Page 95 of Suits and Spark Plugs

“I know so. There’s no way you can predict any of that with a checklist. It’s about a feeling in your gut. I don’t think you’ve ever actually been in love with someone, which is why you think it all comes down to science.”

My teeth clenched with hurt. It didn’t feel good to have that fact brought to my attention in such an emotionless way. To be told that just because I hadn’t experienced a certain thing meant I had no right to discuss it was, well, irking.

“Please, do go on,” I said to him. I turned my back and pretended to be engrossed in a root sticking up out of the earth.

“If we flip that same idea around, it stands to reason that if you first feel attracted, and then find out your personalities are compatible, there’s no reason for chemistry to die. That, I believe, is what being in love is. Friendship combined with chemistry.”

“Uh-huh.” I snapped a few more pictures, entirely focused on avoiding his perceptive gaze, even though his arguments were racing through my mind on a wave of irritation.

“Liv?” His voice was close to my ear, which startled me into almost dropping the camera.

“Yeah?” I dared to glance up at him, knowing he’d see what I was feeling.

“You’re mad now.”

“No, I’m not. I’m open to hearing other points of view,” I defended. Weakly.

“You want to use that camera to take a picture of my insides, using my throat to get there.” His eyes crinkled at the corners, which helped some tension ease.

I made a face. “No, no, I really enjoyed hearing about how I’ve never experienced love and have no idea what chemistry is.”

“I was only trying to point out that there are some things that can’t be explained but are very real. It’s okay to lean into the mystifying things in life.”

“Like dating you?” I cracked.

“Exactly. I can’t imagine any scientist on earth would put us together.” He took me by the shoulders and turned me so we were face to face. “Yet here we are.”

“I sure never saw it coming.”

“Me either. You’re different from anyone else I’ve dated.”

I pulled another face, feeling a little of the hurt return, even though I’d insulted him many times. “Thanks?”

“Before you get mad at me, the truth is”—he swallowed and looked away—“I don’t think I’ve ever really been in love either.” His face did that cute flushed thing that I’d only seen a couple of times, and I was entranced. “The initial chemistry and attraction faded with everyone else because they weren’t right for me. But with you, well, it’s like it just keeps growing and I can’t get enough.”

My throat suddenly felt like I was trying to swallow my own tongue. My fingers were nerveless, and my toes curled in my sensible shoes. His eyes were bright and open, and from this close I could see that the stubble coming in on his cheeks was at least two shades darker than his hair, the color of the cocoa he loved. The sunlight glinted off of it, making him look glittery.

“I hear you’ve been telling people around town that we’re a couple,” I stated, feeling at loose ends. How could he be so open? Where did he get the courage to say things like that? I was courageous in a lot of ways, but sharing my heart wasn’t one of them.

He placed his hands on the sides of my neck, which caused a stutter to race straight down to my stomach. “I’ve been calling you my girlfriend.”

I ran my tongue over my lips. “That’s pretty bold of you.”

“I’m a bold guy.” One side of his mouth quirked up.

“But you can’t know yet, about us. We haven’t been dating for long enough to claim a real relationship.”

“It’s sad that I have to spell this out for you, but we are, in fact, right in the middle of an actual, factual relationship.”

I shook my head. “No. We’re just getting to know each other and having fun while we decide if we want to keep seeing each other.”

“I could start telling everyone we’re pals who feel a lot of chemistry for each other instead.”

My mouth softened as a smile bloomed, but he leaned down and pressed his own smiling mouth to mine before I could reply. This time it wasn’t the yellows and reds that burst into my mind, but cool blues and deep greens, the whites and browns of tree bark, the pink of the flower I’d captured before.

My hands climbed his arms and clung to his shoulders as his hands left my neck to float lightly down my back, all the while inching me a little closer to him. As the kiss went on my legs felt shaky and my head dizzy. The cool mountain air against my cheeks was in direct contrast to the warmth surrounding me. I had to pull away and catch my breath.

“Connor.” I turned my face to the side and gulped down some air.

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