Page 44 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
Lauren’s heart lurched, because she and Piper were roughly the same age, and if Mia no longer thought Piper was too young…
“Yep, she’s hot,” Mia proclaimed with a little giggle.
“That might be the alcohol talking,” Lauren teased. “But I’m glad you’ve finally seen the light, because she issohot.”
“Agreed.” Mia took another gulp of her drink, setting the glass down hard on the table.
“Want to head out when you finish that one?” Lauren asked before Mia got any bright ideas about ordering another round. “I’ve got a frozen pizza I can pop in the oven for us when we get home.”
“Mm, pizza,” Mia said with a dreamy smile.
Lauren couldn’t help laughing, because she’d never seen Mia drunk before. Their phones were going off like crazy now as the group squealed about the new photo of Piper, speculating that she was still in LA filming her new movie. Lauren and Mia chimed in to share their excitement, even taking a selfie together with their drinks, which they shared to the group.
In the selfie, Mia looked happier and more carefree than Lauren had ever seen her. And she needed to call it a night before she became any more smitten with Mia than she already was. That warmth in the pit of her stomach every time she met Mia’s gaze said it might already be too late.
Lauren excused herself to visit the bathroom, and when she made it back to their table, Mia’s glass was empty. “Ready to head out?”
Mia nodded. She slid off her stool, swaying when her feet hit the floor. “Whoa.”
Lauren extended a hand, and Mia gripped it to steady herself. They put on their jackets and walked outside, but Lauren was starting to wonder if Mia would be able to walk to the subway on her own, because she was alarmingly wobbly in her heels. She’d had two cocktails and a shot—or had it been two shots?—while Lauren nursed two beers. Neither of them had eaten dinner yet, but if Lauren had to guess, Mia had probably only eaten a protein bar for lunch, so she’d been drinking on a totally empty stomach.
“Want me to call an Uber?” Lauren asked.
Mia waved a hand. “I’m fine.”
“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind.”
They kept walking.
“Investment portfolios,” Mia said, laughing quietly to herself.
Lauren just smiled. Drunk Mia was funny.
“She wanted to diversify my—” Mia’s heel caught in in a crack in the sidewalk, and she pitched forward. “Fuck!”
Lauren grabbed her before she went down, sliding an arm around Mia’s waist. She had lightning-fast reflexes for inebriated people after looking after her mother and Craig. Mia swayed against her. Her gaze dropped to Lauren’s lips, and the hunger in her eyes sent Lauren’s pulse whirling, becauseoh my God.
“You smell good,” Mia murmured.
“Um, thanks?” Lauren could hardly breathe with Mia looking at her like that. Warmth flooded her system, centered low in her belly, and her heart was beating so fast, she felt dizzy.
Mia leaned in. Her lips parted, and what the fuck was happening right now? Arousal swept through Lauren in a dizzying wave as Mia’s lips drew closer to hers, but…no. This couldn’t happen, not like this.
She tapped the tip of Mia’s nose with her index finger, smiling gently. “You’re drunk.”
It had the desired effect. Mia dropped her head against Lauren’s shoulder with a laugh. “I am.”
“Let’s get you home.”
“Mm,” Mia murmured as they started walking again.
Lauren kept her hand on Mia’s waist to steady her, trying not to notice how warm she felt pressed against Lauren, even through the layers of their clothes, or the way the side of her breast rubbed against Lauren as they walked. Nope. Definitely not thinking about it.
“You take such good care of me,” Mia mumbled when Lauren’s hand tightened around her waist, saving her from yet another stumble.
“Just being a good friend,” Lauren deflected, because she couldn’t think straight while Mia was pressed so close. The look in her eye when Lauren had thought she was about to kiss her…Fuck.She’d never dared to imagine Mia looking at her that way, especially after she’d flirted her way all over Brooklyn today.
In fact, that was probably why she’d looked at Lauren like that. She’d been on her first date today. She’d flirted with a woman at the bar and gotten her number, and she was on a high from it. Not to mention, she was completely trashed.
