“You really want me to rate our kiss?” Her words were barely louder than a whisper, but she knew he had heard them.
The corners of his mouth curved into a smile. “Sure do.”
She set aside her unfinished watermelon and tucked the napkin beneath her plate. Drawing in a fortifying breath, she met Levi’s gaze again.
“Still waiting here,” he reminded her with a teasing glint in his eye.
Her lips twitched in response. “Fine. Your kiss was excellent—top-tier stuff.”
He flashed an amused grin. “Shall I give myself ten out of ten stars?”
“Without a doubt.” She paused. “But it can’t happen again.”
The smile left his face. “Why not?”
“Because I know you kissed me only to convince people that we’re together.”
He studied her long and hard before turning his attention back to his cheeseburger. The air around them had become thick with unspoken tension. She forced herself to keep her eyes locked on his. “It was fake, right?”
He hesitated. “Of course. All part of the plan.”
She was supposed to feel relieved by this news...wasn’t she? That was the second time she’d asked him, and his answer hadn’t changed. Instead, she felt a tightness in her chest that could only be disappointment.
“When you took Wren to get her juice, did she ask you any more questions about our kiss?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t offer any additional details either.”
Savannah picked up her watermelon. “Do you think she’s upset?”
“Hard to tell.” He took another bite of his cheeseburger.
Had they confused her? When she’d agreed to babysit, decorate the parade float and pretend to be Levi’s date to the reunion activities, she hadn’t spent much time thinking about how their interactions might impact Wren. But that kiss had been a bit reckless. And the last thing the sweet girl needed was more uncertainty in her life.
“Lee-by, look at me.”
He shifted in his seat and glanced toward Wren as she darted around a muddy puddle. “Wren, don’t—”
Savannah placed her hand on his arm. “Let her be,” she said softly.
He pointed to the forgotten lunch still packaged and sitting next to him. “But she hasn’t eaten yet.”
“She ate something, because there’s still ketchup on her cheek. If she’s hungry, she’ll let you know. Don’t worry,” Savannah reassured him.
With a mischievous giggle, Wren jumped right into the middle of the puddle.
Levi covered his eyes with his hand. “And those shoes I just bought her...”
“It’s okay. The mud will all wash out. Besides, listen to that laugh—she’s so happy.”
He reached for his soda. Their eyes met as laughter filled the area around them. Oh, she wished desperately that she could kiss him again. But she resisted. Pulling her gaze away, she continued eating her lunch while enjoying the sunshine and incredible smell of grass and dirt as they watched Wren together. She wanted nothing more than for this to be the start of something real between them, but deep down, she knew better. She was merely a filler until he recovered from his breakup with Tori. It would take many months before he’d fully heal, and even longer for Savannah to forget about their amazing first kiss. Though she had told Levi it was great, any chance of another one was gone.
Leave it to Candace to plan a white water rafting trip two days before the parade. Didn’t she have any last-minute painting to finish? Or balloons to inflate? Because Savannah had some of both to tackle. Frowning, she stood in line behind Levi, waiting outside the school bus that had been converted into a makeshift closet. They had to put on all the appropriate gear they needed before claiming their places in the inflatable rafts. A light rain fell from a gray sky, and the ball cap she’d pulled on before she’d left the house offered little protection.
Levi cast a concerned glance over his shoulder. “I can drive you home. You look miserable.”
“I’m not miserable. Just stressed about getting the float finished in time,” Savannah said. “Besides, I haven’t been rafting since I was a kid, so I didn’t want to skip this.”
Or miss out on a chance to spend time with Levi. She’d rehashed nearly every detail of the kiss with her sisters last night because they hadn’t been at the game. Juliet and Hayley had pressed her for more information. To the point of being annoying, really. Savannah had omitted the part about Levi persuading her to rate the kiss; her sisters would never get over that. What she wouldn’t give to be wrapped in his warm embrace right this minute. Shivering, she pushed her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie.
A few minutes later, after she’d passed through the school bus and put on her rubber boots, rain gear, life jacket and helmet, she picked her way along the rocky riverbank. Levi followed her to the place where the rafts had been beached.
“Hey,” Levi said, his kind eyes skimming her face. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
She eyed the churning gray water as it rushed past a boulder lodged in the river bottom. “Would now be a bad time to mention we have almost five hundred balloons to inflate? I should’ve said something before now. I’d planned to get my sisters to help me, but we stayed up late last night talking. Then I applied for that teaching job,” she said, squeezing the words from her tight throat. She stopped short of mentioning how listing her references had made her want to delete the entire application.
His forehead crinkled. “I didn’t realize you had so much on your mind. No one is going to judge you if you’d rather stay on shore. This is supposed to be fun.”
Behind him, she spotted Tori and her date exiting the bus with their gear. The guy said something, and Tori tipped back her head, laughing.
“I’m in.” Savvy forced a smile. “We had a deal. I promised you I’d be here. We can inflate balloons later. The parade’s two whole days away.”
Levi didn’t look convinced. He reached down and buckled the top buckle on her life jacket. “There.”
His attention to her safety made warmth bloom in her chest. What a thoughtful guy.
Levi put his helmet on, then angled his head toward the raft. “Let’s grab spots in this one. I know the guide, Keith. He’s got a ton of experience.”
“Experienced is good. I’m not the best swimmer in the world.” Savannah followed him, moving slowly in her clunky rubber boots. Jasper, Candace, David and his girlfriend, Alexis, joined them.
