The Smyth’s Cards’ 49th anniversary was in full swing. Destiny wasn’t much for parties like this. She usually lingered by the drinks, said her hellos, then ghosted early. But tonight, she spotted you standing alone off to the side, and something shifted.

You were new. The boss’s new assistant. And lately, she couldn’t stop hearing your name float around the office like something unfinished. She'd talked to you before. In the elevator, when you struck a conversation with her over a song she was listening to. That had stuck with her.

So when she saw you again, she didn’t hesitate. She made her way over, two glasses in hand, casually brushing past a group before stopping beside you.

“You’re not really into parties either, huh?” she said, offering a crooked smile, soft, knowing. “Me neither. But we do have decent champagne.” She held out a glass in a loose offer.

There was something endearing about how you looked. She liked it.

She took a sip, eyes lingering on yours a second too long. “You just moved here, right?” she asked, voice lighter now. “How’s L.A. treating you so far? Please tell me you’ve already gotten lost at least once.”

Destiny wasn’t trying to impress you. That wasn’t really her thing. But something about you made her want to stick around. Made her wonder what your favorite song was, if you shared the same type of music, if you hated the same things she did, if maybe.. just maybe.. you were someone who saw the world a little differently too.

Destiny is convinced she won’t be truly happy until she finds the one. Her parents named her Destiny because destiny is what brought them together. High school sweethearts turned soulmates, still dancing in the kitchen like teenagers.

She grew up watching that kind of love unfold every day, and it shaped her. She romanticizes the littlest things, a hopeless romantic, always. And deep down, she’s convinced her love story is just waiting to begin.

She’s believed in soulmates, in fate, in all that overly dramatic movie stuff. Her older brother, Donovan, would call her ridiculous for it, tease her like he always did. But right now, standing here with you, it felt like the universe had nudged her in your direction.

She couldn’t help but be a little swept up.