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“Is there something—”

I went up on my tiptoes and silenced her lips with mine. Holy hell in a lust-filled handbasket. The ripple of desire that shot through me in the first second of contact reminded me why Kyle and I were incomparable in the chemistry department. I could get lost in these lips forever, soft and responsive. She didn’t hesitate to kiss me back with the kind of soft determination I remembered from Charleston. What I also now remembered was how expertly she kissed. With heat surging, I wanted more. I was also acutely aware of our surroundings. A bar. We were kissing in a bar. With people.

I stepped back, searching for air and control of myself. My heart thudded, angry I’d ended the really nice kiss. I was one hundred percent in agreement.

“Where did that come from?” Kyle asked. There wasn’t a lazy grin, or even a playful one. It was an earnest question, because the answer mattered to her.

That resonated with me, because it meant she cared.

My heart squeezed as her eyes searched mine for any kind of clue. “I think it was only a matter of time.” I shrugged and sent her a small smile. “It’s us, after all.”

“After all,” she said, returning the smile. “Can I see you soon?”

“I was hoping you’d ask. But—”

“I know there are details we need to address about the past, about what happened, and you probably still have a lot of feelings about it—”

“Yes, all of that. But I was just checking in on where things might stand with Raven.”

She looked at me strangely. “Raven? What about her?”

“I didn’t know if you were dating, and if you are, that’s fine—”

“You think I came to Dreamer’s Bay for you and then took up with some other woman? Not happening.”

Warmth blossomed in my chest. Fear fluttered in my stomach. There was a lot going on, but none of it had to be figured out right now, and that realization left my spirits soaring. I could just enjoy letting go for a moment, enjoy this stolen moment when everything felt…perfect.

I turned to my left to see if she wanted to join the group at my table, only to find nearly every human in the bar and restaurant staring straight at us. Kyle must have noticed, too.

“Whoa,” she said, quietly.

“Should have known,” I said back. “Nothing here happens under the radar. Nothing.” I looked at her. “We will be the headline tomorrow at every water cooler in town. Just how it is. I’m sorry. This is on me.”

“Uh-uh, you don’t get all the credit. Besides, this has been my favorite five minutes in a very long time. I wouldn’t change a detail.”

I smiled and probably blushed. “Do you want to sit with us and listen to some bad karaoke?”

She hesitated. “I’m actually on really early in the morning and should get a good night’s sleep, and I happen to feel like this was a really nice end to the evening.” She touched my cheek. “I’ll call you soon. Or, you know, you call me.”

“You got it,” I said.

She set her beer on the bar, said goodbye to a few people on the way out, and disappeared into the night.

When I returned to my friends, I was met with three wide-eyed stares.

“What?” I asked, like it was no big deal to make out with doctors in bars.

“You know exactly what,” Elizabeth said. “That was epic. That was iconic.”

“I’m honestly shocked,” Jonathan said. “And impressed. You really went for it.”

“I took Devyn’s advice and let my feelings be known.”

“And how do you feel?” Devyn asked.

I exhaled and let the exhilaration, hope, and potential of all to come wash over me. “Like I’m ready to take on the whole world.”

She grinned and touched her glass to mine. “You will, too.”