Paige cut Lauren off with a hug. “I’m so happy for you.”
Lauren laughed softly and hugged Paige back. “Thank you. I mean, we planned it, and I’m still kind of adjusting to the news.”
“I didn’t know you even wanted kids.”
“Turns out I do. It was a surprise to me as well, but once Caleb and I started talking about it, suddenly I really wanted a baby. I can’t explain it.”
“Well, I’m thrilled for you, then.”
“Thanks. Don’t tell anyone. I want to do it myself.”
“Of course. And I can clean the cat boxes, or the staff and I can make some kind of schedule.”
“Okay. I mean, it’s a different scale than just cleaning out Bianca’s box and you have to do it twice a day here. I didn’t like having anyone do it because it is a fairly gross job. But if you guys divide it up, it’s not so bad.”
“Have you been doing it yourself the last few weeks?”
“No. Caleb does it whenever he comes over here, but he’s getting grumpy about it and keeps mumbling about not being on my payroll.” Lauren grinned. “I told him the staff could take care of it.” She looked at the sofa. “Well, this is as hair-free as it will get. You want to close this down and then split the last muffin with me?”
“Sure.”
As they finished cleaning, Mr. Willoughby tried to make a break for it, but Paige deftly caught him. After giving him a few extra pets and watching him settle in for a nap on the sofa, she and Lauren closed down the cat room. Then Lauren grabbed a paper bag from the counter, which had already been cleaned. The bag turned out to hold the lone blueberry muffin that was the only pastry leftover from the day.
“The cinnamon chip muffins from Pierre’s have been a big hit lately,” Lauren said. “And the carrot cream cheese ones, although those are basically just carrot cake.”
The blueberry ones were good, too, so Paige dove in.
“Can I ask you something?” Lauren said.
“Sure.”
“How are you doing with what happened with you and Josh? He said you broke up for good.”
“What did he tell you?” Paige asked warily.
“Not much. You guys ran into each other before he came over for dinner the other night, right? He said it was awkward.”
Paige nodded. She didn’t want to talk about this, but she thought maybe it would be good. “He… Well, you know.”
Lauren smiled. “I don’t know. That’s why I asked. I don’t need a lot of detail or anything. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“I will be.” Paige took a deep breath. “Honestly? It sucks.”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. But you were totally right that Josh deserves someone who is all the way there for him, and I wasn’t sure I could be that person. I probably overthought everything. In some ways, he’s perfect for me. But falling in love with someone… It really shakes up your life.”
Lauren laughed softly. “Yeah. I know a little bit about that.” Lauren ate a bite of her muffin. “So what now?”
“I don’t know.” Paige sighed. She knew this was on her now. Josh had made his feelings clear. “Well, I’ve been wondering if breaking up was a terrible mistake. He keeps reminding me his present work situation is not forever. It’s not great that he’s working for the evil real estate developer, but I know his heart is in the right place.”
“Okay.”
“What was a huge deal was that he’s your brother. And I love you. And I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize my friendship with you. Sisters before misters, right? And I worried that if there was tension between me and you, that it could drive a wedge between me and everyone. Evan told me not to worry about that, but, like, you and Evan and Lindsay have these long histories, and I just… I didn’t want to jeopardize any of that. I didn’t want any fallout to make me leave this job. I love this job. I love you. I didn’t want to lose any of it.”
Lauren nodded slowly. “I know. I never meant to make you think that anything I felt about you and Josh would impact your place here or as my friend. Josh yelled at me for making you think that, so I tried to tell you that it would all work out, but I guess I wasn’t very clear.”
“No, you were. I believe you.”
