Page 83 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
“Sit tight for a minute. I’ll be right back.” Mia stood and went down the hall to her office. She tapped in the code to the safe and opened it. Sure enough, there was the bag with today’s date on it, right on top. Just to be sure, she peeked inside. All the cash was accounted for.
Mia walked back into the café. She double-checked that the front door was locked, and then she took Lauren’s hands and hauled her to her feet. “The cash is in the safe. The door is locked. Everything’s fine. Come on. You’re coming upstairs with me.”
Lauren followed her, blank-faced and silent. Her hand trembled in Mia’s. Once they were in her apartment, Mia guided Lauren to the couch. Caffeine was probably the last thing she needed right now, but a hot beverage might help warm her up. Mia turned on the coffee maker. Her kitchen was littered with the ingredients of the meal she’d been in the middle of preparing when Lauren called, and while Mia generally couldn’t tolerate a mess, right now, she was more concerned about Lauren than her cluttered countertops.
Mia made a decaf coffee for Lauren and carried a steaming mug with her as she went into the living room. She handed it to Lauren. “Talk to me. Are you okay?”
Lauren shook her head. “No,” she whispered.
Mia sat beside her. “It was just a misunderstanding. Jordy forgot you were going to close tonight, and they locked up the cash themself. That’s all it was.”
Lauren stared at her coffee mug with wild eyes. “I thought I’d lost everything. I was going to go to jail. I’d lose my job and my apartment and…andyou.”
“But you haven’t,” Mia reminded her. “Everything’s okay. Why didn’t you think I would believe you?” That was the one thing still bothering Mia. Lauren’s lack of faith in her felt like a betrayal in itself.
“I don’t know,” Lauren whispered. She sat there, quietly sipping her coffee, and Mia just held her, unsure what to say. As the minutes passed, Lauren’s breathing became more natural, and she quit shaking. When she finished her coffee, she set the mug on the table and burrowed herself into Mia’s arms.
Mia held her, feeling the warmth of Lauren’s tears as they soaked through her shirt. What a night. Mia felt like she’d been through an emotional blender, and now she couldn’t quite seem to settle.
Finally, Lauren straightened. When she looked at Mia this time, her eyes were clear and focused. “I’m sorry I lost it earlier.”
“I don’t blame you for being upset, but I wish you’d had a little faith in me.”
“It’s just…it looked bad. I’m a thief, and the cash was gone. You’d warned me not to betray you, and I didn’t even have an explanation for what had happened.”
“I barely knew you when I said that, and I also told you I had your back, no matter what. Did you not think I meant it?” Mia could hear the hurt in her words.
Lauren pushed a hand through her hair. “No…I don’t know. I guess…no one’s ever really had my back before. I’ve always had to look out for myself. When I opened that drawer, and it was empty, I panicked. I spiraled out. I couldn’t even think clearly, let alone explain myself to you.”
“You were in shock,” Mia said, gentler this time. She had no frame of reference for what Lauren must have felt when she saw that empty cash drawer. Given Lauren’s personal history, of course she had panicked.
Lauren gripped Mia’s hands. Hers still trembled slightly. “You were so amazing tonight. You were calm and rational, and you never blamed me. I wasn’t even trying to defend myself. I was being a complete idiot, and you still didn’t blame me.”
“It didn’t make sense for you to have robbed me. I was just frustrated that you wouldn’t explain yourself, and I’m sorry about that, because in retrospect, it’s obvious that you were in shock.”
“I was afraid I’d lost everything. The thought of losing you…” Fresh tears spilled over Lauren’s cheeks.
“Well, that’s not going to happen.” Mia drew Lauren against her, holding her tight. “And you did the right thing tonight, Lauren. Despite how scared you were, you didn’t run. You called me immediately, even thinking I wouldn’t believe you.”
“I’m so sorry for thinking that,” Lauren whispered against Mia’s chest. “I won’t doubt you again.”
“Neither will I.” Mia tucked a lock of hair behind Lauren’s ear. “I already trusted you completely, but tonight proved that I was right in my trust.”
Lauren lifted her head from Mia’s chest to give her a shaky smile. “And you certainly proved that you meant it when you said you had my back. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”
“Then maybe something positive came out of tonight after all. Now do you feel up to helping me salvage our dinner?”
* * *
On Thanksgiving morning,they woke together in Mia’s bed. Lauren had spent several nights here over the past week, and as much as she loved her own bedroom, nothing compared to waking with Mia snuggled against her. Somehow, they stayed nestled against each other all night, and it had become one of Lauren’s favorite things in the world.
Something had settled between them since the night of the “not robbery,” as Lauren had started calling it. Every time she remembered the way she’d felt that night—the overwhelming fear and helplessness—she saw Mia, so calm and logical as she talked Lauren through it.
Lauren wasn’t alone anymore. She had someone she could depend on, someone who would be there for her, no matter what. For the first time in her entire life, she felt trulysafe. Not just a momentary respite between crises, but a sense of peace and security she’d never imagined possible. She snuggled closer against Mia in bed.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” Mia murmured, her face half-hidden in the fabric of Lauren’s T-shirt.
“Oh, yeah.” Lauren felt a flutter of nerves at the reminder that she’d be meeting Mia’s father and his wife later today. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
