Page 111 of Off the Wall

Jemma

I saw the video. Interesting choice. I’m not sure how the rest of the team feels, but I’m optimistic about the campaign results.

Since you did end up fulfilling your end of the contract, Swipe Rite will auto-deposit the balance we owe you first thing tomorrow. Of course, the bonus money is off the table. And we won’t be asking you to be our Featured Single in the Summer of Love promotion.

I puff out a laugh.

Me

Deal. And thank you, Jemma.

Jemma

You’re welcome. And I know you’re fine on your own, but I do hope you find your match someday.

This pulls a deep sigh out of me. Maybe I’ll find the person who wants to do all this failing and learning with me. Or I guess I should say maybe I’ll find someone who’s capable of doing that. Because I do think Cash wanted to be that man. He just couldn’t be. And I get that. He’s still growing and evolving too.

My heart squeezes when I think about how close we came to being right for each other, not to mention how far away he’s going to be from me. Soon. I can’t imagine getting over him. Ever. So the best I can do for now is wash my face, put on pajamas, and watchBreaking Dawnfor the millionth time.

On my way to the bathroom, I leave all the lights off on purpose. The last thing I need is the ghost of Cash Briggs being all romantic in the mirror. I already know he’ll be in my dreams, which is going to make moving on hard enough.

Moonlight pours through my bedroom window, but the space is still mostly in shadow. So I almost miss what’s on the counter next to my sink. A dry-erase marker.

That’s not mine.

A shiver runs up my spine, and I flip the switch, flooding the bathroom with light. Across the mirror, scrawled in big bold letters, are four words:

I CHOOSE YOU TOO.

Gah!

My heart bolts into my throat, and I fumble for my phone.

Me

Where are you?

Cash

Courtyard. I’ve been waiting for you. Are you home? I’ll come up to you right now.

Me

No. You stay there.

I almost break a leg running down the stairs in cowboy boots.

Chapter Forty-Four

Cash

Nori appears in the archway,still in those pink boots and that Stetson. Her jeans fit her better-than-perfect curves. She’s got her shirt knotted at the waist with a little strip of skin showing above her belt buckle. She’s the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen. But her looks come in last on my list of things about Nori that attract me.

Okay. Second to last.

As she skips toward me across the courtyard, her hat falls off, but she ignores it. I close the space between us in several long strides.

“Howdy, partner,” I say, in my best attempt at a Southern drawl. Which is terrible, for the record. What can I say? I’ve lived in New England my whole life.

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