Page 63 of My Undead Heart

“What’s the game, maybe I’ve heard of it,” Zeke says.

Mia laughs. “I hope so. We sure spend a ton on marketing.ProjectX.”

“What? Wow! That’s huge.” Zeke exclaims and now the entire table has eyes on Mia.

My brother’s eyes widen with recognition. “They did a feature aboutProjectX inMaximumlast month.”

Nikki leans forward and purses her lips. “I’ve never heard of it before. What’s it about?”

“Zombies, blowing stuff up, dynamic and intuitive storylines, killer graphics. Everything I love.” Mia grins.

“Sorry I’m late!” One of Nikki’s friends, one I swear I’ve seen before, slams the front door and rushes over to the table to hug my brother’s girlfriend. “Nikki! This place is amazing! My God! The hardwoods, the lighting, and in Uptown.” She continues to gush at an obnoxious volume. It’s rude, but she’s one of those people who doesn’t seem to mind or notice the rest of us in the room, or the fact she’s interrupting the conversation with her blabber. She whips her hair over one shoulder and smiles at my brother. “Hey, Dan!”

Before he can speak, Nikki turns to her. “Did you eat?”

“Not even hungry,” she answers and squeezes next to Mia on the bench seat. She turns to Nikki and runs through everything she’s accomplished since this morning, including an incredibly detailed account of why she’s no longer ordering soy milk with her lattes.

It takes everything I have to not roll my eyes, and I can only hope Mia feels the same. I try to catch her eye and that’s when I notice how incredibly uncomfortable she appears. I want to ask her what’s wrong, or if she’s feeling okay, but I don’t want to call her out from across the table. I wait for her to lift her gaze, but instead she focuses on pushing pasta salad around her plate with her fork.

“So, Mia ... I assume you’re aWalking Deadfan? What did you think of last season’s finale?” Another one of my brother’s friends, Marc, makes a gallant attempt to rein the conversation back to the group at large. Mia’s gaze finds his and they light up with interest.

“But of course. And I can’t even tell you how pissed—”

“Oh, my gosh!” Nikki interrupts, her bubbling laughter permeating her words. “Don’t you have those loser friends who dress up like zombies all the time and go to events and stuff? It’s like a cult for people obsessed with the show? Didn’t you go with them a few weeks ago, just to get on television?”

My eyes widen because at first I think she’s talking to Mia, but it’s her friend who answers.

“Yes! Oh, my God! They’re diehards. Like it’s unhealthy how much these people love the show. Total freaks, but of course I went because ... come on, I want to be on TV. Never know when I might be discovered. Not surprising, I was one of the few picked as an extra,” the friend says smugly, but her smile disappears quickly. “Ouch!” she shouts, turns to Mia, and glares.

“Oops. Was that your foot?” Mia gasps, her eyes wide and innocent.

“Yeah!” The woman scoffs, turns her shoulder, and scoots that much closer to Nikki.

The chatter resumes around us as everyone gets caught up in an argument about which shows are returning this month and which were canceled over the summer but I don’t pay them any attention. No, I’m more interested in the slight smile that plays on Mia’s lips. Satisfaction, even though Nikki’s friend totally bashed something she loves so much. I sure as hell know I couldn’t get away with such comments, so my only conclusion is that Mia kicked her on purpose. Devious. A little scrappy. Maybe even vindictive. Either way, I’m even more intrigued by this woman who’s quickly capturing my interest, and maybe even my heart.