Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cash
Nori’s gaze dips to my bare chest, and I clutch the towel more tightly around my middle. I would’ve gone directly from the bathroom into the bedroom to get dressed, but I didn’t want to disturb her. Still, the way her brow flies up, I can conclude my half-naked body’s plenty disconcerting.
“I’ll just go throw something on,” I blurt, heading toward my bedroom.
“It’s fine,” she says. “I was planning to grab my clothes and go.”
“No rush,” I call over my shoulder. “And you can keep my sweats. Your clothes still felt a little damp to me, and the steam from my shower didn’t help.”
In my closet, I debate what to wear and end up tugging on a clean pair of scrubs and running shoes because scrubs are always the quickest, easiest wardrobe option. Besides, I’m heading to the hospital anyway, and at least I’ll be prepared if a case comes up.
When I return to the living room, I’m happy to see Nori’s still here, seated at the dining room table. She’s on the phone, still wearing my sweats, looking down at her own clothes in her lap. When she ends the call, she glances up, her bottom lip tucked under her teeth.
“Everything all right?” I ask.
“That was Jemma.” Nori’s eyes meet mine, and an awareness passes between us. I know what that conversation was about. “She apologized—a lot—and said Swipe Rite is committed to being a safe space. He’s permanently blocked from the app.”
He .
Nori doesn’t even want to use Warren’s name now.
“That’s a good start.” My voice is full of grit.
“It is.” Nori nods. Swallows. “She also assured me the rest of my dates will go through extra rounds of screening.”
My pulse ticks up a notch. “After what happened last night, I thought maybe you’d want to take a break from the whole dating app thing.”
“I can’t.” She shakes her head. “Even with the second half of the promotion money, I’ll barely be able to cover car repairs and the shortfall with my loan.”
My jaw goes tense. “And you won’t ask your brother for help.”
“Definitely not.”
I rake a hand through my damp hair. “How much more do you need?”
“If all goes well with Swipe Rite, just a couple thousand dollars.” Her shoulders edge up. “At that point, I’ll be close to draining my savings, which is scary. But I’ve been playing things safe my entire life. Part of that was to avoid worrying East, but I was also avoiding failure.” She winces. “I really hate to fail.”
I bite back a chuckle. “Does anyone actually like failure?”
“Good point.” The corner of her mouth lifts. “But I want to trust myself to take bigger risks now. I’m ready to walk the tightrope without my usual safety net.”
As Nori rises to her feet, hoisting up my too-big sweats, the urge to protect her builds inside me again. Words claw up my throat ready to spew out—an offer for the rest of the money she needs. But I slam my mouth shut, even as my chest constricts.
If she won’t accept help from her brother, she’d almost certainly turn me down. And what would it mean if she said yes? I’m almost afraid to find out.
One of the reasons my ex pursued me in the first place was the promise of a future money fountain. There was a fame component, too, which is why she didn’t stick around once I couldn’t play. But I believed with my whole heart that Daphne loved me, and I was dead wrong about her. I could be wrong about Nori.
My gut roils at the thought.
No, man. You already know Nori better than you ever knew Daphne, in just a short period of time.
Still. Giving Nori money—even a little bit, even as a loan—would undermine her desire to do this on her own. To walk the tightrope.
And I respect her too much to interfere with that.
Stop kidding yourself, Cash. You’re protecting yourself too, in the event you’ve misjudged Nori. You don’t want to be hurt again. At least be honest about your motives.
Yeah. Maybe.
No, for sure.
Annnnd now I’m officially talking to myself. Time to get a grip.
“So.” I scratch the back of my neck. “Are you working today?”
Smooth change of subject, Cash .
“I’ve got the closing shift, so Violet’s not expecting me until noon. What about you?” Her eyes note my scrubs. “Do you have any cases scheduled?”
Not now, I think. But I did .
The tightness in my solar plexus reminds me I took a big risk last night, not going in to cover that burst fracture. I let a perfect opportunity pass to show Dr. Hahn how reliable I can be.
To prove to Jason I’m worthy of LA.
Still, seeing Nori now, swimming in my clothes—all vulnerable and hopeful and desperate not to be an inconvenience—makes regretting my decision impossible. I did the right thing. For a neighbor. For a friend.
Just a friend.
“I’m going to visit a couple hospitals to touch base with some doctors,” I tell her. “But I don’t have any cases lined up.”
“Well, I’d better go shower and change.” She wrinkles her nose. “I can’t exactly show up to work in your sweats.” She tips her chin, and her eyes lock with mine. “Thank you again. For everything.”
“Anytime.” Warmth ratchets up the temperature behind my ribcage. “Is your roommate back yet?”
“She should be any minute. And if not, I’ll go to Keeley’s.”
“Let me walk you to your apartment,” I say. “Just want to be sure you end up with some place to shower.”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“No big deal. I should catch up on some laundry anyway. It’s rare that I’m not in a rush. If you hold on a minute, I’ll just grab my basket.” I start toward the bedroom, gather up loose clothes from my closet, and quickly return to the living room.
Nori’s waiting for me at the door, and she nods at my pile of laundry. “Any mysterious red thongs in there you want to tell me about?” Her mouth twitches into a half smile, and a blush creeps across her cheeks.
I see how it is.
After an intense night together, she wants to slide us solidly back into friend mode. So I force a chuckle, even as my insides ricochet between disappointment and relief. This is for the best , I tell myself. For both of us . I might as well play along. “I don’t know,” I say. “Did you slip in a pair last night when I wasn’t looking?”
“You wish.”
“Yeah. Maybe I do.”
Nori’s smile goes shy. And even in borrowed clothing, with no makeup on and her hair totally unbrushed, she’s still so breathtakingly perfect, a part of me wants to stay in my apartment with her forever, here in this moment, sharing inside jokes.
But that’s not real life.
So I follow her out the door, juggling a basket of laundry and an internal battle she’ll never know.
We’re halfway down the hall when Nori’s roommate—the redhead, Hayden—appears at the top of the stairs. She’s with the brunette I’ve learned is Keeley. Both women spot us and freeze before sharing a quick glance with each other.
“Look, Hayden,” Keeley says on a smirk. “It’s our favorite key-loser.” She converges on Nori, wrapping her in a bear hug. “How are you, friend?”
“I’m just fine, bone crusher.” Nori extricates herself and nods in my direction. “Keeley, this is Cash Briggs. Cash, this is Keeley Roberts. And you already know Hayden.”
“Nice to meet you, Keeley.” I bob my head. “Good to see you too, Hayden.”
“Hey, there.” Hayden’s mouth slips sideways, and her gaze darts between Nori and me. “You’ll never believe what I found.” She holds up a ring of keys on a smiley face chain and jangles them.
Nori sucks in a gust of air. “Where?”
“In the courtyard.” Hayden hands the keys over to her. “Under a lounge chair.”
Whoa.
“I swear I looked everywhere.” I shift my weight, hoping Nori doesn’t think I arranged things so she’d be stuck staying with me last night. “I was on my hands and knees, scouring every inch of the pool deck.”
Nori clutches the waistband of my sweats in one hand and her wrinkled clothes in the other. “I’m sure it was just too dark for Cash to see.”
Hayden aims her crooked grin at me. “Is that what happened, Cash? Was it too dark for you to see?”
“Honestly?” I splay my hands. “I have no explanation.”
“Well, either way,” Keeley interjects, “thanks for taking care of our girl in her time of need.”
“Of course.” My chest swells at her validation, but I shouldn’t want Nori to need me—for so many reasons. I’ve got to shift the attention to something else.
Quick.
“How did the wedding planning go?” I ask Hayden. “Nori says the big day’s coming up, yeah? I bet you’ve got a lot to do.”
This works.
“ So much to do,” Hayden squawks. “For the most part everything’s great. We finalized the seating chart and met with the caterer to pay for the food. But then my fiancé’s cousin called. Apparently, her son’s getting his tonsils out or something, and they can’t leave him with a babysitter, so Jasper and I have two extra dinners we already paid for.”
“That’s too bad.” I wince, thinking about the poor kid .
“Totally. And Jasper insisted on filet and lobster,” Hayden adds. “Jasper’s my fiancé. I was just telling Keeley how ridiculously expensive the meals are per plate.”
“Not to mention the open bar,” Keeley chimes in.
“Unfortunately”—Hayden shrugs—“I’ve already invited all our family and pretty much every friend I’ve had since kindergarten.”
“Hazards of being popular.” Keeley snorts. “A real tragedy.”
“Totally.” Hayden darts her gaze between Nori and me, and a slow smile breaks across her face. “You know what?” She turns my way. “ You should come to the wedding, Cash.”
I blink. “Me?”
“You won’t know too many of the guests, but you and I have met now. And Keeley will be there with her boyfriend, Andrew. He lives in the building too. And Nori’s my maid of honor, of course. So there will be plenty of people for you to chat with.”
Nori lets out a little yelp. “Cash doesn’t want your pity invite.”
“That’s not what this is,” Hayden protests, her eyes still trained on me. “He’s our neighbor.” She loops arms with Keeley. “And he helped our bestie last night. So inviting him to the wedding is the very least I can do. Right, Cash?”
“That’s kind of you,” I say. “The thing is?—”
“He probably has to work,” Nori interrupts. “His job is super-hectic and unpredictable. Even on weekends.”
Keeley cocks her head, surveying my scrubs and name tag. “Are you a doctor?”
“He sells medical devices,” Nori answers for me. “But doctors need his stuff for emergency surgeries all the time. Like … constantly. So he can never guarantee he’ll have time off. In fact, he’s on his way to the hospital now.”
Keeley arches a brow. “With his laundry? ”
Nori’s mouth opens and shuts, wordlessly.
“I’m a multitasker,” I say. “Just gonna tackle this load first.”
“Exactly,” Nori says triumphantly. “He’s just so busy.”
“Clearly.” Hayden bites back a smirk. “But do you have anything scheduled for two weekends from now, Cash?”
My shoulders pitch up. “Not yet. No.”
Nori rounds on me, her eyes wide. “Do you even like filet and lobster?”
Keeley puffs out a laugh. “What kind of maniac doesn’t like lobster?”
“You two are putting him on the spot.” Nori frowns. “And I need to shower and change for work. So if you don’t mind …” Her voice trails off.
“Cash is a big boy,” Hayden says. “He can answer for himself. What do you say, Cash? Wanna come to my wedding?”
“Nori’s right about my job being unpredictable.” I drag a hand along the back of my neck. “And if something came up last minute, I’d hate to flake.”
“Well, I’m not asking anyone else at this point.” Hayden scrunches up her nose. “So you’d be doing me a favor. The last thing I need is my mother complaining about wasted dinners at the reception.”
Hmm. The plot thickens.
Helping Hayden appeals to my philanthropic side. Plus I like the idea of scoring more points with Nori’s best friend. On the slightly more selfish side, I’d love a legitimate excuse to spend more time with Nori. Seeing her in a bridesmaid’s dress does tick a box in my curious brain.
I shouldn’t want to be with her.
But I do.
“I’ll try my best to make it,” I say.
“Thank you!” Hayden throws up prayer hands. “And since you’ll be stuck at a table with the rest of Jasper’s cousins, you might as well bring a plus one.”
“Are you kidding?” Nori huffs. “ I’m not even bringing a plus one.”
“It’s fine.” I shrug. “I don’t really date.”
Hayden grins at me. “Yet.”