Page 94 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
“Yes,” Lauren gasped. “Really? But yes!”
“Really.” Tears shimmered in Mia’s eyes. “I know this isn’t the most romantic proposal, but I just love you so much, and there was so much happy news today, and I just…I want that for us. I want all of it.”
“A family?” Lauren’s heart clenched as tears rolled over her cheeks. She’d barely dared to dream of having a family of her own when her life was such a mess, but now…
Mia nodded. “If you want that too. I’d love to start a family with you.”
“Yes.” Lauren nodded, crying in earnest now. “I want that so much.”
Mia cupped her cheeks, drawing her in for a kiss, and then she dropped to one knee. A woman passing by on the sidewalk exclaimed, “Oh my God. Congratulations!”
“Lauren Booker, you are the love of my life. Because of you, I feel content and fulfilled and so excited about everything the future will bring. I promise to take you ring shopping tomorrow, but until then, please accept this kiss as a token of my love.” She pressed her lips against Lauren’s ring finger.
“Oh my God, Mia…” Lauren rested her free hand against her heart. “You’re wrong. That was the most romantic proposal ever. I can’t wait to marry you. We’re going to be so freaking happy.”
Mia looked up at her with a radiant smile. “We already are.”
THANK YOU FOR READING!
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Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for readingShe’ll Steal Your Heart! I hope you loved Lauren and Mia's story. This will be the last book in the Midnight in Manhattan series, so I couldn't resist checking in with all the previous couples and giving everyone a little HEA after their HEA. I hope you enjoyed seeing where their lives have taken them.
If you’re new to the series, the first book,Don’t Cry for Me, is where we first met Josie, Eve, and the theater kittens. The second book,It’s In Her Kiss, is Jules and Sophie’s story of star-crossed love on Broadway. And the third book,Come Away with Me, sends Piper and Chloe on a jet-setting adventure to love.
Sign up for my newsletterfor exclusive news and giveaways and receive a free copy of my sapphic short story,Off the Rails,just for subscribing. If you enjoy chatting about books, I’d love for you tojoin my reader groupon Facebook. It’s a great place for us to stay in touch, and I often ask for help naming upcoming characters and pets plus lots of other fun reader group exclusives.
Hope to see you there!
Rachel Lacey
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book has been a long time coming. As I was writingDon’t Cry for Meback in 2019, Lauren was supposed to be the villain, a throwaway character who would never be seen again, but she caught my attention. I could see her backstory, and I knew I wanted to redeem her, but I’d already plottedIt’s in Her Kissand was ready to write it, so I decided I’d tell Lauren’s story in book 3.
Originally, it was going to be a cop-thief dynamic in which Mia would be the detective assigned to Lauren’s case. They would be online fandom friends but enemies in real life, and I was pretty excited about that concept. I’d always wanted to write an online friends/real life enemies book, vaguely inspired by the dynamic inYou’ve Got Mail, after all.
Then covid happened, along with a lot of unrest in the United States about police brutality and institutionalized racism. For many reasons, it wasn’t the right time to write a book about an NYPD detective…or a book as emotionally dark as what I had originally planned. I put Lauren’s book on hold while I decided how to move forward.
In the meantime, I had the opportunity to pitch a book to Montlake, and on a whim, I pitched a sapphicYou’ve Got Mail, which becameRead Between the Lines, so…there went the online friends/real life enemies aspect of Lauren’s book. I had no idea if I could make a new book out of what was left. I began to wonder if I should shelve Lauren’s book all together.
As a longtime fangirl myself, I’d always envisioned that Lauren and Mia would be online fandom friends before they met in real life, brought together by their love of a television show. I also knew that I might later write the story of the actress who starred in that show, so that I could tie in Lauren’s fanfic.
As I scrambled to write my first book during lockdown, I decided to flip the order and write Piper’s story first. While I was writingCome Away with Me, I knew they were reading Lauren’s fanfic. And through that process, I discovered what Lauren and Mia’s new story would be. And you know what? I love it so much more than all the other versions I had considered along the way! This is how their story was meant to be. It’s so much softer, and they just make me so happy.
As you probably know by now, I often let readers choose and name the pets in my books. ForShe’ll Steal Your Heart, I owe thanks to Jennifer Kridler who allowed me to honor her late cat, Gilbert, with a storyline in this book. Jennifer, I hope you enjoyed seeing the fictionalized version of Gilbert on the page. Thanks also to Nancy Holten for naming Chaos and Mayhem – they were a blast to write!
Thanks as always to my family for being so supportive of my often unpredictable and demanding schedule. Also thank you to my critique partner, Annie Rains, for providing invaluable insight during an early draft of this book, and to my editor, Linda Ingmanson, for bringing it all together.
I am endlessly grateful to every reader, blogger, reviewer, and friend who has supported me along the way, whether it’s by reading one of my books, leaving a review, following me on social media, or sending me a Tweet or an email. Your support means more to me than you could possibly know!
xoxo
Rachel
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