Page 62 of The Love Bus

THIS REALLY DOESN’T HAPPEN TO ME…

I relaxed into his hold for just a few seconds before turning my head, catching a glimpse of him over my shoulder.

He looked sunburned and windblown, but he was here.

Almost like I’d conjured him out of my deepest wishes.

A wish come true.

I twisted fully now so I could face him, still not entirely convinced he was actually standing in front of me. He took a small step back, as if needing the same full view of me.

His Henley was streaked with dust, his hair shooting out in every direction, and his whiskers just as thick as they’d been the first day I saw him on the plane.

But it was those stormy blue-gray eyes that convinced me this was real.

“I thought—” I’d never see you again. “You were supposed to be—” far away, in the depths of the canyon . “What…?”

Noah smiled a little, and even though he could have laughed at my startled fumbling, he didn’t.

“Did you really think I’d leave you alone to check off the rest of the bucket list without me?”

I did.

I had.

“But how…?” Even I knew you couldn’t just pop out of the canyon whenever you wanted to. Not even someone as fit and daring as Noah.

“My mom…” He shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment. “She means well, but sometimes, she has no idea what I really want.”

But I would have thought that he’d enjoy something more exciting than the WonderWorld Tours plan. If he wanted to come back anyway, then—did that mean that what he wanted was…

Me?

Don’t go getting ahead of yourself, Luna.

“You mean you didn’t want to kayak down the Grand Canyon?” I totally remembered seeing the wistfulness on his face when he’d watched the daredevils being tossed through the whitewater a few days ago.

“Someday, sure. But not if it meant missing out on this.” His gaze flicked to my mouth.

“This?”

He was looking at me again. Like he was seeing something that didn’t make sense.

“You.”

And that was it. No grand speech. Just… him . Being here. When he didn’t have to be.

I buried my face in his chest, inhaling his scent, a combination of sunscreen and sweat and mountains.

And I hugged him.

And when his arms came around me, tight and solid and sure, I let myself believe—for now—that maybe this wasn’t just a fling. That maybe this was the part where everything started to change.

I didn’t know how long we stood there, but by the time I finally pulled myself together enough to loosen my hold, the sun was mostly set.

Noah raised one of his hands and brushed his thumb along the ridge of my cheek.

I hadn’t even realized I’d been crying.

It was stupid, really. I sniffled. “I’m sorry. I think I just…didn’t expect this. No one…” I scrubbed at the tears on my face. “How did you even get back here, anyway?”

Noah squinted a little, staring over my shoulder at the slowly sinking sun. “When I first got down there, I switched from the five-day kayaking trip to the one-day motorized raft. Helicoptered out and hitched a ride with one of the pilots who’d happened to be driving this way.”

That sounded like…a lot of trouble.

For me?

For me!

“I’m…so glad you did.” I searched his eyes. “I just hope you don’t regret it later.”

“Why would I regret it?” He sounded like that wasn’t even a possibility. And then he pulled me up against him again. And this time, it wasn’t as innocent.

I mean, Noah’s rock-hard body, pressed against mine…

Then there were his lips. They were even yummier, more perfect than I’d remembered. When a gust of wind swept up the canyon, he pulled me even closer.

I’d thought that waterfall kiss was going to be the most romantic kiss of my life.

I might have to rethink that.

Because being kissed by Noah Grady, on an isolated rim of the Grand Canyon, after believing I’d never see him again…

Swoon.

These kinds of things didn’t happen to me. Only in my dreams did a hot guy whom I was a little bit in love with hitch a ride with a helicopter to be with me.

Right?

Well, not anymore apparently.

I might have hummed a little, tracing the sharp edges of his teeth with my tongue, sinking into the velvety textures of his mouth, clinging to him like he might disappear any second.

“There’s just one problem,” he whispered when we both had to take a breath.

“What?”

“I couldn’t get a room. Got any ideas?”

I just might. “Maybe.”

He faltered a little. “I mean, we don’t have to…I don’t expect?—”

“What if I do?” It was a brave thing for me to say. But whenever I was around this man, I felt different about myself.

Better. Stronger. Capable.

Limitless.

He stepped back with a grin. “Lead the way, Faraday.”

There was that swooping feeling in my chest again. The way he said my last name made it sound like an endearment.

We didn’t say a word on the walk back. Just held hands like teenagers, avoiding the main lobby, and ducking around corners when we passed anyone who might recognize us.

It wasn’t shame.

We only had a few days left together, and tonight was just for us. A secret, intimate little detour.

At some point, we’d have to put up with the knowing glances and questions from people who had begun to feel like family.

Not to mention his mother.

Nope, not gonna think about Mrs. Grady tonight.

In my room, the air was cool and quiet. The bed was made. The lights were soft. I half-expected Noah to dissolve the moment the door clicked shut behind us.

Or to wake up from this lovely, impossible little dream.

But he didn’t. And I didn’t.

We kicked off our shoes.

He stared at the bed longingly, looking like he wanted nothing more in that moment than to flop onto it and remain limp as dead weight for the foreseeable future, but then he glanced down at his clothing.

“I’m filthy. And I don’t have my luggage.”

I considered my own suitcase, trying to imagine something of mine I could offer, but there was nothing.

“I could see about getting it off of the bus.” He sounded disappointed but resigned. Because we both knew that if he left this room, the chances of him being discovered were pretty damn likely.

And if he was discovered, his mom?—

Yeah. No. I wasn’t about to let that happen. Not after last night’s performance.

“ I’ll track down your luggage.” I placed my hands on his chest, shoving him toward the bathroom. “You take a hot shower. I should be back by the time you’re finished.”

It would mean fessing up to Tay, but I could handle Tay, and I had a feeling she would keep it quiet if I asked.

“You’re sure?”

“Totally. You look exhausted, and it makes more sense for me to go anyway.”

He agreed quickly after that, confirming that he was, in fact, just as tired as he looked. A few short minutes later, I was speedwalking toward the lounge on the main floor. It was the first place I’d thought to look and, sure enough, I found Tay sitting at the bar with a half-full martini.

When she saw me, she didn’t even try hiding her smile.

“I take it he found you?”

“You know?” Of course, Tay knew. At least this way, I didn’t have to explain how he’d made it back.

“I just sent Joey to get his luggage. I told him to take it to Mrs. Grady’s room.”

“No!” It burst out of me, louder than I’d intended. Tay raised her eyebrows. “I mean, can you catch him? Have him take it to my room instead. Please.”

“Your room, huh?” She waited a couple beats, watching me squirm, but then pulled out her phone with a chirped “Okay!” and called Joe’s number.

“Hey, yeah. Could you take the good doctor’s things to Room 217 instead?”

“He’s probably still in the shower…” I mumbled.

“Don’t bother knocking.” Tay’s eyes were laughing at me in that conspiratorial, good-for-you kind of way. “Just do not, I repeat, do not tell anyone he’s back with the tour. Luna will be there in about two minutes.” She hung up. “Go on then,” she said.

For a second, I saw what might be a hint of…not jealousy. But a sad kind of longing.

I held back, torn…

“Go.” She gave me a little shove.

I only hesitated a second longer. “Thanks, Tay.” And then I was gone.

But Noah didn’t actually need any of his clothing for quite a while. Because when I got back to the room and found him with nothing but a towel slung around his waist…

Well… We kind of picked up where we’d left off.

It wasn’t until much later, while I was snuggled up against him, and his stomach growled, that we both put some clothes on and ordered room service.