“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.
“Just because he’s a farmer doesn’t mean he isn’t credible.”
“It definitely doesn’t make him credible either, though.”
“You should come with me,” I blurted on impulse, then opened my eyes to look at him. His eyebrows shot up. “I mean, we need at least one sceptic to balance out the group, so you’d be doing me a favour.”
“I don’t know. I might not be able to take the time off work at such short notice,” he said.
“I’m sure Michaela will be happy to cover for you.”
He rubbed his chin, thinking about it. “Hmm, getting out of London and away from Annabelle for a while does seem like a good idea. How are you getting there?”
“I was going to take the train.”
“I could drive us,” he offered.
My heart leapt. “So, you’ll come?”
“Sure. Someone has to prove to you that aliens don’t exist.”
“Ha! I think you’ll find I’ll be the one proving you wrong,” I said, pausing for a moment before I continued. “I didn’t know you owned a car.”