Page 210 of Falling for You

She squeezes my hand and I glance at her.

‘This is my issue with the universe,’ she sighs, ‘like, it’s fun to believe in it when everything in your life is going well, but what about when it’s not? There are so many awful things happening all over the world, every day. If the universe is here to look after us all and it has a plan for everyone … why do some people get a plan like that and others get, you know … nice plans?’

I digest the weight of her words when she sniggers.

‘Sorry,’ she says, ‘that was really depressing.’

I shrug. ‘It’s true, though.’

‘Ask me another question,’ she says, shaking my hand, ‘quickly, before I kill the mood entirely.’

I furrow my brow. ‘Err …’

‘Come on, anything.’

‘Okay,’ I say, ‘I’ve got it. What other dreamy men did you meet at the speed dating? I’m sure they were all falling all over you.’

She snorts. ‘Hardly.’

I frown at her. ‘I’m being serious.’

She keeps her eyes locked forward, but I notice her mouth purse. ‘Guys don’t really look at me that way.’

‘They definitely, definitely do,’ I scoff.

She shakes her head. ‘No, they don’t. And that’s okay, I’m not saying I’m ugly or anything, like, I’m fine. But I’m just a “filler girl”, you know?’ She catches my expression and laughs. ‘I’m fine with it, it’s something I came to terms with a long time ago. Really, I don’t care.’

‘I’ve never heard such rubbish,’ I reply. ‘What even is a “filler girl”?’

She shrugs. ‘Someone there to fill the gap until someone better comes along. It’s fine!’ she says again, laughing. ‘I don’t care. Like, it’s cool.’

‘It’s baloney is what it is!’ I say in my thickest New York accent, which makes her laugh loudly. ‘Where did you even get this from? It was a guy, wasn’t it? God, we’re the worst. What’s his name?’ I sit up and pretend to roll up mysleeves. ‘Give me his name so I can track him down and give him a piece of my mind.’

She pulls me back down onto the bed. ‘You are such a drama queen.’

‘And you are misinformed. There is no way you are anything less than first choice – any guy would be lucky to have you.’

She puts her hand on her face and groans, but she’s still laughing.

‘What about you, then? Have you been dating much since you’ve been in London?’

I shake my head. ‘Not unless you count hanging out with a fifty-something-year-old-man dating. Sorry,’ I hold up my hand, ‘I still can’t believe you think you’re a “filler girl”!’

‘Oh, I wish I’d never said anything,’ she says, grinning. ‘Come on, let’s talk about the universe again. Tell me how you think we were destined to meet or something.’

I raise my eyebrows. ‘Do you think that’s such a ridiculous idea?’

She pauses, and then rolls onto her side so she’s facing me, her arms tucked under her head. I copy her. For a moment, we just look at each other.

‘I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I keep running into you,’ she says softly.

She’s so close to me now that I can smell her. She smells like roses and carries the warm, comforting smell of the fire.

I move my head so I’m looking into her eyes.

‘Well, why else would I keep seeing you, if the universe didn’t want me to?’

She raises her eyebrows at me, but her lips are stretched into a smile. ‘Oh yeah?’