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“You think he’ll be okay?” I don’t know why I care after what he implied, but I do.

“Unfortunately.” He lets out a dark chuckle. “You sure do know how to pick ’em.”

“I didn’t pick him, Nicole did. But I didn’t have a good enough reason to eliminate him until today.” I keep my eyes glued to Jordan’s profile as he helps me into my harness. “You hate this, don’t you?”

“Zip lining?” He fumbles with my buckle. “It’s actually my first time.”

“That’s not what I—” My heart clenches, as another question pops into my head. “Speaking of first times . . .”

With a hard yank on my strap, Jordan gazes into my eyes. “I hope to have many firsts with you.”

“You haven’t . . . ?” The words catch in my throat, and I press my lips together to stop the word vomit, hoping he catches my meaning.

Jordan blinks, then a slow grin spreads across his lips. “Sorry, princess. Fatima Cook beat you to it the summer between my junior and senior years of high school.”

“Of course.” My whole body goes up in flames. “I thought you were saying. I mean, I didn’t expect that, but I thought maybe . . .”

Jordan leans down and whispers his lips across mine. “If I’d known you’d come into my life, I would’ve waited.” Then he steps back and attaches his own harness.

The guy in charge of the zip line gives us an impatient look. “You ready?”

Jordan grins like a kid on Christmas morning.

I can’t decide if I’m terrified or exhilarated. “Let’s go.”

“Hold on!” The guy gives me a hard shove, sending me sailing over the treetops and hurtling toward the bottom.

With my heart racing a million miles an hour, I go soaring through the air, gripping the tether lines for dear life. Before I know it, we’ve reached the lower platform, and I dangle there, hands shaking and legs like Jell-O, while a girl not much older than me unhooks the harness. Once free, I stagger toward a grinning Jordan.

“Well?” His eyebrows ride up his forehead.

I let out a squeal and rush over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “That. Was. Amazing!”

Jordan’s eyes blaze as he gazes down at me and snakes his arms around me, lifting me off the ground. The air around us crackles, and I don’t have a chance to take a breath before his lips collide with mine. Everything around us falls away, and I suddenly don’t care that I’m sweaty or that we’re surrounded by a bunch of strangers. I can’t think of anything but Jordan and his soft lips parting mine, kissing me into oblivion. Then the sound of a camera shutter rapidly clicking drags me out of my euphoria.

“Over here!” A guy I don’t recognize lunges forward, pointing an expensive camera in our faces. “Come on, you two. Smile pretty for the camera.”

27

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jordan goes rigid, and a dark shadow falls over his features as he stares down the camera lens.

The guy rolls his eyes as he clicks away. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

For a fleeting moment, I think maybe the man works for the park, but he isn’t taking anyone else’s picture. And he smells like last night’s scotch and too much patchouli.

“You mean besides invading our privacy?” Jordan steps forward, vibrating with tension as he positions himself between me and the stranger.

I rest a hand on Jordan’s forearm, and he stills.

The guy laughs. He’s not as young as us—no more than thirty if that—but he’s leaning hard into the hipster vibe, and there’s no way he’s from CampusBuzz.

Jordan returns the laugh, but the dangerous sound sends a shiver down my spine. He crosses his arms and nods toward the camera. “Looks expensive. Be a shame if it got smashed to bits.”

The guy doesn’t flinch but lowers the camera with a sigh.

“Fine. You win, tough guy. I got what I came for.” He shoves his camera into a nylon bag and jogs to a black SUV. As he climbs in, he winks at me. “See ya next time, Kennedy.”

“You know that guy?” Jordan stares down the mysterious photographer, his brows forming a sharp V above his flinty eyes.