Page 98 of Off the Wall

Nori heaves out a groan. “So I guess that’s it, then.” She checks the time, and her shoulders slump. “Jemma left that message three hours ago.” Her voice hitches. “I’m probably too late to beg for forgiveness.”

We’re both quiet for a moment. Then Nori releases a sigh. “I can’t buy Serendipi-Tea anyway, so I don’t need the rest of the money. I’ll just give back what they already paid me and be done with it.”

I tip my head. “Didn’t you already spend some of that money on car repairs?”

“You’re right.” Nori whimpers softly. “What do I do now?”

Great, Cash. Super-helpful.

Every fiber of my being wants to fix this problem for her. And I know full well I could cover all her expenses with the car and anything else that comes along. But I also knowNori’s not interested in being rescued like that. So I’m pretty much stuck.

Unless …

“What if I made a profile on Swipe Rite and went as your tenth date?” My pulse speeds up as I make the offer. “Then you can pick me to be your final match at the end, so you don’t get stuck having to pretend to like one of those other guys.” The truth is, I don’t want Nori going out with any other men anyway. And if being her match can turn this disaster into more time spent with her, that’s a win in my book.

Yes, I’ll still be leaving next month. But at least I’ll be leaving her with the money she’s rightfully earned.

Nori blinks back tears. “You’d do that for me?”

My ribs tighten around my heart.I’d do a whole lot more if I could,I think, and a glimmer of hope moves across her face.

“The last date is at the Silver Springs retirement community.”

A chuckle slips out of me. “Seems like a strange place to be sponsoring a dating app campaign.”

“Jemma says they’re advertising to young people who may be caretakers for their parents or grandparents.”

“Makes sense, I guess.” I bob my head. “So what would we be doing on our date? Bingo? Pickleball?”

Nori clears her throat. “Square dancing.”

“Ooooh.” I feign a cringe. “In that case, I’m gonna have to retract my offer.”

Her mouth falls open. “Seriously? You’re backing out?”

“No.” Okay, full disclosure, I don’tactuallywant to go square dancing. But Idowant an excuse to put my arms around Nori again. And when a visual of her in boots and a cowboy hat flashes in my head, I’m pretty much ready to square dance now. I smile at her. “Of course I’ll do it.”

She lunges forward, throwing her arms around me, and Ilet our hug go on longer than necessary. When she finally pulls away, I arch a brow. “Unless you’d rather talk Jemma into matching you with some random tenth guy.”

Nori sits back against the couch, hugging herself. “For the record, I never wanted to go out withanyof those men. And if you remember just a few nights ago, I was out there in the hallway telling you I wasn’t interested in anyone else.”

“I remember,” I say. In fact, Nori’s lips are permanently seared into the hard drive of my memory.

“And that’s when you told me you’re moving.” She averts her gaze.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I knew that’s what you wanted.” Her swallow is practically audible. “It’s not like you were keeping your goal a secret.”

True enough. But what I haven’t been honest about is how I’m feeling now. “I hadn’t met you when I started pursuing the LA territory,” I say. “And I never expected …” I let my sentence trail off.

Her gaze drifts back to mine. “You never expected what?”

“This.” I motion between us. “You and me.”

Her eyes go soft. “We turned into a whole hand, didn’t we?”

“We did,” I say. And the words come out husky. “So we might as well make the most of the time we have left, right?”

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