Page 164 of You Fall First

“Oh, really?” I tilt my chin. “What if I told you I slept with Bugs until the night I handed him over to Dutton? And I only gave him away because I wanted an excuse to keep seeing you?”

His eyes crinkle at the corners. “I’d say that’s adorable. You’re adorable.”

I shake my head, cheeks pinking up. “I’m almost scared to admit there’s a lot more where that came from.”

“I want all of it. I’m all in,” he says. “That’s what I told your brother, too.”

My pulse skips. “You talked to Dex?”

“I did. The other night, and again today.”

“The other night?” I cringe. “Oh, no. Please tell me there was no mention of shovels, or bodies, or murder.”

Noah grins. “He did what any big brother would do, and he loves you a lot. Let’s leave it at that.”

I scrunch my nose. “So you’re saying Dex doesn’t disapprove of us?”

“Nope. Apparently he’s a fan,” he says. “So are your parents. I talked to them today, too.”

This information drops into my stomach like an unexploded grenade. “How?” I lift my chin, bewildered. “When?”

He shrugs, like his answer is the most nonchalant fact in the world. “I told you I’d been looking for you everywhere. And I wanted to be sure your family was cool with me tossing my cowboy hat into the ring of the Jo Michaels rodeo.”

Fresh laughter bursts out of me. “I literally have no idea what that means.”

“It means I want to be your boyfriend,” he says. “And then some.”

I move into his arms. “Boyfriend?”

He brings his lips down to mine. “And then some.”

My eyes shutter closed as he drops the gentlest kiss to my mouth, then I twine my hands along his neck to press more deeply.

“Some of this?” I whisper.

“And some of that,” he whispers back.

For a moment, his kisses make me forget we’re in public, in the middle of downtown. But Noah must remember, because he eventually pulls away, glancing around to check for an audience. Then he takes my hand and pulls me with him into the gazebo.

We find a column to stand behind. Not much more privacy, but I don’t care.

“You really aren’t leaving?”

“Not even if you begged me,” he says.

He is breathtaking. I am breathless, and so full of joy I can’t even speak. When my lids flutter shut again, he skims his palms along my cheeks.

“Look at me,” he murmurs. “Please.”

So I open my eyes, blinking up at his beautiful face.

“Am I moving too fast?” he asks. “Is this happening too soon?”

I shake my head wordlessly, the only answer I can manage.

“In that case …” His gaze rests on mine. “I’m not just falling in love with you, Jo. I did fall. And I need you to know that.”

Warmth spreads through my body like sunlight, filling all parts of me completely. “I’m in love with you, too.”