Heart Hold Fast

Chapter Nineteen

A/N: I can only apologise for the sheer length of time it has taken for me to update this story. It's not been for a lack of wanting to write, nor a wish to leave you waiting. Thank you for staying with it, and I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait. I hope you are all well, and happy Pride Month!

It was late. It was probably time, Lauren reflected, to go to bed. She'd spent the past week or so finalising all the details of the JMA Christmas Party. This was a big annual event. The ideal time to meet and impress potential clients, and generate the publicity that the company thrived on. The final few invitations had been sent out that evening, and responses were already flooding in. At this time of year, this was one of the hottest invites in town, and Lauren had enjoyed sitting up to watch the A-list guest list grow.

This year's event was set to be bigger than ever. As suggested by Normani, JMA had decided to merge the Christmas Party with Ally Brooke's label launch, to create maximum interest around the new brand. It was certainly doing its job so far; celebrities were excited to be a part of the exclusive new clothing line.

Yawning, Lauren closed her laptop, and set it down on the coffee table. She walked over to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water, and leant against the worktop, quietly contemplating her day's work. It would be a lie if she said she had not been waiting in hope that Camila's affirmative reply would come through that evening, but the other woman had not responded yet. The invitation extended to the whole Cabello family, including Ruben, but it was Camila's reply that was her main focus.

Her glass drained, she set it down on the side, and then set about turning off the various lamps around the room, so that she could retire to bed. Just as she padded over to the final lamp, there was a knock on the door.

With it being nearly midnight, she was not entirely confident that she wanted to know who was on the otherside of the door. Knocks on doors at midnight tended not to carry good news.

The knock came again, this time more persistent, and Lauren gave a sigh. Yanking on her sweater, she padded over to the door, and opened it slowly. It was on the chain, so it only opened a couple of inches, but it was far enough to see who was waiting outside.

"Lauren!"

"Taylor! Oh my goodness!"

She flung the door open, and her sister leapt forward to fling her arms about her.

"I had no idea you were coming! What are you doing in New York?"

"To see you, of course! It's the end of the semester and I wanted to come here before I headed home to Miami,"

"You could have called in advance!"

"I wanted to surprise you," Taylor laughed, "But my flight got delayed. I'm glad you were still awake, I thought I might have to sleep on your doormat,"

"As if. You know Dinah lives a few blocks away,"

"True," Taylor mused, "And Camila too now, I've heard. How are relations with your new neighbour?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I've just seen the two of you twenty feet high on billboards coming in from New Jersey,"

"You're joking!" Lauren gaped.

"Surely you know what billboards you're on, Lauren?" Taylor laughed, shaking her head.

"The design team said they'd finalised the photos they were using for the posters," groaned Lauren, "I didn't get a chance to look over them, but I never imagined they'd use our pair shots,"

"Well, you looked great anyway," Taylor patted her on the shoulder, "Now are you going to stand there whinging at me all night, or are you going to let me in?"