Sidequest for Love by L.H. Cosway

I scoffed. “I’ll bet she was.”

Neil frowned. “Again, I feel like such a fool for not going with my gut and listening to you in the first place. I was too busy being flattered by her acceptance like an idiot. We arrived at the café, and Annabelle sat right up close to Callum, peppering him with endless questions and even asking him about his relationship with Leanne. I was mortified. Even Isaac said it was obvious that Annabelle had a thing for Callum. Callum didn’t seem to notice, probably because he’s used to women being all over him. Anyway, after we ate, we parted ways. Annabelle mentioned coming to the gym for lunch again next week, and I panicked and agreed. She’s clearly using me to spend time around Callum, and now I have no idea how to cut ties with her. She has too much dirt on me.”

“Well, if you ask me, she sounds like an absolute bitch.”

“Afric, I’m still the one in the wrong—”

“You came clean to her, and now she’s using the situation to her advantage. She’s a manipulative bitch, plain and simple. She clearly sees that you’re too nice and too scared of her outing you to refuse her.”

“Maybe I should just tell Callum the truth and face whatever consequences come after.”

“You could do that. I’d advise you to take a few days to think about it first, though. Confessing is a big step.”

Neil nodded, his face drawn in thought. A long moment of quiet fell before he asked, “What can I do to make it up to you?”

“Nothing. I’ve been fuming mad, of course, but I do get why you didn’t listen to me. You wanted the fairy-tale.” Bitterness pinched at my gut. “Annabelle is beautiful and sexy, and she said she wanted to date you. I can’t fault you for saying yes.”

“That’s not why I said yes.”

A flutter of hope went through me. “It isn’t?”

Neil shook his head. “I’ll admit it felt good to think she might like me enough to forgive my lies. It stroked my fragile ego, and that’s probably why I said yes. But all those feelings I thought I had for her simply weren’t there when we met in person. I didn’t feel any kind of connection, not like …”

“Not like what?” I asked, a little too eagerly. I was still lying down, but my heart was hammering in my chest. It filled me with an unnecessarily large amount of relief and giddiness to know that Neil hadn’t fancied Annabelle when he met her in real life. He hadn’t felt a connection to her, and for whatever silly, sentimental reason, that made me ridiculously happy.

“Not like I should have felt if I truly cared about her,” he finished, and something about his tone told me that wasn’t what he’d been about to say. He paused to eye me, a look of agony on his face. “Can you forgive me? I promise I’ll never doubt you again.”

“You should doubt me. I’m not perfect. I just so happened to be right about this. And yes, you’re forgiven. I’m glad you came here. I’ve missed you.”

Neil reached out and traced a finger along my arm. I held my breath for a moment, the simple touch lighting fireworks in my belly. “I’ve missed you, too,” he murmured, then quietly continued to stroke my arm with his fingertips. A few moments passed, nature sounds filling the room before he said, “This is really nice.”

“It’s a meditation app. This one is my favourite. Nature sounds of the forest.”

“It’s very peaceful.”

“Come and lie down. Meditate with me. After the day you’ve had, you obviously need some relaxation.”

There was a flash of heat in his eyes, there and gone in less than a second, and a little thrill simmered through me. Silently, he slipped off his shoes and walked around the bed before lowering himself into the empty spot next to me. His head rested against the spare pillow, and I turned my head slightly to the side to take him in. Our shoulders were touching, but I didn’t move away. I savoured the barest hint of contact. Neil stared at the ceiling while my eyes traced the faint lines on his forehead, the swoop of his nose, and the jut of his chin. Without thinking, I reached out and removed his glasses. He finally looked at me, his expression questioning.

“You should take these off. They must give you tension on the bridge of your nose and behind your ears.”

“They do, actually. How did you know?”

“Lucky guess.”

“Thank you,” he whispered, and I felt like he was thanking me for more than just removing his glasses. I placed them behind me on the nightstand, then rested my head on my pillow again and closed my eyes.

“I’m going on a trip to Cornwall this weekend,” I said.

“Why are you going to Cornwall?” Neil asked, sounding curious.

A faint smile shaped my lips. “One of the locals claims they spotted a UFO the other week. I’m meeting up with a few of my online friends to see if we can catch a glimpse of it for ourselves.”

I sensed him shaking his head, though his voice held only affection. “Of course, you are. What exactly did this local see?”

“Unidentified flying object. He says there was a lit-up, spinning object in the sky above the field where his cows graze. He claims it darted clear across the sky, faster than any man-made aircraft could possibly travel.”

“So, this is the account of a farmer?” Neil asked, his tone teasing. I remembered the first time we met when he claimed the only people who ever saw UFOs were those who lived out in the middle of nowhere who were bored and trying to drum up some entertainment for themselves.