“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.
