Page 39 of Twist of Fate
“Oh, you know what?” He snaps his fingers like a lightbulb has just gone off in that brilliant brain of his. “I’m headed in the opposite direction from you.” He feigns disappointment, his broad shoulders lifting in a shrug. His shirt displays the word “Snack” in bold script across his chest. Fucker makes mad money and shows up to the office every day in graphic tees and ripped jeans. Ridiculous. “I keep forgetting we don’t live close by anymore.”
We haven’t lived close to each other since we were roommates at Trinity.
A cab pulls up, and he steps to the curb. “But I believe Aisling’s hotel is on your way home if you two want to share?” He hops in the back of the car, rolls down the window, and gives Aisling a wave. “Lovely to meet you after all this time, Ash. Night!”
I stand there, hands in my pockets, as the car pulls away from the curb, until I finally turn.
“He and my mother would have gotten along famously,” she says, a mixture of sadness and amusement in her voice. “His meddling skills are advanced.”
I nod, choosing not to address the remark about her mam. “He’s a certified genius. I truly believe he could take over the world with just a few taps on his phone.”
She laughs, and I instantly feel weak in the knees. It’s a sound I thought I’d never hear again—a sound I thought I could live without. Now that I’ve heard it again, I feel like a man who’s wandered the desert for years and just received his first sip of water.
I need more.
“Why do I sort of believe you?”
“Because I have one of those faces?” She doesn’t quite laugh this time, but I manage to get a smile, and it’s enough for now. “We don’t have to share a cab,” I say, growing serious. “And you don’t have to feel obligated to check out that flat in my building.”
“No, Finn—” Her eyes meet mine, and the sound of my name on her lips feels like a time machine. I’m overwhelmed with a flood of memories all at once, and I don’t know whether to walk away or take a step closer. “There’s no point in us taking separate cabs if we’re headed in the same direction.”
“And the flat? I’ll understand if you would rather room with Damien.” Just saying his name has me gritting my teeth.
“Really? Because your eyes look murderous right now.”
I squeeze them shut and try to take a breath. “It’s not my place to say?—”
“He has a girlfriend.”
“What?” My mouth drops open. Of all the things I expected her to say, that was not it.
“It’s a two-bedroom apartment that he shares with his girlfriend. That’s why he moved to Dublin in the first place—to be closer to her. Anyway, they have an extra room, and when he found out I was having trouble finding a place, he offered it to me.”
“He seemed quite adamant for a guy who’s already attached.”
A cab pulls up to the curb, and we both shuffle in, leaving the middle seat empty between us.
“He was just being nice.” She raises an eyebrow at me after we rattle off destinations to the driver. “Just like I assume you’re being nice by offering me an apartment in your building.”
Silence fills the car. “How did you know?”
“That you owned the building? Well, I didn’t know for certain until just now. Your friend may be a genius, but he’s about as subtle as a punch to the gut.”
I chuckle and nod. “That’s an accurate description. But no, I’m not just trying to be nice. You can’t stay in that hotel forever, Aisling. It may meet all your needs, but it’s still just a hotel. I remember how lonely that can feel.”
“It’s just a few months.” She shrugs it off, but I can see the worry in her eyes. “Then I go back—to the States.”
“Your contract could renew,” I remind her.
“And you’re the one to decide that?”
“No,” I respond. “Nora will make the recommendations to her supervisor, and she will give her final approval. But, with the volume of work you four have generated, it wouldn’t surprise me if she had to extend.”
“I just don’t want to get attached.” I can almost hear the wordagaindangling at the end of her sentence.
“You can’t start a new life with only one foot in the door.”
She muddles over my words for a second before replying. “I don’t even have furniture. What would I do with an entire flat?”
