Page 115 of Off the Wall

I pull away from him and blink. “Anotherdate?”

“To be fair, I haven’t been on a single one with you yet.”

“Good point.” I let out a small laugh. “And of course Iwant to date you. I want to dateonlyyou.” I shift my focus beyond his shoulder, over to the pool. “I have an idea.”

He follows my gaze, and the water beckons us, curls of steam rising from the surface.

“Really?” He turns back, his mouth going crooked.

“Yes, please,” I say. “Teach me to swim, Cash Briggs.”

Epilogue

Nori

One YearLater

Cash

Be there soon. Scrimmage running late. Love you.

Me

I’ll just eat my weight in bread until you get here. Love you more.

Cash

Not possible.

Me

Do we need to wrestle?

Cash

Arm? Or full body? Doesn’t matter. I’ll let you win.

Me

Deal.

Now that I know Cash is on his way, I shove my phone into my purse and drop the bag on the chair beside me. Nodistractions tonight. Just us. I scored the quietest spot in the back corner of the dining room at Aria, and there’s already a basket of bread on the table. Candlelight dances off our water glasses. The smell of marinara hangs in the air. I glance at the kitchen, wondering if I’ve got time to say hi to Matteo.

Maybe order some escargot as a joke.

Ha.

You see, tonight’s the anniversary of the night Cash and I officially met at Vincenzo’s. But we’ve got other, less Snuze-filled things to celebrate over dinner. Like just this week, theSerendipity Starfeatured the shop’s indie music night in their article, “Top Five Things to Do in the Springs.” And last week, Cash’s baseball training camp for kids was recognized as the best new non-profit in the state of Massachusetts.

It’s been a good twelve months.

For the record, he’s still working for Powell MedTech, but he’s a mentor for junior reps all around New England now. The job was too important for him to leave. He just wanted more predictable hours and less time in the OR. As a compromise, he has to travel a bit, but he gets to plan those occasional trips. No more emergency calls in the middle of the night. He was with me on Christmas. Valentine’s Day. My birthday.

But there’s even better news.

His new spring training camp turned out to be the perfect way to utilize his love of baseballandhis leftover signing bonus. The program includes a scholarship system, so the camp is free for kids from families who need some help. He’d waited years to find just the right focus for his efforts. This camp’s been the highlight of his year. Besides me, of course.

And the best news?

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