“You’re the one who got the job at the Pink Bean. I was just going about my everyday business, teaching yoga, and spending too much of my hard-earned cash on coffee I could make myself.” The air was getting so dense in this flat, Lou needed to lighten up the atmosphere a little.

“Maybe it was an act of fate that brought us back into each other’s lives.” Mia mumbled. “The universe knew we had unfinished business. You left Brisbane. I started hunting for a new job after I got sick of working for the man. And boom, here we are. Talking about the very thing that has marked us both so much.”

“Do you believe in fate?” Lou couldn’t keep her eye on Mia’s face all the time, but she did notice that, after that short moment of extreme vulnerability, she was starting to put herself back together again.

Mia shrugged. “Not until now.” She followed up with a smile. “Don’t you have to go?” She pointed at the clock on the opposite wall.

“Oh, shoot. I’m going to be late.” Lou put down the bottle of lemonade that had been empty for a while but which she had been toying with. “Let me see how long it’ll take before I can get an Uber.” This meant having to switch her phone back on. Before she did, she glanced at Mia. “I really wish I could stay.”

“I’m sure I’ll see you around.” Mia rubbed her palms over her jeans. “Might even run into you tomorrow.”

“Will you come to my 6 p.m. class?”

“I might.”

Mia’s non-committal tone drove Lou slightly crazy. Perhaps she had to take the initiative here. No, she knew she did. They’d spent a lovely, rather intense afternoon together. Lou had seen yet another side of Mia Miller. If she knew anything at all, she knew she wanted more.

“Would you still say yes if I asked you out now?” She wasn’t entirely sure it was a good idea, but Lou had learned to follow her gut, and she knew that if she didn’t ask, she would be kicking herself all the way back to Darlinghurst for not having the nerve.

“Try me.” Mia leaned back on her elbows. The hem of her t-shirt rose and a sliver of skin was exposed.

“Mia Miller, would you like to have dinner with me?”

“I would.” Mia’s voice was forceful now.

“Good. My house. Wednesday evening?”

“Whoa… I’m not sure I’m ready to meet your parents just yet.”

“They’re on holiday. I have the place to myself.”

“I’ll be there with bells on then.” Mia rose, while Lou switched her phone back on. A slew of messages came in alerting her to the missed calls from Angie. She could get an Uber in five minutes.