Page 27 of Finding My Forever

She looked heavenward and subtly moved her lips.

“Are you praying?”

Her eyes dropped to meet mine. “Asking what I did to deserve to be paired with you.”

“Get an answer yet?”

“Nope.” She was quiet before she sat up straight and flung her hand out at me. “Let me see your phone.”

“Why?”

“Because! We don’t even know if he gave you a real number yet.”

Sudden panic filled me. What if he blew me off? What if he gave me a fake number? Oh no! “He said he would call me.”

“Yeah?”

“He gave me his number.”

“Oh.” Her voice gave away her disappointment. “Let me just see.”

I handed over my phone and closed my eyes. How did I not realize that before?

“Sorry, April. I don’t see a Liam in your phone.”

“Is it under hot stranger?”

She was silent and kept scrolling. “Nothing that looks out of the ordinary, and there are no recent calls so he didn’t get your number that way.”

My shoulders dropped along with my stomach.

“I probably shouldn’t be so surprised.”

She handed the phone back to me and smiled gently. “Maybe it’s for the best?”

“But…then why would the necklace change?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe you were supposed to meet him, but you’re not supposed to be with him. Maybe you have more than one true love.”

I wanted to believe her. I wanted her to be right so desperately, but I knew. I knew she wasn’t. I could stand outside of the theater he walked into like a stalker but if he blew me off once there was no point in going after him.

“Well then.” I looked around again, searching for a beacon of hope to appear and tell me what to do next. No sign appeared but my stomach growled.

“You’re hungry?” She asked with a laugh.

“I shouldn’t be, but apparently my belly is ready for more.”

“Fine. There’s a pizza place around the corner that has the very best gluten-free crust according to reviews.”

I fought the urge to hug her. We weren’t quite there in our relationship, but she was so nice to look for places that I could eat and enjoy.

The restaurant was only a few blocks from the park on a small street surrounded by cute boutiques and flower shops.

After I finished, I leaned back in my chair with a smile. That was simply the best pizza. Period. I asked the waiter twice if it was gluten-free because it was so good!

“I’m never leaving this city.”

Sophia laughed. “Yeah, I bet. I’ve never seen anyone get so excited about a Margherita pizza.”