“And I was only her consolation prize after you didn’t bite.” Lou drank again. Tomorrow was Sunday. She was having fun—and an actual conversation with Mia Miller full of innuendo. A conversation she would otherwise be too uptight to have, but this was a party. And who said Lou couldn’t party? Angie could say those things about Lou all she wanted—and it was true that Lou was usually the one who wanted to go home first when they were out together—but tonight, Lou was unattached, and in the company of new friends, and she quite liked the new life she was starting to build around them.

“You did say that I was objectively pretty.” Mia angled her body more toward Lou, and Lou didn’t feel any inclination to flinch away from her. “Could you possibly try to clarify that for me?”

Lou pouted and tried to think of how to get herself out of this. “It means that I think you have the kind of face that a lot of people would automatically swipe right on. Very symmetrical. Good teeth. I don’t know, you have that wholesome look about you that a lot of people find attractive.” Oh Christ, she was only digging herself in deeper.

Mia chuckled. “You might as well have said I look bland.”

“No, bland is definitely not it.” Lou pretended to give Mia a thorough once-over. “Maybe it’s your hair. It just falls really nicely and it looks like it does of its own accord. It projects a kind of ease, and so does your body language.”

“Holy moly, have I just gone into therapy without knowing?” Mia asked. “On Tinder, no one would have a clue about my body language.”

“Of course they would. The way you hold yourself in the picture. The smile. That’s all part of it.”

“You sound like an expert.”

“Hey girls. Do you need a refill?” They both held out their glass eagerly. “The cake will be out soon. Get ready to sing ‘Happy Birthday’.” She winked at them both, then went about refilling a few other guests’ glasses.

“In my line of work, I get to observe a lot of people.” Lou tried to pick up the thread of their conversation again to defend herself. “I find body language fascinating.” Lou was beginning to think of Mia as fascinating as well. She sipped from her freshly refilled glass. That dream was still doing her head in.

A hush traveled through the small crowd gathered in Micky’s living room. Amber exited the kitchen with a chocolate cake chock-full of candles. A few people started singing “Happy Birthday” and Lou and Mia joined in. A round of applause followed for the birthday girl, followed by a short speech in slurred words thanking everyone for coming and urging them to stay for a good while longer and be merry.