The Chemistry of Love(87)

It was like he was making a dish, one where he was generally increasing the heat little by little. But I was ready for the main course.

Kissing him was like floating and falling at the same time. I didn’t want him to ever stop. Electricity skated over my skin, across the water, until it landed in my veins, lighting my whole body up with desire and a need to somehow get closer, even though that wasn’t possible.

What was happening in his shower was the most spontaneous and hottest thing I’d ever been a part of, even though we were both still fully clothed.

He brought the kiss to a stop, both of us breathing hard. He reached over and turned the water off. “What’s the verdict?” he asked cheerfully as he pushed his soaked hair off his face again. We were so close that I could clearly see him, even without my glasses.

My mouth went dry, despite the fact that I was also drenched.

“It seems waterproof,” I said when I could speak again.

“Good. Let me go grab you a towel and something to change into.”

I stood shivering in the shower while he left, both from the cold and from the ache that tormented me. I crossed my arms and could hear Catalina’s voice in my head telling me to go for what I wanted.

I knew I wanted Marco. I desperately wanted to climb that man like a tree. But despite my best friend’s assertions, I didn’t know if it was one-sided. If I was just a port in the storm. The woman he was spending time with and so convenient to kiss. Like he was some kind of serial kisser.

Regardless of how often he did or didn’t kiss me, Marco never seemed affected the same way that I did. He seemed to enjoy himself, he was obviously intrigued by the science part of it, but it never felt like things changed in our relationship. He treated me the same way he always had.

He came back and handed me a towel and clothes that were going to be much too big. “I can throw your stuff in the dryer.”

I nodded, and he left, closing the bathroom door shut behind him. As I started to pull my wet jeans off, I wondered at what point Marco was going to realize that his test was invalid because I hadn’t been wearing any of my lipstick today.



I’d had to borrow a suitcase from Catalina, who threatened me under penalty of death if I didn’t call her every night and tell her everything that happened in Vermont. During our plane ride, which was first class and now I didn’t know how I’d ever go back to economy seats, Marco explained that the Vermont house had been his mother’s favorite and that she had loved to ski. So every January, the family would go up for a week to ski and spend time together.

“My dad could only make it for like, three days tops and so we keep the tradition, but for a few days.”

“That seems like a lot of effort.” All these people packing and flying across the country when they lived near each other in California.

“Well, my family typically fights most of the year via texts and emails, so it’s important that for a few days we put all that aside and fight in person.”

I laughed, but I could tell that something about this bothered him. I hoped he would tell me.

The house was far from the airport, and Marco had rented an SUV to get us there. It had been a long day, and I ended up falling asleep in the passenger seat. I awoke to Marco gently shaking me.

“We’re here.”

I opened my eyes to a winter wonderland. Everywhere I looked, there was a blanket of sparkling white snow. I got out of the car and stood there, looking up. The snow was falling above me, and I twirled around in circles, laughing. Marco got out of the car and stood by the front, watching me spin.

“This is amazing!” I called out. “I’ve never seen snow before.”

“You’ve never seen snow?” he asked incredulously.

“Nope.”

He fell silent, and that’s when I noticed how quiet it was. Like the blanket of snow was absorbing the sound. It was so beautiful.

“This,” Marco said, and I turned to face him.

“What?”

“This is what you should show Craig. This part of you. Full of wonder and delight. You’re . . . enchanting.”

His words touched me, but he didn’t want me for himself. He was ready to pass me along to his brother.

Because that’s what he thinks you want, my inner voice chided me.

Ignoring it, I said, “Nobody’s ever called me enchanting before.”

“Really? Even with the D&D crowd you run with? I bet they have, and it was in some fantasy language so you didn’t know it.” He paused and then said, “Gi melin, Undómiel.”

“What did you just say?” I asked. “What language was that?”

“Nothing. Forget I said it. It’s not important.”

I got the feeling it was very important, but I was afraid to risk looking like a pathetic idiot in that moment, so I said nothing.

“I’ll grab the luggage,” he said.

It was then that I turned and noticed the house. It wasn’t so much a house as a massive chalet covered in snow. I wondered how I’d missed it. “Wow. I’m betting at one point there was a moat. You guys have some Scrooge McDuck money.”

“We don’t have a vault full of gold coins to swim in, if you were hoping to put that on the agenda,” he said, carrying both of our suitcases. His phone buzzed, and he took it out of his pocket. “It’s my dad. Their private plane was diverted into Philadelphia because of the storm. We’re lucky we landed when we did. But that means we’re on our own tonight.”