Page 68 of Caught in the Middle

“Yes. This was a good choice,” Emma declared, sneaking a few chips.

“Back to you though. Was it Cam putting that smile on your face a second ago? I feel like you’re always smiling and happy when he’s around.”

Emma ducked her head, having hoped she’d avoid the earlier question. At least she’d tried. “It’s silly, really.”

“What was it?”

“Just a text.”

“Of?” Lauren prodded.

Emma laughed. “It was nothing. Literally a smiley face, that was it.”

At first, Lauren stared at her like she was processing it, then she burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard,” she exclaimed.

Emma’s face scrunched up. “What? No, it isn’t. There’s nothing even cute about it.” But Lauren was still laughing. “I don’t get what’s so funny.”

The other woman finally pulled herself together and took a sip of her coffee before responding, all the while Emma found herself thinking how only coffee was worth drinking hot during the summer.

“I think it’s adorable is all,” Lauren finally replied. “You’ve never been so smitten with anyone before. By the smile on your face, I had thought maybe he was texting you sweet nothings or something and it turned out he was legit sending you a sweet nothing.” She started to laugh again, but this time Emma joined her, more so because Lauren’s was contagious.

Then Emma took another bite of her sandwich as she thought. “You really think I'm that smitten?” It’s not like Lauren knew the truth, and although most of what she’d seen had been their acting, Emma couldn’t help but feel like her friend was maybe witnessing more than they’d meant for her to. Based on last night, it was clear she and Cam had a lot more going on beneath the surface than a fake dating scheme to protect her pride.

Lauren was giving her a look to suggest that was the most absurd question she’d ever heard. “Absolutely. It’s written all over both of your faces.”

“Really?” She found that curious. Did Henry think that too? Could they be that good of actors or were they only fooling themselves? Emma picked up her coffee to take a drink.

“Oh gosh yeah,” Lauren replied. “Have you two said ‘I love you’ yet? Because he looks like he could drop those three little words on you any second.”

Emma choked on the liquid, feeling part of it seep down her chin as she began coughing and trying to clear her throat. Lauren looked at her with alarm, handing her napkins from across the table.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m good,” she managed. “All good.” She coughed a couple more times, now aware of the brown stains on her light shorts. That was the last thing she was worried about though as Lauren’s words still rang in her ears. I love you. Why would she think they would be saying the L-word to each other? They just met. Not that Lauren knew that.

“That’s the worst when that happens,” Lauren said, assuming her drink went down the wrong pipe.

“No kidding. Quite unexpected,” she monotoned, then corrected herself. “But no, we’ve not said that to each other yet.”

Her friend wiggled her brows at her. “I think he does, you know. Love you. It’s written all over his face.”

Emma decided to forgo the rest of her drink until they were off this subject.

“Do you feel that way?” she asked Emma.

“Do I love him?”

“Yeah.”

Emma hesitated. “It’s still really new.”

Lauren frowned. “It’s not that new. Besides, sometimes when you know you know.”

She shrugged. “I guess, but still…”

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