Page 29 of A Match Made In Fall

She smiles immediately. “Definitely. I’ve never done an escape room before.”

“Seriously?” Abby says excitedly. “You’re going to love it.”

Nick points at her. “You don’t know that for sure.”

Abby ignores him completely. “Perfect. Let’s go.”

I clap Nick on the shoulder as we head toward the door. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

He sighs dramatically. There’s no point arguing when the rest of us are clearly on Abby’s side.

The evening air is cool and crisp, a typical fall night. I slow my pace automatically to stay with Isabella as she walks slowly in her boot.

“I hate this thing,” she says quietly as the others move ahead of us. “But at least I’m finally off the crutches.”

“What did you do with them?” I ask.

“Nothing. They’re sitting in my parents’ garage.”

I grin. “Good. They can stay there permanently.”

“Exactly,” she says with a laugh.

When we reach Abby’s SUV, I offer Isabella my arm to help her climb inside.

She places her hand lightly on my arm. “Thank you. I’m usually a lot more graceful than this.”

“You’re doing great,” I tell her.

The moment her fingers curl around my arm, something shifts in my chest.

Suddenly I wish this wasn’t a group outing. I wish it were just the two of us heading to dinner alone, with no interruptions. Just Isabella and I spending the evening getting to know each other better.

And judging by the way she keeps smiling at me, I have a feeling this is going to be a very good night.

CHAPTER NINE

ISABELLA

Iwonder how obvious it is that I’m pretending to be normal right now because I can’t stop smiling. Every time Austin says something, he has everyone else laughing, even Nick, who apparently is one of the grumpiest guys around.

Dinner flew by in good way. The food was fantastic, and the conversation never stalled. And even though I’m having a lot of fun, there’s a part of me that wishes it was just Austin and I sitting across from each other. I want to keep talking to him but don’t want to be rude to the rest of the group. Abby and Eloise are both so great, and two women I know I’ll be friends with for the long haul.

Now the six of us are packed into an escape room, and everyone’s competitive side has officially taken over.

Even Nick is now invested, muttering under his breath while he aggressively looks through drawers like he’s on the hunt for treasure.

We need to solve a chain of puzzles to unlock the next room. Austin and I are searching through an old rusty filing cabinet, looking for anything that might be a clue.

“This is actually so fun,” I tell him, sorting through some papers. “I can’t believe I’ve never done an escape room before.”

“I’ve only done one,” he tells me. “My mom made my whole family go when I was home for Christmas a few years ago.”

I laugh softly. “That sounds exactly like something my mom would force us to do.”

He grins. “Force?”

“Both of my parents love anything that includes family bonding,” I say. “Although lately she’s mostly focused on her grandchild. If it doesn’t involve him, she’s not interested.” I pause. “Then again, she has been full of surprises lately.”