Page 35 of To the Moon and Back

Carly leaned in and squeezed Lauren’s hand across the table. “Me,too.”

Lauren stole a bite of the cheesecake they shared and sank intoglory. Clearly, it was sent from an army of angels on a mission from heaven.“Oh, Carly. Here. You gotta try this.”

“Yeah?” Carly asked. She had this way of smiling sometimes thatwas actually more half a smile. One side of her mouth would pull, revealing thedimple on her right cheek, and it was the sexiest thing. Lauren had seen it atrehearsal, midscene, but seeing it now for her benefit came with a whole newlevel of appreciation. Lauren couldn’t resist. She prepped her fork withanother bite and held it out to Carly, who smiled and moved in. Watching hereat that decadent dessert was downright erotic. Her lips pulled away from thefork slowly, and she sank into wonder and enjoyment once the cheesecake hit hertaste buds. Lauren blinked, imagining her in the throes of another brand ofpleasure, which made her uncomfortable in her own chair.

“Amazing,” Carly said and dabbed her mouth with her cloth napkin.

“It really was.” They stared at each other, and Lauren swore thetemperature in the room doubled.

“I didn’t get to see much of your place,” Carly said, finally.Lauren was an adult and knew the implication. She didn’t hop into bed easilyand wasn’t sure she was ready, even with the surprising feelings she alreadyhad for Carly. Okay, the lust factor wasn’t helping her keep a clear head,either. Carly must have picked up on her hesitation. “But we can just hang out.I don’t want you to think that I’m trying to seduce you.”

“I like you a lot. Let me emphasize thea lotpart.”

Carly grinned. God, she had the best smile when she responded tosomething that made her genuinely happy. This particular smile was different thanthe others, the ones that were polite, or friendly, or fun-loving. “I like you,too. I want to keep liking you.”

“Then, yes, come see my place, and hang out,” Lauren said.

Their bill arrived and Carly snatched it up. “I’d like to pay forthis one.” She opened the leather portfolio and deflated. “Already taken careof.”

Lauren quirked an eyebrow. “They comped the check because you’reCarly Daniel? Does that happen a lot?”

Carly looked forlorn. “Yes. But I was hopeful it wouldn’t tonight,outside LA. I really wanted to buy you dinner.” Anguish flashed in her eyes.“That’s part of this.”

“This?” Lauren squinted. “You’ll have to explain.”

“You know.” Carly stared hard, like it was apparent. Finally, shelifted a shoulder. “The wooing.”

“Oh. The wooing.” A pause. Lauren frowned and had to run that byherself again. “You’re wooing me?”

“I was trying. How’s it going? Be honest.”

Just when Lauren thought Carly couldn’t get any cuter, she got aneager look on her face that made Lauren want to kiss all over it. Instead, shemaintained her composure. “I suppose, on evaluation, I would say it’s goingwell. There were flowers, doors opened, and now an attempt at paying the bill.Yes, now I can see the wooing quite clearly.”

Carly leaned in. “Sorry for the epic check failure. Next time,it’s on me. Trust me. I’m good for it.”

Lauren nearly spat out her Baileys. “I’ve heard that somewhere. Ohyes, I think it wasFortunemagazine.” Underneath her amusement, Lauren was beginning to understand thatCarly had a very specific idea of what would impress her, when really, all sheneeded was a nice night out with Carly, talking, laughing, stealing glances.The kind of date they were having truly fed her soul. “You know what, though?You don’t have to woo me. I’m happy to just sit with you.”

Carly exhaled. “Good. Wooing is hard. You have to think severalsteps ahead, which I must admit, has never been my strong suit.” She glanced atthe door. “Shall we get out of here?”

Lauren nodded. Once they hit the parking lot, it was clear a coldfront had moved in. She scrunched her shoulders to her ears and took Carly’shand in hers. Whoa. How was it that they fit together so effortlessly, as ifthose hands had been holding each other for a long time now?

“Hey, Carly D, marry me!” a man yelled from the window of apassing SUV. Carly ignored him, focusing entirely on Lauren, and when Carlyfocused on someone, it felt like they were the most noteworthy person on theplanet. Lauren felt that way now.

It wasn’t a long drive to Lauren’s place, but now that the sun wasdown, it was getting colder by the minute. They were expecting rain that night,and Minneapolis was ready to introduce Carly to its infamous lowertemperatures. Carly’s jacket was light at best, and she seemed to cling to itfor dear life. Lauren cranked the heat and placed a hand on Carly’s knee. “Youokay?”

“Just getting used to what September can feel like here. I’m notin California anymore, Toto.”

“That’s for sure. Do you miss it?”

Carly nodded. “Would you want to visit me there sometime?”

Lauren took in the question. She hadn’t imagined that whateverthis was would extend beyond the here and now of the show. Like it or not, sheknew the game. She saw the showmances crop up, and she saw them recess as soonas the show closed. Everyone moved on to their next project. Sometimes, theinevitable breakup left one of the two heartbroken. That was the hard part.“Could be fun,” Lauren said, keeping it vague, guarding her heart, butunderneath thinking how much fun it would be for Carly to show her around LA.She decided to amend her answer. “I’d like that.”

The temperature seemed to have dropped even more as they madetheir way up Lauren’s walk.

“Holy hell full of icicles and frozen witches.” The first coldfront of the season was not messing around, but Carly was also a bit hyperbolicin her reaction.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Lauren said. “You’re kind of a baby.”

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