Page 2 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
Then she followed a stream of passengers out of the train and up several flights of stairs to the main part of the station. She followed signs to the subway and boarded the 3 train, which would take her to Brooklyn.
She felt a bittersweet tug of anticipation as she found an available seat, duffel bag between her feet and backpack in her lap, everything she owned crammed into a subway seat with her. It could have felt depressing, but right now, she was glad for the simplicity. Her life was portable this way, which had come in handy this past year.
And hopefully, she was here to stay. It wouldn’t be easy. She knew that. The cost of living in the city was a hurdle, not to mention her legal troubles. But she’d reserved a bed at a nearby hostel for the next two weeks and hoped she’d have something more permanent by then…assuming she wasn’t in jail.
Her stomach pitched, and she tightened her arms around the backpack in her lap. No matter what happened, she’d get through it. Life rarely went the way she’d planned, and even if she didn’t succeed this time, someday Brooklyn would be home again.
Thirty minutes later, Lauren exited the subway at Hoyt Street. As she stepped outside into the balmy August afternoon, her spirits soared as the familiar sights and sounds of her old neighborhood surrounded her.
She sucked in a lungful of air, laced with car exhaust and the candy-sweet scent of the bakery on the corner, feeling content in a way she hadn’t since she left Brooklyn last year. This place was rooted in her soul. She hoisted her duffel bag across her shoulders and set off in the direction of the Airbnb, about three blocks away.
As she walked, Lauren became distracted watching the woman in front of her. She had on a gray Oxford shirt neatly tucked into eggplant-colored pants that perfectly cupped a shapely ass, not that Lauren was looking…except she was totally looking. The woman walked with a brisk, confident stride, and well, Lauren had always been a sucker for a smartly dressed woman.
And okay, maybe it had been a long time since she’d hooked up with anyone, long enough that she was ogling a stranger’s ass, apparently. Lauren dragged her gaze up to the woman’s wavy, ash-blonde hair, which was just long enough to brush her shoulders.
Idly, Lauren hoped the woman would turn around, so she could see if she was as attractive from the front as she was from behind. As the blonde stopped to wait for the light at the crosswalk ahead to change, Lauren seized the opportunity to stand beside her and satisfy her curiosity.
She gave what she hoped was a casual glance to her left, and then her breath caught in her throat, because the woman was every bit as gorgeous from the front, but Lauren hadn’t been ogling a random woman on the street.
It was Mia.
* * *
“Mia?”
Mia Solano turned at the sound of her name, recognizing Lauren easily from the many selfies she posted in their group chat. Lauren looked just like she did in her photos, with long brown hair and an earnest smile.
“Lauren!” Mia exclaimed, pulling her in for an impulsive hug.
Lauren hugged her back. “It’s so good to finally meet you in person.”
“You too,” Mia said.
“You cut your hair. I didn’t recognize you from behind.”
Mia reached up to touch the ends of her newly shortened hair. “I did, just a few weeks ago. Part of the new me, I guess.”
Lauren nodded. “I like it. It suits you.”
“Thanks,” Mia said. “We have a fun weekend ahead.”
Lauren’s expression brightened. “I can’t wait to see everyone and watch season five.”
“It couldn’t possibly live up toSkin Deep, if you ask me.”
Lauren ducked her head with a shy smile. “I’m sureSkin Deepwas smuttier, anyway.”
Mia laughed as the light changed, and they crossed the street together. “Definitely smuttier, but it’s not just that. You wrote about Sam and Claire working together on a case that was just as complex and interesting as anything they’ve done on the actual show.”
“With your help.” Lauren walked beside Mia, wearing a black backpack with a duffel bag resting below it, like she was heading out on a long journey, not a weekend with friends.
She was more serious in person than Mia had expected. Online, Lauren was often exuberant and silly, a passionate fangirl forIn Her Defenseand Piper Sheridan, the actress who played Sam on the show. But then again, Lauren’s brother had died last month, so that was probably the reason for the sadness lurking in her brown eyes.
“I was happy to help,” Mia told her. “I love reading your work. Why so many bags?”
Lauren reached back to touch the duffel. “Oh, I’m staying here in Brooklyn after our watch party to settle a few loose ends for Craig and me.”
“I’m sorry,” Mia told her. “That must be really hard, and you don’t have any other family around, right?”
