Page 86 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
Lauren nodded as she tucked her bag into a cubby. “I just need another couple of days to finish, and then it’ll be ready for the proofreader…which is slightly terrifying, because after that, it’s done. Ready to publish.”
“That’s the good kind of terrifying,” Mia said.
“It is.” Lauren beamed at her. “Now that the felony charge is behind me, I’m really excited about publishing this book. I think I’m going to set a release date after all, maybe early spring, and give it as much of a push as I can.”
“You should, and let’s plan something for your release day. Maybe the ladies from our group chat would want to come into the city and have a little launch celebration for you.”
Lauren flinched. “That feels like…a lot.”
“Really? Why?”
“I don’t know. I feel weird asking them to plan a whole trip into the city just for me?” Lauren ducked her head.
Mia tsked at that. “I think they’d love the excuse to celebrate with you, and if it’s too much for anyone, they just won’t come. You aren’t twisting anyone’s arm if you extend an invitation.”
“I’ll think about it,” Lauren told her with a hesitant smile.
“Okay. Hey, are you working at the market after you leave here this afternoon?”
“Nope. I was going to try to work on some more edits.”
“Want to do that at my place?” Mia asked. “Surely you can work faster on my laptop than on your phone.”
“Aren’t you working?”
“I’m only doing admin after lunch, which means technically, I could take my work home with me.”
“But then wouldn’tyouneed your laptop?” Lauren asked with a smile.
“Okay, smartass, I just want to hang out with you later. I’ve missed you. I’ll try to finish up early, okay?” She leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.
“Okay,” Lauren agreed. “I’ll catch up with you after my shift.”
Feeling significantly better about her day, Mia headed out to help at the counter until lunchtime. Her morning was further brightened when Josie came in for a coffee.
“My new favorite home away from home,” Josie told her. “I’m so glad this café exists and that I have time to sit and drink coffee while surrounded by rescue cats.”
Mia laughed. “I’m glad for those things too.” Although, Josie’s words made her feel guilty all over again for her recent bitter feelings toward the café. She fixed Josie’s latte and didn’t comment on the fact that she hadn’t asked for decaf. She knew better than to bring up what might be a sensitive topic if things were taking longer than she and Eve had hoped.
Josie took her coffee and a croissant and sat in the cat enclosure, where she alternated between messing around on her phone and playing with the cats, and Mia smiled when she saw her chatting with Lauren too.
By lunchtime, Lauren joined her at the counter, and Mia retreated to her office to finish her admin work as quickly as possible so she could enjoy the afternoon with Lauren. She opened her accounting software and was hard at work when Lauren came in later to retrieve her bag.
“Still want me to come up and work at your place this afternoon?” she asked.
Mia nodded. “You go on up, and I’ll be there in a half hour or so.”
“’Kay.” Lauren leaned over the desk and gave her a quick kiss.
Mia finished what she was doing and went down the hall to check in with Jordy, annoyed that she could feel a migraine beginning to throb behind her eyes. Maybe she’d go upstairs and take a nap while Lauren worked. But first, she had a quick—but important—errand to run.
* * *
Mia letherself into her apartment an hour later, bubbling with nervous excitement to tell Lauren what she’d just done. But also…her migraine had fully manifested, leaving her woozy with pain. Lauren was on the couch with her laptop, hard at work. Mia exhaled, smiling. She’d missed the sight of Lauren on her couch, writing. Her apartment felt more like home when Lauren was here.
“How’s it coming?” Mia asked as she walked to the kitchen to take her medication.
“I was just messaging with another author, actually,” Lauren told her. “I’ve met a few other indie sapphic romance authors on Twitter, and they’ve been so helpful, showing me the ropes.”
