Page 19 of Two Tickets to Paradise

He fought off a cheesy grin at the idea of her butt. He'd accidentally moved his hand over hers when he set her back down after spinning her around in the terminal hallway. It was hard to ignore how pretty she was when she was sitting right beside him.

And whatever she used as a perfume or body spray was mouth-wateringly delicious.

Calm the fuck down, Vince.

He took an extreme interest in his coffee for a moment and wished that he'd put down the tray in front of him.

"So," her soft voice reached his ears, "I should probably ask you if you're a meat eater or a veggie. Either way you'll have a great meal. From what Cameron told me, there's going to be something for everyone at the meal. He said there's a restaurant level kitchen at the bowling alley and Kawehi's uncle is an awesome cook."

He nodded. "I'm used to cooking that's prepared for a thousand plus plates a day. I'd be okay with a hot dog from the corner store as long as I don't have to cook it for myself." His smile broadened. "I'm really grateful for the offer to go with you, Cora. I hope you don't end up regretting the offer."

She shook her head. "I doubt it. I'm going to enjoy this trip, and I think you will, too."

"So far so good." He gave her a quick sideways look before deciding to ask her about what she'd been saying just a moment before. "You mentioned someone named Kawehi."

She covered her mouth as she swallowed down more of her trail mix.

Vince apologized for the interruption, but she waved it off. "It always happens," she cleared her throat. "I have something in my mouth, and someone asks me a question."

Oh boy. He really needed to focus. And not on the image that her words had put into his head.

Not only were they strangers a couple of hours before, but he was going to be around her older brother who was in the Marines. He knew that as a Navy man it was going to be difficult to get himself in her brother's good graces.

"You wanted to know something about Kawehi?"

He heard a slight hesitation in her voice, but she put a smile on her face that was pretty genuine knowing that he hadn't been specific enough in his question.

"I'm guessing that's a Hawaiian name?"

Her smile brightened. "Yeah! Her cousin, Maile, is going to be there, too. I don't know what Kawehi means, but it's a beautiful name."

"Is there a V in the middle of it?"

Her lips pressed together in a curious twist. "Not quite." Cora shifted in her chair, turning her body to face him as much as she could with the arm rest between them would allow. "I had to look up the pronunciation thing before heading to Hawaii. I didn't want to get there and sound like a complete tourist."

Vince felt half of his brow lift in question. "But you are a tourist."

"Hey!" She reached out and smacked his arm with the back of her hand. "Oops!" Cora winced and rubbed her hand gently over the spot where she'd hit him a moment before. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

He shook his head and chuckled at the idea. "You didn't hurt me. You couldn't."

She stopped moving her hand over his arm in that soothing gesture of hers. "What?" Cora narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you saying that because I can't hurt you? Or are you saying that because you think I'm too nice."

Cora lifted up her chin so that her eyes met his in an open challenge.

"I'm stronger than I look, you know."

He gave her another look with a lifted brow.

She pulled back her left arm and socked him in the bicep.

"Ouch!" He clapped a hand over his arm where she'd nailed him with a well-placed jab.

Her mouth dropped open, and she reached out for his arm. "Oh my god. Did I really hurt you?"

He couldn't hold back his smile. "No, but only because I doubt you could get enough force behind a punch with the wall of the plane behind you." Vince reached out and wrapped his hand over her loose fist to keep her from trying again. He had a feeling that she could easily rise to the challenge, and he wasn't going to push her.

No, he didn't think she'd want to hurt him, but he didn't want to chance it knowing that she'd feel bad afterward. He had a feeling that life growing up with an older brother gave her some skills in defending herself and likely a good deal of skill in fighting even if it wasn't her brother who taught her.

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