To me.
He paid attention to me.
Cradling the hot drink in both hands, my eyes locked with his.
“Thanks.”
He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “You still want to keep this”—he gestured between the two of us—“under wraps?”
It took me a second to process. But… “Yeah.” I nodded. “Totally. Just a fling. No one needs to know.”
“You’re sure?”
The question hit harder than it should have, and in a flash, I saw all of them—Babs, Ed, Eddie, Tay, the entire bus—lined up like an audience. Watching. Judging. Pitying.
The poor-Luna glances.
“Yeah. Definitely,” I said quickly, my throat tight.
Noah studied me for a second, and then, like he understood, nodded.
By then, the rest of the group had settled into their seats, and Tay was already in her usual spot at the front of our new bus, calling everyone to attention. “Good morning, WonderWorld travelers!” she chirped into the mic, her voice bright and caffeinated. “Can I get a big round of applause for Love Bus 2.0? We are officially back on schedule, baby!”
Murmured claps. Babs gave a little “Woo!”
“Okay, so here’s the rundown for today, and yes—I am speaking directly to the spirits of the Tour Gods right now—we will not be missing a single thing. You hear that, universe?”
I sipped my coffee, my heart slowing, until my gaze drifted to Noah’s hand, resting on his thigh. The same thigh I now knew far more intimately than I had twenty-four hours ago.
“First stop…” Tay flipped the pages on her clipboard with a flourish. “Four Corners Monument! Coming up in about two hours. We’ll have about forty-five minutes there—just enough time for Eddie to buy a set of matching T-shirts for her and Ed, and for the rest of you to get starfish selfies lying on the ground with all four limbs in different states.”
Then she turned, mic still in hand, and squinted down the aisle.
“Just checking—Dr. Noah, are you officially off duty this morning? Because inevitably, someone will throw their back out while attempting said starfish.”
He shook his head. “Officially, yes.” But Noah, being Noah, added, “That being said, I’m always on call.”
“But we don’t want that, do we?” Tay was speaking to the entire group again. “So, I beg of you. Stretch responsibly. After that, Arizona, here we come, specifically Cliff Dwellers Lodge for an early lunch. Trust me, best fry bread you’ll ever taste. And then…we roll into Lee’s Ferry. There, we have guides waiting to take everyone rafting down the mighty Colorado.”
“It’s just a float trip though, isn’t it?” Mrs. Grady asked, sounding a little uncertain.
“The most beautiful float trip in the world,” Tay reassured her with a hand to her chest. “Which is why we absolutely cannot be late getting to Lee’s Ferry.”
She glanced over her shoulder—pointedly—at Joe.
“There will be no transmission issues today. Is that clear?”
“Crystal!” Joey chirped, sitting up a little straighter.
“Excellent.”
For a second, I thought I caught a flicker of exhaustion behind Tay’s eyes, but if it was there, it vanished fast. Her clipboard snapped against her palm like a gavel.
“Launch at the put-in is scheduled for thirteen hundred hours. So help me God, you will go on this river trip even if I have to drive you there myself.”
Okaaay…
Noah and I exchanged a quick glance.
