He blinks, like I pulled him out of deep thought, then offers a tight smile that doesn’t even try to be convincing. “Yeah. Fine.”
“Noah,” I press, nudging his leg with my foot. “That was the worst lie I’ve ever heard, and I’ve been around Ash when he says he doesn’t want dessert.”
That earns me the smallest flicker of a smile, but it fades fast.
“It’s nothing. Just—stuff,” he mutters, his gaze locked on the pool like the answers are floating there.
I cross my legs and turn toward him. “You’re allowed to have stuff, you know. But you’re also allowed to talk about it.”
His jaw tenses, the muscle ticking before he finally lets out a heavy breath. “It’s just been… a lot. The tour ending, some family stuff, and—” He stops himself, like he isn’t sure he wants to finish that thought.
I don’t push. I just sit there and give him space to say more if he wants to.
After a beat, he glances at me, his eyes softer now. “You and Ash… you guys make it look easy.”
I snort. “Nothing about us is easy. But we figured out we’re better together than apart.”
He nods slowly, and I catch that distant look again before Knox’s voice booms across the yard, a tray of drinks in hand.
“Beer’s here!”
I laugh, the tension breaking as I stand. “Seriously, though, Noah—if you need anything, I’m here.”
He gives me a genuine smile this time, a little more real than before. “Thanks, Amelia.”
I head back toward Nesta, and my eyes immediately find Ash again—this time catching him smirking at me like he knows exactly where my mind was.
The sun is perfect, the kind that makes your skin tingle in the best way, and I am just about to take another sip of my drink when a shadow falls over me.
Before I can react, powerful arms wrap around my waist, and I let out a yelp as Ash hoists me clean off the lounge chair.
“Ash!” I shriek, my aviators flying off as he throws me over his shoulder like I weigh nothing.
“Time for a swim, baby,” he says.
I pound my fists against his back, half laughing, half screaming. “Don’t you dare?—”
SMACK.
His palm connects with my ass, hard enough to sting but not nearly enough for me to stop laughing.
“You absolute caveman!” I gasp and kick my legs as he marches toward the pool.
“You love it,” he shoots back with pure mischief in his voice.
Before I can fire off another threat, he launches us both into the air, and for a single heartbeat, it’s nothing but the sound of my laughter—until we hit the water.
Cold.
Shocking.
Perfect.
I surface, gasping and pushing my soaked hair out of my face, my bikini barely holding on after the impact. “You’re dead, Ash!” I shout, already paddling toward him.
But he floats there, smug and golden under the sun, water glistening on his chest. And damn it—I can’t stay mad.
I swim up to him, my fingers curling around his neck as I pull myself flush against him. His hands find my hips instinctively and tighten the second my lips crash into his.
