Page 24 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
But Mia knew that Lauren had been at the café all day, so she hadn’t eaten dinner either. “Well, that’s just silly.” Mia made a shooing motion with her hand. “Go fix yourself something to eat.”
“Okay. Thanks.” With a quick smile, Lauren headed toward the kitchen.
Mia made short work of her sandwich and finished the glass of water too. Truthfully, she’d forgotten lunch today and probably hadn’t drunk enough water either, which had no doubt contributed to her migraine. As a side effect of the ulcer, she didn’t feel as hungry these days. She’d skipped too many meals since the divorce, which certainly hadn’t done her stomach any favors.
Lauren joined her a few minutes later with a grilled cheese sandwich of her own. She sat in the chair across from the couch. “Can I get you anything else?”
Mia shook her head. “I’m feeling much better, thanks to you.”
Lauren’s smile seemed to light up the whole room. “I’m glad.”
“You’re good at taking care of people.”
Lauren picked up her sandwich. “I looked out for Craig a lot when we were kids.”
Mia wondered what that had been like, Lauren taking care of her younger brother when she was still a child herself. Had she taken care of her mother too? Mia pictured little Lauren rummaging through the cabinets in her kitchen, looking for random ingredients she could use to make a meal for Craig, and her heart clenched.
“Well,” Mia said. “That might be the best grilled cheese sandwich I ever had.”
* * *
Lauren didthe dishes and cleaned up the kitchen while Mia took a shower. She was hyperconscious of not overstaying her welcome, but at the same time, she enjoyed Mia’s company, and she was glad for the chance to help her tonight. Lauren was a caretaker by nature, and it was important to her that their friendship be as balanced as possible, that Lauren didn’t take more than she gave.
She sat on the couch, and Lola hopped up beside her. She stared at Lauren with those big amber eyes and gave a plaintive meow. “I’ll ask Mia if you need food when she gets out of the shower, okay?”
The cat glared at her, and Lauren grinned. If today was any indication, cats hadbigpersonalities in those little bodies, and she was pretty smitten with them. Once she got an apartment of her own, she definitely wanted a cat. Maybe two. They were hilarious and good company too.
The shower shut off, and then the door to Mia’s bedroom closed. The bathroom had doors that opened both to the living room and the bedroom, and it was probably for the best that Lauren didn’t see Mia wrapped in a towel. She distracted herself by rubbing Lola, trying not to think of Mia getting dressed on the other side of that door. Mia was her friend. End of story.
But when she came out of the bedroom in pale blue lounge pants and a gray T-shirt, her hair loose and damp around her face, Lauren’s heart raced at the sight. Mia’s hair was darker when it was wet, accentuating her fair complexion. She’d been alarmingly pale earlier, but some color had returned to her cheeks now.
Lola leaped down from the couch and ran toward her, meowing plaintively in her high-pitched voice.
“You’re hungry, I know.” Mia gave the cat a weary smile.
Lauren stood. “I’ll feed her.”
“Thank you,” Mia said as she settled on the couch. “There are cans of food in the pantry and a blue plastic plate that I put it on for her.”
“I’m on it.” Lauren had seen the cat food while she was looking for something to feed Mia earlier, and she found the plate easily too. She emptied a can onto the plate as Lola danced around her feet, meowing. Lauren set it on the floor, giggling at Lola’s enthusiasm as she dug in. Then she stood and faced Mia. “Anything else I can do for you before I head out?”
Mia shook her head. “She’ll love you forever now.”
“That was kind of the idea,” Lauren said, still smiling as she rejoined Mia in the living room. She sat in the chair across from the couch.
“What will you do tonight? I can’t imagine relaxing in a room with strangers.”
“Oh, I’ll put in my earbuds and write fic, probably,” Lauren said.
“Well, now I’m intrigued. What are you working on?”
“Just a little post-season-five Clairantha scene, what might have happened after that kiss in the alley.” It had been on her mind since she watched the episode last weekend.
Mia’s lips curved into a slow smile. “Do I get to read it first?”
“Always,” Lauren told her. Mia had become her unofficial beta reader, checking for typos and things that didn’t make sense on pretty much everything Lauren had published.
Mia leaned back against the couch cushions and curled her feet beneath her, looking much more comfortable and relaxed than she had earlier, and Lauren was so glad to see it. “Where do you write?” Mia asked. “Do you have a laptop?”
