Page 46 of The Love Bus

CHECK THAT OFF THE BUCKET LIST

U nfortunately, kissing in ice-cold water forever…wasn’t exactly practical.

As much as I wanted to keep going—God, did I want to keep going—my limbs were starting to go numb. Both of us were shivering more violently by the second, and although some of it was from the explosive combination of adrenaline and attraction, not all of it was.

A significant part of it was due to the cold.

I’d always thought kissing under a waterfall sounded super romantic, but when it came down to the actual logistics, and the fact that this water was essentially just melted snow…

“I need to get you out of this water.” Noah’s mouth moved against mine. I was literally wrapped around him, trying to absorb as much warmth as I could.

“Y-y-y-yeah…” But I didn’t let go.

Noah groaned, but I could feel us moving, his arms shifting under me, walking us slowly through the shallows like I weighed nothing.

But even when I dropped my feet from around his waist, standing on my own, I didn’t let go. I wasn’t ready yet. I needed...

“A little more…” Did I really say that out loud?

No hesitation. His mouth was on mine again.

We were half in, half out of the water now, and my wet clothes were clinging to me like a second skin.

Noah tilted his head, gathering me closer.

I didn’t think we could be much closer, but we could. And it was so good .

“Damn, Luna.” His words vibrated over me. I felt his hands in my hair, tugging on it. My ponytail, and the scrunchy that had been holding it, were long gone, floating down the stream, headed for…the Pacific Ocean?

The wind chose that moment to kick in, and all the heat from this amazing, unforgettable, incredible kiss wasn’t quite enough to keep my cold shivers at bay.

“We have to?—”

“F-fudge…”

Noah tucked my head under his chin, but I was nodding. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I knew, logically, that in order to warm up, I was gonna have to face the cold.

Noah rubbed his hands up and down my arms.

“You didn’t, by chance, bring a few towels with you?” I asked.

He just laughed. “Unfortunately, no. When we left, I wasn’t exactly prepared for…this.”

I couldn’t help but wonder if he was referring to our dip in this icy pool or the kiss.

I wasn’t prepared either.

My skin prickled as we waded the last few steps, and then I was out—soaked, shivering, and weirdly aware of how loud the falls sounded now that my heart wasn’t drowning it out.

Noah climbed out behind me, raking his hands through his hair and shaking the water off like a golden retriever. Icy droplets scattered, glinting in the sun.

And all I could think was… what did this mean?

I wasn’t ready for this.

Even though I needed it!

Without saying a word, he reached for my hand and led me to a massive black boulder radiating heat from the sun overhead.

“Not ideal, but the sun’ll warm us up,” he said, nodding to the rock. “Just give it a minute.”

The smooth skin across his chest and shoulders was already drying. When he moved, muscles shifted in a way that made me question why I’d let him stop kissing me.

Of course, that was when the cool breeze kicked up again, reminding me. Not ideal.

But his eyes…

They dropped to my shirt, which was soaked and clinging. It wasn’t the kind of fabric that dried quickly either.

I took a fortifying breath, fingers finding the hem, and tugged the cotton top up and over my head. Really, I wouldn’t be showing anything more than if I had been wearing a bathing suit. And lucky for me, I was wearing one of my newer bras.

I would have thought I’d be embarrassed, but when I looked up and saw him watching me, I felt anything but. I gazed back at him, unflinching, and licked my lips.

There was a sense of unreality to this moment, similar to what I’d felt when we’d been in the water. I wasn’t…normally like this.

This sort of thing doesn’t happen to me.

Except, it was . And right now, Noah Grady was staring at me the same way I’d been staring at him.

He shook his head. “Come on.” He gestured to the rock. I crawled onto it, shifting to the edge so he had room to join me.

I think a full minute passed with both of us sitting there, not quite touching, just staring at the waterfall.

What did people say in situations like this?

“Well,” I finally said. “We can check that one off the bucket list.”

He slanted me an inscrutable look. “I didn’t realize kissing under a waterfall was on it.”

“I didn’t either.” I couldn’t look away from his eyes. “But it should be.”

“Yup.” He was the first to turn away, but he was nodding. And maybe smiling a little. “Although…”

I held my breath, and when he didn’t finish, I prompted him. “Although?”

He turned all the way to look at me this time. “I can’t say I haven’t thought about it.”

Oh.

Which only confirmed that those heated glances, the electricity I’d felt buzzing between us… It hadn’t been my imagination.

My gaze landed on my knees, which I was hugging to my chest.

But I was grinning.

Noah Grady has been thinking about kissing me!

“The thing is…”

Uh oh. He was looking away again.

“You just ended a what, five-year relationship?”

“Six.” I had been engaged! To another person ! “So not a good idea,” I said before he could—because already, I felt his hesitation.

This was exactly what Ashley had warned me about.

Somehow, though, when he nodded, I still felt a twinge of disappointment.

But he was right. I had been engaged, for the love of garlic!

In ending it—and maybe even before that—I’d lost some part of myself. And then in the aftermath, in the days between The Incident and the start of this trip, I’d been a complete emotional wreck.

I was only just starting to find…me again.

“But that?” He pointed toward the water, near the spot where, a few minutes ago, we’d been. “That was…”

“Yeah.” How far would we have gone if we hadn’t been about to freeze to death? “Never done that before.”

“Everyone should do it at least once.”

He was just staring at me, like he was trying to figure me, or himself, or both of us out.

“Just once,” I agreed.

“Yeah, wouldn’t want to waste our time doing that again,” he said, deadpan. “You are pretty vulnerable right now. Don’t want you to go falling in love with me or anything.”

Falling in…? But Noah’s mouth was twitching.

I punched him in the shoulder, ignoring the temptation just to let my hand linger there.

“You’re safe,” I promised him. “Trust me.”

This was just a vacation. Neither of seemed to be in a good place for anything serious.

Yeah. No.

Silence… And then he hopped up to his feet. “Better head back down. Here, take this.” He scooped his shirt off the ground, where he’d apparently tossed it when I fell into the water. “You’ve already had heat exhaustion; you’re not allowed to get hypothermia the same week.”

Staring at Noah, remembering how solid those shoulders were, I just barely managed to snag the shirt out of the air when he tossed it to me.

He was still dripping and gorgeous—but he also looked…flustered.

Which was so not a Noah thing.

I dropped my gaze to the shirt in my hands and just blinked at it for a second. It was the one item of clothing we had between the two of us that was still dry. And pulling it over my head, I surrounded myself with his scent.

But…that kiss had just been a whim, brought on by the incredibly romantic situation.

Hadn’t it?

“You’d better cover up, too,” I said, eyeing him. “The ladies down there can’t handle all that deliciousness,” I murmured that last word almost silently, amazed that I could laugh about anything right now.

Watching him pull his jacket out of his pack, my throat felt thick.

“You’re right, though. Tay is probably wondering where we are,” I said, grabbing my bag before I said something really stupid.

And then I turned and started walking.

Back the way we came.

Away from the waterfall, this moment, the feeling that had just bloomed and burst.

The sun filtered through the trees ahead, dappling the path in gold, and every step squelched in my waterlogged sandals. Even so, I was pleasantly surprised to find they still held up. Grippy. Comfortable. A-plus performance.

Better than I could say for myself.

The trail wasn’t steep, but my legs felt wobbly.

Behind me, I could hear his footsteps. Slower than mine. Not trying to catch up.

Which was fine.

Totally fine.

It had only been a kiss. An impulsive, spectacular kiss with someone I’d only met like five days ago.

But hey, it could have happened with anyone. Most likely a rebound thing.

The fact that it was the most amazing kiss of my life didn’t mean anything.

Probably.

Definitely.

But we were on vacation. And despite the cold, it had been…incredibly romantic.

My mind went back to that moment, when my laughter had turned to tears.

Noah had known exactly what I’d needed. He’d been so sweet. Incredibly tender.

Of course, we’d kissed.

I mean, who wouldn’t have? Just an item on the bucket list.

Right?