Page 36 of Safe Hands

Paige gripped the seat. “Thank you. Now, if you could try not to kill us…”

After revving a few times to find the biting point, Lauren eased the car forward. “Sorry. Not used to Becky’s fancy Mini. Perk of having a rich girlfriend?”

“Becky isn’t rich.”

“She’s richer than me. And I don’t see that changing any time soon.”

Paige let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re not badly off. You’ve cleared your debt since you moved in with me, you built a solid client base doing evening massage appointments, and most of those people have followed you to your new room at the gym.”

Lauren tightened her grip on the wheel.

“Are you really so desperate for Carly’s approval?” Paige asked. “She’s not God. Are things honestly that bad? You’ll find a way to make it work, with or without her help.”

They travelled in silence for a few minutes while Lauren tried to work out why the comment had made her so uncomfortable. Her first instinct was to argue, to insist that things really were that bad, but Paige was right. The business wasn’t collapsing. Not yet. Carly wasn’t Lauren’s only hope.

So why did her opinion feel so enormous?

“Are you okay?” Paige asked gently.

“Hmm.” Lauren sped up as they hit the ring road, the lights blurring past in the dark. The road was almost empty.

“Care to let me in?”

“I would if I knew what was going on in my head.”

Paige waited.

“You’re right,” Lauren said eventually. “Carly’s really bothered me. Maybe it’s partly because I admire her. She never let anyone stop her joining the army. She knew what she wanted and went after it. I wish I’d been more like that, instead of getting high behind the clubhouse and pretending I didn’t care about anything.”

“You’re going after it now, though.”

“I know. But she knew who she was at eighteen. I’m thirty-four and still trying to build a personality out of running shoes and direct debits.”

Paige smiled and gave Lauren’s leg a quick nudge. “Maybe Carly will be a good influence.”

Lauren waited.

“And maybe,” Paige added, “you do have a little crush after all.”

Lauren laughed, but it came out thinner than she’d intended. “Thanks.”

The joke stung more than it had any right to. She checked the wing mirror and indicated, arranging her face into something harmless.

“Come on. Almost home. You can make me some tea.”

“Why are you in a grump with me?”

“I’m not.”

“You are grumping, and I’m too pregnant to drag it out of you. Tell me now.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Lauren.”

She sighed. “I tried to talk seriously about Carly, and you turned it into me fancying her. Like that’s all I’m capable of.”

The words came out heavier than she expected.