Page 87 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
“That’s wonderful.” Mia poured a glass of water and swallowed her pill, and then, rubbing her forehead, she sat beside Lauren on the couch.
Lauren gave her a bashful smile. “I don’t know if you saw it yet, but the ladies in our group chat are harassing me to set a release date so they can plan a trip to the city.”
“See?” Mia nudged her with her elbow. “They want to support you. Can I plan a launch event for you? Maybe we can have it at Dragonfly.”
Lauren hesitated for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”
“Consider it done.” Mia leaned in and kissed her. “Would you like me to let you work for a while?” Maybe she was stalling, nervous about Lauren’s reaction to her news, but also, it was hard to think straight with this pain throbbing behind her eyes.
Lauren smiled against her lips. “As much as I want to be distracted, I really do need to get these edits finished.”
“And I want you to finish them. Actually, I’ve got a migraine so I’m going to lie down for a bit while you work.”
“Okay. Sorry about your migraine. Anything I can do?”
Mia shook her head. “I saw my doctor earlier this month and got a new prescription that shouldn’t upset my stomach. I just took a pill, so hopefully I’ll feel better soon.”
Lauren’s expression softened. “Look at you, taking such better care of yourself than when we first met.”
“I am,” Mia agreed. “Good luck with your edits.”
She went into her bedroom, where she changed into comfortable clothes and climbed into bed. And then she lay there, listening to the clatter of keys from the living room. It was surprisingly soothing, or maybe that was just the knowledge that Lauren was here. She loved these quiet, domestic moments just as much as she loved the passionate ones.
The next thing she knew, she startled awake to the sound of a siren passing by on the street outside. She opened her eyes, surprised to see that her bedroom was bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun, but also relieved that her migraine seemed to be gone. Wow, those new pills really worked, but how long had she been asleep?
She rolled over, looking for her phone, but she must have left it in the living room. “Lauren?” she called.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” Lauren responded, appearing in the doorway. “Feeling better?”
“Much,” Mia confirmed, although she didn’t sit up, fearing the change in equilibrium might bring her headache roaring back to life. “Sorry for conking out on you.”
“Don’t be.” Lauren came to sit on the bed. “I finished my edits, and you obviously needed the sleep.”
“I like having you here,” Mia murmured, reaching for her.
“I like being here.” She lay beside Mia, rolling to face her. “And I got through my edits so much faster on your laptop.”
“That’s the first purchase you should make with all the money you’re going to earn from your book release.” Mia ran her fingers through Lauren’s hair, content with the world.
“I’ve got to pay off my editor and all that good stuff first,” Lauren told her. “Self-publishing is expensive when you’re just getting started.”
“I bet, but I predict big things for you.” Mia scooted closer so she could wrap an arm around Lauren.
“Hope you’re right.” Lauren settled against her. “I want to be realistic, though. This first book isn’t going to make me rich. From what I’m hearing from other authors, the best thing I can focus on right now is writing the next book, and then the one after that.”
“Sounds smart,” Mia said. “So have you? Written the next book, that is.”
“I’ve started the outline for it. I’m learning so much from these other authors. It’s exciting. I feel like I can really do this.”
“I’m so proud of you.” That pride filled her chest, and it spilled over into a kiss as she pulled Lauren closer. “Feel free to hang out on my couch and use my laptop anytime.”
“Thanks.” Lauren’s cheeks were adorably pink. “You’ve done wonders for my self-esteem with this book.”
“I’m glad, because I believe in it and you. And so do a lot of other people in the fandom community, so you can’t accuse me of being biased.”
“Even if youarebiased.”
“I might be now, but I read your fic before I met you, remember? And I believed in you then too. I fell in love with your words before I fell in love withyou.” They both froze as Mia’s words hung in the air between them. She hadn’t meant to blurt it out quite like that, but she didn’t want to take it back either.
