Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Nori
“What were you thinking, Hayden?”
I’ve got my back pressed against our door—which I made doubly sure was shut behind me. Cash is—I assume—on his way to the laundry room by now and safely out of earshot.
“You mean about letting Jasper pick surf and turf to serve at the reception?” She blinks at me from her perch on the couch, feigning innocence. “You’re right. It’s totally pedestrian.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.” I blow out a breath, which ends up transitioning to a low groan. “How could you invite him to your wedding?”
“Why not invite him?” She shrugs. “I have extra plates of food already paid for, and my best friend secretly wants him there.”
I throw my hands up, exasperated. “What are you talking about?”
“Eleanor Sinclair, I love you so much, and you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, but you’re also being totally dense right now. ”
“I am not.” I put on a pout. “I’m the least dense I’ve ever been.”
“Oh, really?” she squawks. “Then please explain all the heart-eyes you were tossing at Cash just now. I’m surprised you didn’t crash right into the wall coming down the hallway. You weren’t even paying attention to where you were walking.”
“That’s because I was afraid of what I’d see in the hall mirror!”
“Oh, stop.” She waves my comment away. “You look totally adorable in those sweats.”
“That’s not what I’m afraid of,” I murmur.
Hayden takes a beat. “Excuse me?”
“Nothing,” I say under my breath.
“Ummm … no way, my friend.” Her forehead creases. “I’m gonna need more of an explanation than that.”
I cross the room, sinking into the window seat. I might as well confess what’s been happening to me lately. Keeping the whole reflection thing a secret any longer will just make Hayden think I believe it’s real. Which I don’t.
Mostly.
So I wrap my arms around my middle and brace myself to tell her the truth. “For a while now—like multiple weeks—I’ve been seeing … strange things in the mirror.”
Hayden glances around the room. “Here?”
I nod slowly. “In my bathroom mirror and the big mirror in the lobby. Also in Cash’s dining room. Oh, and once out in the hallway. That’s why I was looking at Cash when you guys ran into me this morning. I was just avoiding the reflection, not obsessing over him.”
She tips her chin, her eyes narrowed. “What’s in the reflection?”
“Sometimes …” I swallow past the tension in my throat. “So metimes … I see Cash in the mirror with me. When he’s not … actually with me, you know? But in the reflection, he’s holding my hand. Or I’ve felt him touching my hair. This morning, I heard his voice. I haven’t actually smelled him in the mirror. Or tasted him, but …” I don’t finish my sentence, because I’ve already mentioned too many senses.
I don’t sound stable.
“Whoa.” Hayden’s eyes go wide as saucers.
“I know it sounds weird …”
“Actually, I think it sounds awesome.”
I bark out a hysterical laugh. “Well, that’s too bad, because I’m sure my mind’s just playing tricks on me. I’ve been under a lot of extra pressure these days. You know, with the car repairs, and the loan, and the whole Spring Into Love promo.” I bunch up my shoulders. “Then there was last night.”
This is where I delve into all the details about my evening at Sir Axe-A-Lot, and afterward, how Cash had to save me and bring me to his apartment. Hayden chimes in at just the right times with responses ranging from laughter to horror. And by the time I finish the whole story, I’ve convinced myself the mirror thing was just a result of all the stress.
And the sleeplessness.
And the Snuze.
“Anyway,” I conclude, “I’m sure things will go back to normal. Soon.”
“They won’t.” Hayden shakes her head, like I haven’t just given her a perfectly rational explanation for my off-the-wall visions. “Because it’s the building.” She beams at me. “The Serendipity wants you and Cash to be together.”
I blink. “You can’t be serious.”
“Except I am,” she chirps. “This explains why Cash couldn’t find your keys last night when they were so obviously right there on the ground of the courtyard. The building hid the keys from him. And it’s putting fantasies right into your head. Through the mirrors.”
My jaw comes unhinged. “Do you realize how implausible that sounds?”
“Okay, fine. Let’s go with the more plausible explanation: that Cash Briggs broke your brain with all his hotness.”
“Hey.” I frown. “Aren’t you engaged?”
“I am. And I adore Jasper. I can’t wait to be Mrs. Hayden Perkins. But that doesn’t make Cash not hot.”
I mean, she has a point.
“Come on, Nori,” she insists. “We’ve all heard the rumors about this place. So what if the magic everyone talks about is true?”
I let out a huff. “If the building were trying to bring Cash and me together, why didn’t I see him in the mirrors when he first moved in? He’d been living here for months when this started happening. It has to be a coincidence.”
“Or”—she holds up a palm—“and hear me out—maybe the building waited until you were ready to find love.”
“But I’ve been so ready to find love,” I practically wail. “You know that better than anybody. I never would’ve subjected myself to setups with people like Warren Snuze and Phoenix Fernsby if I weren’t ready!”
“You were desperate,” Hayden pushes back. “Which is not the same thing.” She splays her hands in a show of victory. “Face it, my friend. You and Cash were meant to be. The building has spoken.”
“No,” I insist, even as the ping in my abdomen suggests I might want her to be right. “I’m not some knock-off Snow White talking to a magic mirror on the wall.” I swallow hard, trying to ignore how ridiculous I sound. “I am absolutely, completely … OFF THE WALL!”
“All right, then.” Hayden tips her head. “Tell me this: Have you seen one of these strange reflections anywhere else? At the shop, maybe? Or in your car? On the street?”
I wrinkle my nose, pressing my lips together. “Not exactly.”
Her mouth twitches. “In other words, the magic is only in the building.”
“Ugh. Please remind me to never, ever talk to anyone else about this subject ever again.”
Hayden is quiet for a long moment, then she lifts a brow. “You know, I have a theory.”
“Another one?” I roll my eyes. “I can’t wait to hear.”
“I think you have certain expectations about what true love looks like based on what you’ve seen or heard with other couples. Like your parents. And East and Becca. And Violet and Joe. Then Violet and Larry. Even me and Jasper.” She pauses for a beat. “And you want what you think everyone else has.”
“Maybe I do.” I avert my gaze. “And why wouldn’t I?”
“Because that’s their love,” Hayden says, gently. “East and Becca’s love. Your mom and dad. Violet and Larry. Me and Jasper. You need to be open to your own kind of love, Nori. Your heart wants something it’s never seen before. And I think that’s what the building’s offering you. Your own kind of love.”
“Well, I think it doesn’t matter if the building wants me together with Cash, because I can’t be with the man even if I wanted to.”
“Why not?”
My shoulders slump. “Because I’m not allowed to go out with anyone who isn’t matched with me by Swipe Rite. The promo team is paying me to prove all the best fish in the sea are in their database.”
“Doesn’t Jemma want you to find your dream man?”
“She wants people to think I met him because of their algorithm. And until this promo is over, I can’t date anyone else, let alone be seen in public with Cash.”
“Hmmm.” Hayden tips her chin, considering my dilemma. “I’ll bet the Swipe Rite team would get over it if you just told them the truth. I mean, who doesn’t want to celebrate a good happily ever after?”
“They’ve invested a lot in this promo,” I say. “So have the places sponsoring our dates. If I don’t go out with all ten men, I won’t get the second half of the money they promised. And I’ll have to pay back the first installment. Then I’ll be even farther from my goal of making up the shortfall for my loan.” My voice catches. “I won’t be able to buy Serendipi-Tea.”
“Okay, that is bad.” Hayden’s eyes go soft with sympathy. “What if I promise to make sure you’re never alone with Cash at the wedding? Would that help?”
“It doesn’t matter, because you’re missing one important detail that makes all of this a moot point.”
“What’s that?”
“Cash isn’t interested in me.”
“Now, that’s just false,” Hayden objects. She might as well bang a gavel in a courtroom. “That man is interest personified. He’s interest with a capital I . He practically drooled when I told him you’re my maid of honor. He was picturing you in a sexy dress, and his eyes glazed over.”
“They did not .”
“Oh, please. Cash Briggs was staring at you over his laundry basket like he never wanted to stop looking.”
“But—” I cut myself off.
I’m not about to betray Cash’s trust and share what he told me about his past. How he used to play for the Black-Caps, how his fiancée left when he broke his back. How he’s hoping to move to LA someday. So I stick with the relevant, irrevocable fact.
Cash Briggs is not in the market for a girlfriend .
“He told me he doesn’t have time for a relationship. With anyone.” I expel a breath. “And as it turns out, I’m anyone .”
“Men are wrong all the time, Nori.”
“And maybe he is. But I’m not volunteering to be the guinea pig who finds out he’s right.”