Vanessa sat back down and smiled straight at me.

Her eyes were bright and entirely focused on my happiness.

I lowered my glass and leaned back in my chair.

I had built a giant conspiracy out of missed texts and a clumsy room booking.

My friends weren’t plotting against me.

They were just people trying their absolute best.

By ten o’clock the dinner plates were cleared and the guests were drifting out to the lobby.

The restaurant staff began blowing out the table candles one by one.