Harry and I are horrible at being each other's soulmate, so much so that I'm beginning to think that pretending to be soulmates was so much easier.
We're no longer horrible to each other, but we are bad at transitioning from enemies to soulmates. My mum was right when she said that we're so used to hating each other that it's become our norm. And because of that, now that we've come to terms that we're not actually enemies, we suddenly don't know how to act around each other or how to talk to each other. It's like we're strangers who have just met and not a couple of young adults who have known each other since they're babies.
That said, it's silly of me to expect that we would be able to adjust to everything when it has only been a few days. It should take us at least a month or a year, tops. Besides, we're Cleo and Harry. We make things difficult for each other so it's only on brand for us to make this whole thing difficult too.
Adam suggested that Harry and I should spend more time with each other because that's what he did with Daisy when they tried to navigate through the awkwardness that apparently nearly everyone struggle with their soulmates.
I was advised to spend as much time as possible with Harry until we feel absolutely comfortable around each other as though we haven't spent our entire lives being forced to have dinner together, to spend time under the same roof because our parents thought by doing so they could speed up the process of us realising that we're actually soulmates.
So I don't know if I could take Adam's advice because things were different for he and Daisy because of several reasons: one, they didn't know each other prior to finding out they're soulmates and two, they didn't spend two decades hating on each other only to find out they're actually not enemies.
Conclusion is, Adam's suggestion might not work for Harry and I. But... it wouldn't hurt to try it out, right?
"Go on a double date with Daisy and me," Adam proposes, reappearing from the back of the store after he's finished putting away a few books. He stops at the counter and kinks an eyebrow at me, "We're supposed to go on a date tonight anyway and you could come with us--"
"No way." I shake my head, stopping him before he further wastes his breath on an idea that is now the second worst idea he has suggested.
So far, he's suggested a few date ideas: go to the cinema and watch a movie, go to a fancy restaurant and have dinner together, go for a walk at the park and finally, the most ridiculous idea is for me to surprise Harry at his office with lunch -- as if I have time for that.
Images of Harry and I sharing a table with Adam and Daisy pop into my head and I have to fight the urge to shiver right there and then. I have nothing against that couple but I'm not sure if I'd like to see how they are when they're on a date. They might be too sweet that I probably won't be able to handle it.
"Nope," I say again to emphasise my unwillingness to go on a double date.
"Why not?" Adam asks before quickly adding, "Double dates could make things less awkward for you two."
I continue to shake my head. "Double dates only work if the other two people don't know each other."
"What?" Adam looks at me, an incredulous laughter escaping his throat. "Where'd you get that?"
"Doesn't matter where I get that," I tell him with a pointed look. "What matters is that I won't go on a double date. Especially not with you and Daisy. Ever."
Adam throws his arms up in the air and huffs, "Then I've ran out of date ideas for you and Harry." As soon as he says that, he regards me with a contemplative eye like he has just figured something out, like he's pieced everything together. I cower a little but quickly mask it with a cough into my fist. Then I hold my head up high as I refuse to let him see that a mere glance could affect me. "Cleo. Are you against my ideas or are you generally against going on a date with Harry?"
I don't answer Adam's question straightaway, buying myself some time by making my way to the best sellers section that we place conveniently near the entrance (we also exhibit a few books at the window display with hopes that some of those books could attract bystanders' attention) and rearranging some books even though they don't need rearranging. Eventually the silence becomes too much so I let out a sigh.
"I don't know," I finally say with a shrug before I turn to look at Adam whose eyes are already on me. I find it comforting how there's not a trace of judgment in his eyes and that proves to me that despite how much he enjoys teasing me, he actually has my back and that he's here to help me. And that is why I find it easy to confide in him. Slumping my shoulders, I say, "Do we really have to do that?"
"It's what soulmates normally do," he replies matter-of-factly. "You go on dates to get to know each other better."
"Well... Harry and I, we're not like the others, are we?" I say. Adam raises a questioning brow. "We already know each other."
"That's true, but didn't you just say that you're wondering what's next for you two?" Adam questions, reminding me of the first few things that I said to him when he asked me about Harry and I when we got to the bookstore earlier this morning. Now that Harry and I have realised and accepted that we're soulmates, I haven't a clue what's next for us. For the longest time, I've been worrying about whether or not I have a soulmate but now that that question is answered, I feel sort of lost. "I think a date is a good place to start."
I mull over Adam's words. A date does sound like a good place to start. Maybe it'll help us to alleviate the awkwardness and take our relationship from enemies to soulmates.
"I hate it when you're right," I say with a frown, to which Adam winks and grins, obviously proud of himself because for once today, I don't disagree with him.
Now I have to think of a way to bring up a date without embarrassing myself. Won't be too difficult, will it?
/////
I'm pretty sure I have jinxed myself.
Figuring out what to say to Harry about our date without sounding presumptuous turns out to be a very, very difficult task.
Hey, let's go on a date doesn't sound good nor does hey, do you think we should go on a date?
Nothing I've thought of sounds good so I delete everything I've written since Adam convinced me that going on a date is a good place to start for Harry and I to figure out our relationship. There's a huge possibility that I'm overthinking this but maybe I'm not because this is a huge deal. I've not gone on a date in a while and just the mere thought of it gives me a nervous sweat.
"Just do it," Adam says out of nowhere, startling me as he sneaks up on me and sneaking a glance on the screen of my phone. When he sees that I've written nothing in the text box (even after having spent hours crafting messages after messages in the notes app), he grabs the device from my hand before I get the chance to protest. Then he puts some distance between us because he knows full well I'll try to get it back from him. "I've been told that I'm pretty good at striking up conversations so let me help you."
"No," I shake my head as I make my way to Adam who continues to stretch the distance between us. "Don't you dare."
Adam types something on my phone whilst saying some words out loud, "Hey... wondering... if... like to... dinner... with me..."
"Adam Dougherty, don't you dare," I sternly warn him once again, the use of his full name is enough to make him stop typing and glance up. He looks like a little boy who has just been reprimanded for doing something he shouldn't and for a second, my heart warms at the sight but then I remember what he's doing. Marching from the counter to Adam, I make a move to snatch my phone from him. He must've seen the angry look on my face because he doesn't try to pull back. In fact, he relents and straightaway hands me my phone as I go on to say, "I don't need your help."
"I'm sorry," he apologises as he follows me back to the counter where I take a seat on the stool whilst he stands next to me. "I didn't mean to--"
Feeling bad for my short temper because I've never snapped at Adam like that before, I quickly cut him off with a wave of my hand and a small smile. The guilty look on his face also plays a part in me waving off his apology. "It's fine. No apologies needed."
Stubborn as he is, he apologises again. "I really am sorry."
"It's fine," I repeat as I give him a pointed look. "It's just... I want to do this on my own terms. I need to."
"Got it," Adam says with a nod. Eyes glinting with what I assume is a mixture of mischief and delight, he adds, "Cleo Ward, a grown up at last."
"Shut up," I scowl, slapping his arm.
Adam yelps in pain and I revel in that sound. "I admit I deserve that but that actually hurts."
"Good." I grin. "It should be."
Silence passes between us as Adam rubs the spot I've just hit him and as I move to pick up my notebook, the one I use to write down things I must do around the bookstore, he says, "Hey, I know you said you don't need my help but if you ever change your mind, I'm here for you."
"I know." I smile at him. "But like I also said, I need to do this myself. Besides, God knows you've helped enough."
Had he (as well as my mum and Vivian) not pushed Harry and I together, encouraging (though I would much rather describe it as an act of forcing) us to get past our hatred and see the other as who really are to each other, I don't think we'd be here today.
Grinning from ear to ear, he says, "I am a great matchmaker, aren't I? I mean not as great as your mum and Vivian but close enough, I'd say."
I let out a laugh as an image of Adam hanging out with both Vivian and my mum whilst talking about Harry and I pops into my mind. I shake my head, ridding the ridiculous image quickly. I wouldn't even want to know what they'd talk about if that were to happen. "You, my mum and Vivian are like the three musketeers. But you're actually the three matchmakers."
"The three matchmakers. That's the name of our group chat actually," Adam replies. I know for a fact that he's not in a group chat with my mum and Harry's mum but I wouldn't put it past him that when he gets home later, he'll think of creating that group chat.
Right when Adam is about to leave me alone, my phone rings, signalling a phone call and breaking the silence in the bookstore. Both Adam and I stare at my phone because one, I rarely get phone calls (which I'm fine with because phone calls make me nervous and I'd rather text) and two, Harry's name is flashing on the screen. He has never called me before. Sure we've texted before but not regularly, so to see his name on my screen nearly gives me a heart attack.
"Well, go on. Answer it." Adam urges, snapping me from my thoughts.
I look at the screen and then at Adam as I try to make sense of what's happening. Harry calling me? That's impossible, isn't it? If I were alone, I'd say I'm imagining it. "What if it's a butt-dial?"
"I doubt it." Adam shakes his head. "Harry's one of those people who's never butt-dialed anyone." He sounds so confident that I almost believe him.
"Or maybe he wanted to call someone else but accidentally called me?"
"Who would it be?"
"Umm..." I rack my brain for an answer. A plausible answer, preferably. "Beau? I mean Beau starts with a B and Cleo starts with a C so it's not that far off?"
Adam gives me a pointed look and my cheeks warm in embarrassment. "You do realise you sound insane, yeah?"
I clamp my mouth shut. "Alright yeah. You got a point."
"Two points for being right today."
As I pick up my phone from the counter, careful not to touch the screen, I say to Adam, "Can't believe you're keeping tracks."
"And I can't believe you haven't answered the call. Leaving him hanging is a cruel move, Cleo."
Before the phone call could end and before Harry could think I'm ignoring him, I answer the call and bring my phone up to my ear. "Hello?"
"Cleo, hey." He says, sounding surprised. "This... it's Harry."
"I know," I chuckle but when Adam looks at me, I press my lips together and swallow the laughter. "Believe it or not I saved your number." And I also recognise your voice, but I don't say that out loud.
"Right. Of course." He laughs to himself. "Are you, uh, busy?"
"No," I answer as I look around the empty bookstore. Today's not a good day for Ward's Bookstore but I'd like to stay positive and believe that there are better days coming. "I'm not busy at all. Just dealing with Adam's annoying arse." I give Adam a sideways glance and he simply shakes his head, smiling to himself, my remark having no effect on him at all.
"Sounds like a normal day for you," he replies with a laugh.
"Yeah, sounds about right."
"So you're probably wondering why I'm calling you." It's like he knows exactly what's going on in my mind.
"Yeah..." I trail off, refused to say anything before I get to hear what he has to say that could explain this phone call.
"There's this... Well, my office is throwing a farewell party for one of our team managers who's leaving next week and everyone's bringing their plus one so I was wondering if you'd like to join me. And I figured this is a phone call conversation rather than a text conversation so yeah. If you're not doing anything tonight, I'd like to take you with me."
"Doesn't sound like a usual first date, does it?" I say before I can stop myself. Almost immediately I feel bad as I hear Harry sputtering from the other end of the line. He must've not expected that reply because I certainly didn't.
"I—Yeah. Right. First date. We could go out for dinner after that. Or we could just not show up at the office party and just have dinner. S'not important. I can miss one, I'm sure they won't mind."
"No, no. I want to go to your office party. Would love to see those people who keep taking advantages of you." And also maybe finally meet the infamous Sarah Turner -- I wonder if she's going to be there. Of course she is, right, since she works there and whatnot.
"Getting protective of me, are you, Cleo?"
My cheeks redden at his remark. I'm glad he can't see me but Adam can and now he's smiling to himself, most likely making a mental note to relay this to Harry when he gets home later as we speak.
"You wish," I tell Harry. "I actually want to tell them to keep taking advantages of you."
He laughs. The sound, albeit slightly different as we're not face to face, makes my heart jump — again, a new reaction that I'm not quite used to yet. Maybe with time I'll get used to it. "Well, is this a yes then?"
"Yeah, it's a yes."
"Yeah?" He asks for confirmation.
"Mhmm."
"Great." Harry says and before he ends the call, he lets me know what time he's picking me up. It isn't until I've put down my phone that I finally realise what I have gotten myself into. Apart from his inconsiderate co-workers, I don't know much about Harry's work, let alone his colleagues and how they are like so it's beyond me why I think it's a good idea to go to his office's party as his plus one.
"Shit." I breathe out. My eyes dart around the store and when they find Adam, he cracks a smile.
"Have fun on your weird date."
/////
My whole life, I've only been in the car with Harry twice.
The first time we were together in his car, I was too busy fussing about having to bowl with his family whilst also worrying that I would lose face from how terrible I am at bowling so I was pretty much wrapped up with my own problem. As for the second time, he was delirious as hell and I was the one driving so these two occurrences couldn't have possibly prepared me for how awkward it would be to be in the same car with Harry.
Someone could come in here and cut the tension with a knife.
We've only exchanged a few words here and there when he came to pick me up, mostly him thanking me for agreeing to be his plus one and me assuring him that I don't mind going to this party because there's free food and drinks. After that little exchange, we fall silent. Good thing Harry hooks up his phone to his car's radio so it's not deadly quiet in here. But the bad thing is, I'm not really into his choice of music.
Clearing my throat, I point at his phone and ask, "Hey, can I?"
Harry glances at me and nods. "Go ahead. Password's 2296." His birthday, how predictable. If someone who knew him were to steal his phone, they won't have issues unlocking his phone.
"You trust me with your password?" I ask as I tap the password on the screen, to which he responds with a shrug. As soon as the phone's unlocked, I open up the music app. A list of songs from bands that I've never really listened to pops up and I snort to myself.
"What's it?" He asks.
"This playlist is so you," I say whilst I scroll down the playlist. I see one or two songs that I recognise but apart from that, these are all songs that have never been played on the radio. Harry's brows furrow in confusion. "I knew you're one of those people who don't listen to mainstream songs."
"I do listen to those, uh, mainstream songs," he admits sheepishly. I look at him and he smiles a little, though his eyes are fixed on the road ahead of us. "It's in a different playlist."
I take a look at his other playlists and true enough, I find one entitled 'guilty pleasures'. Inside, it's full of songs that I've listened to, both new and old songs, and without thinking twice, I click shuffle play and increase the volume.
As soon as he realises what song I'm playing, he chuckles to himself. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Don't judge," I point my finger at him. He gives me a 'what' look and I continue, "I used to wanna be one of the Spice Girls."
"Doesn't everyone?" He says, surprising me. "Who'd you wanna be?"
"Couldn't choose between Baby Spice and Sporty Spice."
Harry chuckles once more. "You'd be a perfect Baby Spice. Or Scary Spice."
"Are you trying to say I'm scary?" I kink an eyebrow at him. I'm not completely opposed to that idea, though, because as long as I get to be a part of the Spice Girls, I'm good.
"A little, yeah," Harry replies.
I cross my arms in front of my chest as I swivel in my seat so I'm facing Harry. "How am I scary? Explain."
"The fact that you're asking that question? That's scary." I roll my eyes at his attempt to deflect. But then he clears his throat and says, "I've always thought Scary Spice has the nicest outfits."
"So you think they'd look nice on me?" I quiz.
I didn't expect him to take my question seriously because I certainly wasn't being serious so when he takes a quick look at me, his eyes drifting past my neck, down to my body like he's trying to picture me in one of Scary Spice's outfits -- a gesture that I'm pretty sure he's never done before unless he has done that secretly and quietly -- I feel something foreign running through my spine. Whenever we talk, his eyes have never strayed from my face. In fact, sometimes we don't even look at each other when we speak. So when his eyes linger for a beat longer at my body, I feel warm all over.
Sensing that he's caught, he brings his fist up to his mouth and coughs into it. I have a feeling that he's going to change the subject and I'm right. "Did you know that Beau is convinced that he's found his soulmate? Her name's Ella, I think, or was it Emma? They're in the same class."
I gape at him. Beau has never mentioned that to me nor has he mentioned anyone named Lisa and I find that quite heartbreaking because I assumed that we're close. Maybe there are certain things that he'd rather talk to his brother than someone who's not related to him by blood.
"But he's a baby," I say.
"I know." Harry chuckles. "That's what I said to him."
"I take it he's not happy when you said that."
"Nope," he replies.
"Well, if Ella or Emma ends up being his soulmate then good for him. Wouldn't want him to get his heart broken if someone else's name pops up on her arm and then they'll have to break up because they can't be together or because her soulmate doesn't want her to be friends with him anymore." It takes me a couple of seconds to realise that there's a chance that I'm no longer talking about Beau, but about my past experience. So out of embarrassment, I quickly add, "Not that I think he's gonna start dating anytime soon. I hope. He's too young for that. I can't imagine him going on a date with anyone. Please don't let him go on dates. He's still a baby."
My rambling is met with silence and I'm pretty sure it has everything to do with what I said earlier. It feels as though an eternity has passed before Harry finally speaks again. "Are you sad that you and Eric aren't soulmates?"
Ah. No wonder he was silent for a moment. He was probably trying to figure out if it was okay for him to ask that question. What happened between Eric and I isn't something that I like to disclose to anyone but considering that we're stuck in the car for at least another ten minutes or so, I assume, I decide to not brush his question off. Besides, he is my soulmate now and soulmates share everything, right?
"I was sad," I reply, emphasising on the word 'was' so he knows that I'm not hung up on it anymore. Harry sneaks a look at me and when our eyes meet briefly, I shoot him a small smile. "I thought he's the love of my life and that we're invincible so when I found out that we're not soulmates it took me a while to fully accept that we're not meant to be but when I saw how happy he was with Holly, I just sort of accepted it, you know? Plus, there's nothing I can do about it anyway."
"They don't seem so happy now," Harry mutters.
I kink an eyebrow at him even though I know he can't see me but I have a feeling he can feel it because he winces a little when I say, "Someone listened to the town's gossip."
I'm surprised Adam isn't the one telling me about this because between the three of us, he's most likely to know everything first. He's close to nearly everyone in this town and he gets the first dibs at the latest and hottest gossip.
"A little bump in the road, I guess. You can't stay in the honeymoon phase forever, can you?"
"Yeah."
Grinning, I beam, "I like it when you agree with me."
"Of course you do," Harry says with a roll of his eyes as he unbuckles his seatbelt.
I didn't realise that his car has stopped moving and when I look out the window I notice that we're already parked in a parking garage. There's a few cars around us and I'm assuming that they belong to his colleagues. Nervousness creeps into my vein at the thought of meeting his colleagues for the first time and at the thought of having to spend the evening with a bunch of strangers.
As though he can sense what I'm feeling now that we're soulmates, he says, "It's not too late to turn around and leave now."
I look at him, taken aback by the look of concern he's displaying on his face when mere seconds ago he looked annoyed. "I can't-- I can't ask you to do that. We're already here."
"But you'd want to?" He asks with a hint of mischief in his eyes and on the curve of his lips. "I can call the restaurant now and ask them if they can bring forward our reservation."
"You made a reservation?" I ask. I know I joked about our first date earlier today but I didn't expect him to actually take it seriously. He never took my words seriously before this. "Where?"
Harry rubs the back of his neck, cheeks flushing. "I--Yeah. I made a reservation at Moseley's. If that's okay with you? I can cancel if you--"
I stop him before he can finish his sentence, "No. You don't have to do that. Moseley's sounds good. I've never been there before but I heard good reviews. And apparently it's hard to get a reservation there?"
"Yeah," Harry nods. "Brent's cousin is the manager there so he pulled some strings."
"Looks like you put a lot of effort into this. And in such a short time too. I'm impressed, Harry Styles."
The cocky look returns, reminding me that the pre-soulmate Harry is still there. He hasn't completely changed even though our relationship status most definitely has, though I'm not sure how to describe it yet. Soulmates trying to date? Yeah, that sounds about right.
"I aim to please, Cleopatra Ward."
This time, I don't bother telling him not to call me Cleopatra. That name has sort of grown on me. Besides, Cleopatra's a pretty badass woman so maybe I've been seeing it all wrong all these times, the same way I've been seeing Harry wrong.
/////
"Is he the one who always gives you last minute work?" I whisper to Harry as an early 30s man makes his way to us. We're standing near the food, a very strategic place, because I can shove food into my mouth if someone talks to me and I don't know what to reply. So far, I've done it twice.
"Yes and no."
"What?" I whisper back.
"He gives me last minute work sometimes but he also teaches me a lot of things so yes and no."
I frown at him. "Doesn't even make any--"
"Harry. Glad you could make it," the man says as he greets Harry with a firm handshake and a nod.
I want to roll my eyes at him, truly, because did he really think Harry wouldn't show up at this work event? I might not know much but I can tell that Harry values his work, so much so that if someone were to throw a ridiculous party and invite everyone, he'd show up because he fears what other people might think of him if he's absent.
"This is Cleo Ward," Harry introduces me once he's done exchanging pleasantries with the man. "Cleo. This is George Richards, the man of the evening."
I turn to look at Harry. He nods like he knows exactly what question I have in mind, which is: so he's the one leaving the company?
"Nice to meet you, Mr Richards," I say as I shake his hand.
"Please, just call me George."
"Right. Nice to meet you, George."
"Likewise," he replies even though it's obvious he's just faking it. The fact that he looks around, searching for a far more important person to talk to next proves just that. "Well, I hope you two enjoy the party. I'll have to round the office and talk to other people."
"Of course. You're a very important person in this room tonight." Harry says. I have to fight the urge to vomit. He really is great at faking things too. "Good luck at your new office."
George Richards simply smiles and nods before leaving us alone. With him out of our sight, Harry visibly relaxes as he brings the champagne glass up to his lips and takes a couple of sips. I finish mine in one sip and hand the empty glass to him. He looks at it questioningly.
"I've to go to the loo," I tell him.
"Okay."
I point a finger at him. "Don't go anywhere."
He chuckles. "I'll be here."
I make my way to the bathroom where luckily there's only one person in front of me. This is one of the reasons I hate parties. The line at the bathroom is always long -- I know it's a weird and specific reason to hate a party but I'd like to think it's a valid reason too. Who has the time to wait for their turn just to pee?
Whilst waiting, I pull out my phone and find that I have no notifications at all so I open up Instagram and begin my mindless scrolling and tapping on pictures that I find pleasing. That is, until I'm interrupted by someone calling out my name.
"Cleo Ward?" When I turn around, I'm met with a quite tall woman standing in front of me. Whereas her eyes widen as she looks at me, I try to rack my brain for her name. My memory is bad but I'm pretty good at matching people's names with their faces so when I come up with nothing, I come to a conclusion that I don't know this absolutely stunning woman. "Sorry," she shakes her head, "You must be so confused. I'm Sarah Turner."
If I were in a movie or a television show, there would be a CD scratching sound in the background and everything would stop moving as my jaw drops open in surprise.
Sarah Turner is gorgeous. I've grown over my "I'm insecure about my appearance" phase about four to five years ago but seeing her face to face like this, I might have just been catapulted back to that phase. Not only does she look gorgeous, she towers over me and it doesn't help that she's wearing a pair of heels whilst I don't (but I doubt that matters because even if she's not wearing a pair of heels, she'd still be taller than me and I'd still be shorter than her if I wear a pair of heels).
"Again, I'm sorry for barging on you like that. It's just... I saw Harry Styles' name on your arm and I figure you're Cleo. I.. I have his name on my arm too." She rolls the sleeves of her blouse up a little, bringing her tattoo into display.
"I--Yeah. That's me."
"Did you two come together?" She asks and I nod, the only response I could think of because for some reasons, words fail me right now. "Oh. So you're soulmates."
Someone walks out of one of the cubicles and I look at it, wondering if I'd rather stand here and talk to Sarah Turner, losing more and more of my confidence or go in there and avoid this conversation at all costs. Eventually, my curiosity overrides everything else.
"Yeah, I guess we are."
She frowns but upon realising that her face is doing something out of her control, she quickly fixes it with a smile. "That's great. I'm happy for you two."
"But?"
She looks at me like she's trying to figure out if she could trust me or not and lets out a sigh. "I thought he's my soulmate." She does trust me. It must be because we're in the bathroom where naturally all girls come together. "But now I know that he's not and I guess that makes Wade Abbott my soulmate."
"Wait, you think Harry's your soulmate?" She nods. "Have you two talked?"
"A couple of times, yeah." She tells me. "I wasn't sure if he's my soulmate because there's no spark whatsoever when we first met but I can stand being around him so I figure maybe we needed time or something to figure things out."
"Right." That makes sense. There are people who don't straightaway know they're soulmates but they don't necessarily hate the other so as they spend more time with each other, they ultimately realise that they're soulmates. Maybe that's how things should work out for Harry and Sarah but I have interfered in their path to figuring out that they're actually soulmates.
My throat constricts at the thought of that and my heart sinks to the pit of my stomach, and suddenly no longer feeling like I needed to go to the loo, I excuse myself and leave the bathroom.
True to his words, Harry is where I left him. He's exchanged my empty glass with a full one as though he knows that's exactly what I need after my trip to the bathroom. When he sees me, his face lights up with a smile but it disappears the closer I get to him.
Brows furrowing, he asks, "Everything alright?"
I take the full glass from him and take a few sips of the champagne. He watches me like a hawk but then his eyes wander over the top of my head and I don't have to turn around to know who he's looking at. Two lines form between his brows and he purses his lips together as he places a hand on my arm, navigating me away from the crowd.
When he's certain that no one could eavesdrop on our conversations, he clears his throat and says, "Did you talk to Sarah?"
Does he know that Sarah hasn't ruled out the idea that he could be her soulmate? Is that why he looks worried right now?
"I did," I answer. Harry rubs his temple with his fingers. Instead of waiting for him to say something because it seems like he's buying himself some time, I decide to ask him the question that's on the forefront of my mind. "Did you know that she thinks you might be her soulmate?"
He looks stunned but not completely so and that leads me to believe that whilst he doesn't know that Sarah sees him that way, he has a hunch that she does. And that brings a whole lot of other questions that I'm not sure if I want the answer to. But I have to ask.
"Are you even sure that I'm your soulmate? That we're soulmates?" I hate how vulnerable I sound at the moment. This isn't like me at all. But I suppose a lot has changed in the last few days, including the way I react to certain things.
Harry's brows descend into a frown like he can't believe what he's hearing. He rubs his temple again as though he's trying to keep his headache at bay before he takes a deep breath and fixes me with an unwavering stare. With an equally steady voice, he says, "Of course I'm sure."
Despite how confident he sounds, I still don't know what to believe. On one hand I want to believe that Harry and I are soulmates but on the other, Harry and Sarah seem like a more likely pair than we are.
"I don't know, Harry," I say with a shake of my head as I look around the office. No one seems to be paying any attention to us, they're all wrapped up in their own conversations, most likely building connections as we speak because that's what I assume people do when they're at a work event.
"Cleo," Harry's voice pulls me back to him as he takes a couple of steps forward. When his fingers find mine, he raises our linked hands between the two of us, looking down at our joined fingers in wonder. A spark of hope brightens his eyes and he lays a hand on the side of my neck, his eyes fixed on mine. I find it difficult to look away like he's put some sort of spell on me and I'm under his influence. "I don't know about you, but I've never been so sure of anything as I am of us."
I blink at our hands before my eyes find his face. "But what about Sarah Turner?"
"She's not my soulmate," he says simply with a shrug as though it's something so obvious, something that everyone (me) should know by now. As silence passes by us, Harry lets go of my hand and take a few steps back. Almost immediately, I find myself craving for his closeness again. "Unless... you're not sure if I'm your soulmate?"
My head snaps up. He's no longer looking at me with those confident eyes as it's been replaced with doubt, embarrassment and dejection. I need to salvage this situation right now, need to stop letting my insecurities and my doubt and my fear win this time. Like Adam has said before, I need to stop sabotaging this relationship before it could ever blossom into something great.
"No, no that's not it. It's just... I want to make sure where I stand, where we stand because I do think you're my soulmate, Harry." Swallowing the lump in my throat, I add, "I don't--I don't think there's anyone else for me."
Harry doesn't say anything for what feels like an eternity. I hold my breath and wait and wait and wait until he eventually speaks. "Great," he breathes out, a smile forming on his lips. "Because there's no one else for me either."