Page 103 of Power Play
Mia grins. “So do you.”
“Shhh. No one needs to know that.”
I glance down at my hands, where my fingers are picking at a thread in my jumper.
“Have you told him?” Mia asks softly.
“Told him what?”
“That you’re scared.”
I exhale. “He knows. He always seems to know.”
Mia stands and comes over to sit beside me, bumping her shoulder against mine. “Then maybe stop trying to out-run your own happiness and let yourself enjoy it for five minutes.”
I lean into her. “Is this what mature emotional growth feels like? I don’t like it.”
“It’s disgusting, isn’t it?” she deadpans. “Next you’ll be meal planning.”
“I draw the line at meal planning.”
“Uh-huh.”
We both laugh, the kind of laughter that comes from years of knowing each other’s faults and still showing up anyway. It’s the best kind.
I dig into my bag and pull out my phone. “Want to see a photo?”
“Obviously.”
I scroll through until I find it, the one of me and Murphy standing in the flat’s living room, grinning like idiots. He’s got one arm around my shoulders and I’m pointing at the giant window as if I discovered electricity.
Mia studies it, her smile soft. “You look happy.”
“I am. God help me, I really am.”
She hands the phone back. “Then go for it. Stop questioning it to death and let yourself have this.”
“I’m going to be insufferable, aren’t I?”
“Oh, one hundred percent. But you already were.”
We both dissolve into snorts.
After work, I head over to Murphy’s. He’s sprawled on the sofa in trackies and a hoodie, flipping through delivery options.
“Thai or Indian?” he asks without looking up.
“Whichever one lets me drown my feelings in carbs.”
He pauses, eyes narrowing. “That’s a worrying statement. Are we okay?”
I toss my coat onto the chair and drop beside him. “We’re good. I just had an emotionally productive day and now I need rice.”
He wraps an arm around me. “I like emotionally productive Sophie. She’s hot.”
“You say that about me in all moods.”
“True. You’re wildly attractive when you’re yelling at parking meters.”
