London’s right. “Remember, you’re the one who wanted to find a hobby.”

“Yeah, well, I may need to put the hobby search on the back burner for a while,” London said. “When we came up with our projects, I didn’t realize I would be dealing with a DEFCON 1–level crisis at the hospital. I don’t have the brain power to devote to a hobby.” She turned to Taylor. “Speaking of our projects, how are things going with—”

“Good evening.” A middle-aged woman with frizzy red hair and more freckles than Taylor could count walked up to their work area. “I’m so excited for you all to join us. Now, which of you lovely ladies is Samiah Brooks?”

“That’s me,” Samiah said, reaching out her hand. “Are you Peggy?”

“Yes, I am. I’ll be back to talk once we’re done with the class. The app you discussed sounds right up my alley. Why don’t you all enjoy your wine and snacks, and we’ll get started on our portraits in just a few minutes.”

“Psst,” London whispered once the woman left. “I say we finish off the wine and snacks and then get out of here.”