Page 26 of Two Tickets to Paradise

Vince watched as she had to grunt a little as she forcibly lifted her brother's hand from his side.

"Oh, all right, Bug."

She yelped as her brother's hand reached out and she lost hold of it.

"I'll be a nice guy."

Vince relaxed and then he saw Cameron smile, but he should have known that wasn't the end of it.

Her brother took his hand in a punishing grip. "Nice to meet you, Vince."

Cameron punctuated his name with an added squeeze.

"Nice to meet you, Cameron."

Vince had to work not to wince at the added pressure, but he wasn't going to make it difficult for Cora who was beaming at her brother.

"Remember when you said I could bring a friend to Hawaii with me?"

Holy shit!

Vince was fairly sure that Cameron had just broken a bone in his hand.

"Well, this is Vince, my friend."

Friend.

That's when Cameron broke contact with Vince's hand.

Vince managed to lower it back to his side without shaking it to test if he still had feeling in all of his fingers.

"I haven't heard about Vince before."

Cora rolled her eyes."I don't tell you everything about my life, Cam."

The mountain of a marine turned to face his sister and put his hands on her shoulders. "You brought a guy to Hawaii with you?"

"Cam, stop it! He's a friend."

"He's a man, Bug!"

Vince smiled at the nickname and made a mental note to ask about it later.

"He's my guest, Cam."

Vince watched as her brother took in her words and made the conscious decision not to make this into a public confrontation in the baggage claim area.

With an almost smile, Cameron dropped his arm around his sister's shoulders. "Welcome to Hawaii, Vince."

"Thanks. I know you weren't expecting me, but when Cora asked, I couldn't say no."

The look in Cameron's eyes said he should have, but Cora couldn't see it.

"Well, any friend of my sister's..."

"Oh!" Cora jumped. "There's my suitcase!"

Vince turned to look at the belt as she pointed at the line of baggage moving slowly in an oval. "The pink one?"

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