“Sulky Luna?” I asked lightly. “What do you mean?”
Denise, right behind her, narrowed her eyes as she took her seat. “You’re smiling? Who are you, and what have you done with the real Luna?”
I could already tell, this was gonna get old real fast.
Babs, Morty’s hat slightly askew and her hair as fluffy as ever, ambled down the aisle and plopped into the seat across the aisle. She’d been spending so much time with Mrs. Grady lately, you’d think they were lifelong besties.
Which may have been Babs’s goal from the start.
With her, it was hard to tell.
Maybe she genuinely enjoyed Mrs. Grady’s company.
Maybe I’d been a little grumpier than I’d realized the past few days and scared off the nicest person on the bus.
Or maybe Babs was playing some long game, claiming Mrs. Grady’s attentions so that Noah was freed up—like a stealthy little matchmaker in orthopedic sandals.
Honestly, all of the above felt equally possible.
But because I was turning over a new leaf this morning, I refrained from calling her out. “Are you ready to check off the next item on the bucket list?” I asked.
“You better believe it.” She winked, because, of course, even hungover, Babs would remain as perky as ever. “What about you?”
“Of course.” Although in all the prep I’d done that morning, I hadn’t actually consulted the itinerary. Which was fine.
I mean, up until The Incident, I’d always enjoyed surprises.
Oddly enough, it was fun. Being seen. Being teased. Being part of something again.
And I didn’t really hate it.
I didn’t hate the sight of Noah climbing onto the bus, either.
He looked a little worse for wear—slightly wrinkled Henley, familiar jeans, baseball cap pulled low, hiding behind his aviators. His shoulders slouched just enough to suggest that the beer in last night’s picture hadn’t been the only one.
He peeked over his sunglasses. He hadn’t shaved, and even with his shades, I could see shadows under his eyes. But despite everything…
Yeah. He still looked annoyingly good.
“Grumpy Girl,” he said as he paused beside our row, his voice deliciously rough.
We were back to that, were we?
“Aisle Seat Guy.” I watched him ease into the seat beside me, his long legs stretching into the aisle. “You’re really tall, you know?”
He grumbled a little. “You just noticed?”
I didn’t even try holding back my giggles.
Because for once, I wasn’t the one needing coddling. “Late night?”
“Let’s just say this morning came way too early,” he muttered. “Only reason I made it down was the horror of being left behind. Mom would kill me.”
He dropped his backpack to the floor, slipped his glasses off, and leaned back, When he tipped his head my way, his eyes met mine. “You warned me…so go ahead. Say it.”
“Say what?”
“That you told me so.”
