Page 49 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
And hopefully, he was right. Hopefully Mia would find that kind of happiness again too. She imagined Lauren here in the kitchen with them. Her dad and Addie would adore Lauren. And obviously Mia’s head was still a mess where Lauren was concerned.
She didn’t even know if Lauren was attracted to her, but shedidknow taking that step risked their friendship. It would be so much easier and safer to rebound with someone else. She’d keep dating until she found that someone. She could do it. She would.
14
As September became October, Lauren settled into her new routines, working at the café and the market. She was still staying with Mia, and it had been pretty seamless so far. Mia had gone on alotof first dates, but only two second dates, and she’d maintained that she wasn’t ready to bring anyone home with her, even if Lauren hadn’t been there.
Lauren couldn’t help her relief each time Mia came home to relate yet another boring or disastrous date. She knew she should be rooting for Mia to find someone, both because Mia deserved it and because it would help Lauren get over her. But it hadn’t happened—yet—and Lauren wasn’t exactly sad about it.
Mia hadn’t shown any interest in her since that one night when she got drunk, but Lauren’s infatuation seemed to grow by the day, and it was getting harder to ignore. Sooner or later, something would have to give. She had an appointment to see a room for rent tonight, and if it worked out, it might solve at least one problem for her.
Lauren’s court date had been bumped again, now scheduled for November 18th. It felt like a storm cloud looming on the horizon, a constant threat that never seemed to arrive. She couldn’t fully move forward with her life until the charges against her were dropped or she served her time, and she hated being stuck in this limbo, especially as she watched Mia move forward without her.
“Hi, Lauren.”
She spun at the now-familiar voice to find Darius entering the cat enclosure with a coffee cup in his right hand. “Darius, how are you?”
“Good, good.” He sat at the table nearest to the cat tree where Gilbert was napping. He snapped his fingers, and the cat lifted his head. “I think today’s the day when you get to say, ‘I told you so.’”
“Really?” Lauren nearly clapped her hands with glee. Over the last month, she’d watched Darius and Gilbert bond, but he hadn’t been ready to make it official, until today…hopefully.
Darius nodded as Gilbert hopped down and walked over to rub his head against Darius’s hand. “You were right. He’s the one. I’m glad I got the chance to spend time and get to know him here at the café. I think that will make it easier for both of us once I bring him home.”
Now Lauren did clap her hands together. “This is the best news. Oh, I’m so thrilled for you both.”
“Thanks.” He smiled, looking at his soon-to-be cat. “What’s the next step? I need to fill out an application, right?”
“Yes, and it won’t be official until your application is approved, but I can tell you unofficially that we don’t have any other applications pending for Gilbert. As long as your information checks out, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Perfect.”
Lauren fetched the tablet that they kept in back so he could submit his application directly to the rescue. “You should hear back in a day or two, and if all goes smoothly, you could bring Gilbert home by the end of the week.”
“Sounds like it’s time to go shopping for cat supplies,” Darius told her.
“Yep. Kelsey’s going to be so surprised.”
Darius smiled broadly. “I can’t wait to see her face when she meets him.”
After his application had been submitted, he stayed to visit with Gilbert for a little longer while Lauren rushed back to Mia’s office. She found her tapping away at her computer, lips pursed in concentration and looking ridiculously sexy in the process.
“Darius decided to adopt Gilbert,” Lauren blurted breathlessly.
Mia looked up, smiling. “Oh good. Gilbert’s been here longer than any of our other cats.”
“I’m so happy for him.” Lauren pressed a hand to her chest, tears welling in her eyes.
“You’re going to miss him, aren’t you?” Mia’s tone was sympathetic. “It’s hard when they get adopted.”
“No, that’s not it.” Lauren swiped at her eyes. “I’m glad to see him go home with Darius. I just—” She cut herself off, not wanting to ruin the moment by unloading her messy emotions all over Mia.
“You what?” Mia pressed. “Talk to me.”
Lauren blew out a breath, wiping away a tear that had escaped her overflowing eyes. “I think…as a foster kid who never got adopted, it just really fills my heart when they go home, especially the ones who were hard to place.”
“Oh, Lauren.” Mia stood and came around her desk, wrapping Lauren in a warm hug.
Lauren held on to her, breathing in Mia’s scent as her tears receded. “I’d never thought about working in animal rescue before I took this job, but it’s such a good fit for me.”
