Page 93 of The Escape Plan

A pretty perfect evening, once I successfully redirect my mind and focus on the here and now.

Roisin and I never really had couple friends. We hung out with Aoife and her husband Declan a few times over the years, but Aoife’s (admittedly) slightly abrasive personality bugged Roisin.

As Cash tells me about the kids’ baseball camp he’s starting, I find myself thinking about how Keeley would probably love Aoife. Find her rough edges funny and appreciate how real she is.

“That sounds incredible,” I tell Cash honestly. “If I were staying longer, I’d totally offer to help out.”

Cash smirks. “At coaching baseball?”

I blanch. “Hell, no. But I’d make a mean administrator, I’m sure.”

The girls laugh at this, and I squeeze Keeley’s hand under the table.

“If someone had told me a few months ago that I’d be on a double date with Nori and Keeley and Keeley’s new man, I would’ve laughed in their face,” Cash says as he takes a swig of his beer.

Keeley wrinkles her nose at him. “Why’s that so hard to believe?”

Cash smiles and slings an arm around his girlfriend. “Because a relationship was the last thing I was looking for, but then, I found the woman of my dreams.”

“Hush!” Nori swats his arm playfully, but it’s impossible to miss the pleased glow that flushes over her cheeks. “And found isn’t the word I’d use,” she says with a giggle.

“How did you two get together?” I ask.

Nori’s eyes swipe across to Keeley and she props her elbows on the table. “You know what’s crazy?”

“How Cash is so obsessed with you that he’d probably buy you a unicorn if you asked, but you’re still settling for pizza?” Keeley fires back with a grin.

Nori pokes her tongue out at her. “My unicorn is in the mail, I’ll have you know. And no, what I was going to say was that I’ve never told you the entire story, Keeley.”

“Oh?” Keeley tilts her head.

“I thought you’d think I was crazy, at the time. Man, I thought I was going crazy at first, too. But now that you’re with Beckett, I think you’ll understand.”

“Understand what?” she asks.

“You know when I was going on all those dates from that dating app? Well, when I got back to The Serendipity after every date, I’d see myself in the mirror holding hands with Cash. At first, I thought I was seeing things because I was so stressed with buying Serendipi-Tea at the time.” Nori shakes her head in wonder, her eyes a little glazed. “But actually, it was like the building was telling me I should be with him. Like itknew,somehow.”

Under the table, Keeley suddenly squeezes my hand. Tight.

I swallow, squeezing back.

Meanwhile, Nori looks from Keeley, to me, and back to Keeley again. “I was going to tell you, but I thought you’d take me to the doctor to get my head examined.”

Keeley laughs, and to most people, it might sound genuine, but I sense the strained note to her laughter. “You’re right. I probably would have.”

Nori gives her a quizzical look. “But you and Beckett got locked in the elevator together and on the fire escape together this summer…”

“Not to mention the library,” I say.

Cash grins. “Hey, we didn’t know about that one.”

And we certainly won’t be telling you about when the building locked us outside in the rain,I think with a smile.

“Maybe the building was telling you guys something, too,” Nori says, her voice tinged with something akin to hope.

Keeley screws up her eyes for a second before she smiles. “A few months ago, Iwouldhave told you that you were crazy, you’re right about that. But honestly, I’ve opened myself up to the idea of something bigger than us playing a part in shaping our lives. Maybe the building, maybe fate, I don’t know… all I know is that it gave Becks and me the best summer together.” She looks at me, her blue eyes luminous as she adds, “It was life-changing.”

Life-changing, indeed.

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