Page 92 of The Escape Plan

“With your grandfather and the handsome Irish guy’s grandmother?”

I pause for a beat, wracking my brain. “I never said he was handsome in the article!”

“Oh, please, Keeley.” Nisha laughs. “As writers, we all know the importance of subtext. It was clear you thought so.”

I can’t help but laugh, too. “We never actually found out what happened. But like I said in the article, the ending wasn’t the important part.”

“And what about you and the aforementioned handsome grandson?” Freya asks, and I can hear the wicked smile in her voice. “Areyoutogether?”

I shift uncomfortably. “For now.”

“Until he goes back to Ireland?”

I swallow a little thickly. “Yup. He’s moving back to Ireland, and I guess I’m moving to Boston. Like for Noeleen and Douglas, our time will come to an end.”

And the ending doesn’t matter, because we’ve had this summer,I remind myself internally.

“Plenty more manfish in the sea!” Freya declares without missing a beat.

I laugh, just like I laughed when she said this exact thing about Andrew. But this time, the laughter is so forced, it sticks in my throat and brings tears to my eyes.

As I say my final thank yous and hang up, I feel an overwhelming rush of bittersweet emotions.

I’m delighted. Proud. Happy.

But I’m also sad, because the inevitable that’s been shadowing me all summer, hanging over me like an insistent raincloud, is now about to pour:Beckett’s leaving tomorrow.

I thought that if I could put this in a “summer romance” box, I could put a lid on that box after he leaves, and keep myself from getting hurt. But I can no longer deny that my already achy heart gets sadder with every second that ticks by until his inevitable departure.

And while I know, in my heart, that the hurt is worth it, it doesn’t make it hurt any less.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Beckett

“To Keeley!”we cheer as we hold our glasses up and clink them together.

“Thank you so much, you guys,” she says, smiling.

Cash has a beer, Keeley and Nori have wine, but tonight, I’m sticking with Coke, because I want to be entirely lucid for our date.

Well, double date. But at least I’ll get Keeley alone at the fair later.

I smile at the memory of her sleeping on my chest earlier, making little snuffling sounds as she dreamt, and I etch it into my mind so I can remember it forever.

I’m beyond proud of her for getting the job—I knew she would—but it also hits me viscerally. I knew the end was coming, but the confirmation that she has the job in Boston makes me realize our time is running out.

When she came running into my—Mr. Prenchenko’s—apartment to tell me that she’d just gotten off the phone with her current boss and new boss-to-be, I gathered her in my arms and swung her around before kissing her forehead and telling her she’s amazing and I’m beyond happy for her.

It was a half truth. Iamhappy for her. But I’m also sad forus.

I felt like a scumbag, a total hypocrite, for having those mixed emotions over something so important to her. I guess maybe a part of me thought that we could keep pretending summer would last forever.

But it won’t.

So we can’t.

Despite my hidden mixed emotions, dinner goes well. The pizza is incredible. Cash and Nori are a really fun couple. And Keeley and I hold hands under the table like we’re teenagers on a first date.

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