Page 7 of Two Tickets to Paradise

He reached out and took the matcha-whatever it was and took a sip of it. "Better than those green drinks at the grocery store."

Cora nodded. "Those naked drinks. Or whatever they call it."

"Yeah. Naked."

She heard the slight grimace in his voice and felt it down to her bones, too. Why did she say that?

Because she was tired. Off of work.

And standing next to the hottest guy she'd ever seen, trying to send him to the opposite side of the country where she was going.

Can't win for losing, right?

"So you're on vacation, too? Where are you headed?"

Her hands froze for a moment on the keys.

"Too much information?" He cleared his throat almost a whisper of sound. "I'm not trying to pry. Well, I guess I'm just filling the time?" He swallowed another sip of the matcha drink. "Sort of."

"Oh, it's okay." She smiled at him a little. "I don't mind the question. We're passing the time and you," she frowned and opened a new screen on the computer when her search bottomed out, "are going to the complete other side of the country from me. "I'm headed to Hawaii."

"Hawaii? Wow. That is a world away from Maine."

She smiled at the shock she heard in his voice. And bit into her lip when she realized there was also a tone in his voice that sounded like envy. "Well, at least in Maine you can cuddle up in front of a fire and enjoy some hot chocolate."

"I'll trade it for a beer on the beach and sand between my toes."

She tipped her head to the side and grinned. "I guess it's a case of the grass is always greener, right? I miss the White Christmases we used to have growing up. I'm not looking forward to sweating around the Christmas tree."

"Doesn't sound too bad to me." He sighed. "My mom and grandma are waiting to give me the third degree on my life."

"Oh?" She looked at him for a moment. "Are they curious about your promotion opportunities in the military?"

His posture stiffened and he leaned away to look askance at her. "How... How did you know I'm in the Military?"

She felt bad for the creeping curiosity in his voice. "A couple of things. You have a USO tag on your duffel. That says you're at least family, but I'd guess that you're an adult beyond the years of a dependent."

He nodded, his posture relaxing a little. "That's pretty observant."

She shrugged. "Sort of. But you also have that... military air thing about you."

He narrowed his eyes at her, his face halfway between a smile and curious gaze. "An 'air'?"

"It's a look." She pursed her lips together as she hit a wall between flights and started looking through the Southwest flights to get her around the storm. "It's the way you stand. It says you can take care of yourself. You can take care of what the world throws at you."

"You sound like you have a better impression of me than my CO."

She shrugged. "My brother's in the military. Has been for almost a decade. I've seen him and the others in his team. Your energy feels like theirs."

A pop-up on the computer screen dashed her hopes yet again.

Damn it.

Cora was frustrated. She couldn't get the connecting flights she needed to get him to Portland that didn't involve him waiting at the airport for at least a day, if not more.

She felt like she'd failed him.

She looked up at him and saw something different in his gaze.

---