Page 30 of Two Tickets to Paradise

"What am I missing?"

Vince tugged on her fingers, and she took a step closer to him. He did the same until they were just inches away from each other. "You told them that I'm Navy." He didn't make her wait before he continued. "Marines aren't big fans of the Navy."

Her chin dropped down a little and her stomach did, too. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry!"

"Hey... Hey."

He drew her in closer and she struggled to look up at him.

"Cora, please."

What was it about the way he said her name that it made her skin tingle.

All over.

She lifted her gaze to meet his. "I really am sorry."

"I'm not mad or even upset. If they have a problem with it, that's okay. I can handle it. I just hope that Cameron doesn't give you any problems because you brought a Navy man home."

She frowned at the idea. "I've always thought that military guys stood up for each other."

He winced and she knew how silly she must sound.

"So that's not a thing?"

"When there's a threat from the outside? Sure. But when we're left to our own devices-"

"Ah... I know! It's like that time we had a power outage at the airport and we had to work with the other airlines to share generators and help with service to get things back up and running as quickly as we could, but the last time they redid the parking lot for employees, I heard that there was almost a street fight over the lower level parking between Continental and Pan Am."

Vince's smile lifted her spirits. "Was it as cool as the Sharks and Jets from West Side Story?"

She looked at him with a surprised smile lighting up her face. "You like musicals?"

He shrugged as if he was brushing off the question, but there was a spark in his eyes that she liked, a lot.

"I like to blame it on my mom and grandma every time someone gives me a hard time about it, but yeah, I like musicals."

Cora nodded and they started to walk again. "So you watched them with your mom and grandma?"

"One or both," he agreed. "My dad was always away. Either deployed with the Army or when he got out, he had contractor jobs that always seemed to keep him away. So my mom and grandma had the unenviable task of raising me."

Cora enjoyed the way that their joined hands swung effortlessly between them.

"Well, I bet they loved raising you and I bet you love them like crazy."

"Neither one of them would argue with the crazy part."

She laughed out loud and drew in a deep breath of air. "I'm so glad you came with me. I'm sorry Iouted you," she lifted her free hand in air-quotes, "with my brother and his team."

"I can handle some inter-branch animosity. It'll just make things a little more... interesting."

Cora gave him a side-ways glance and sighed. "You know," she smiled at Vince, "I think you and Cameron might be more alike than either of you would care to admit."

Vince almost tripped over his feet and laughed as he got his feet under him again. "I don't think your brother would want to hear that."

She nodded, hearing the truth in his words. "And you?"

A bird flew up out of the vegetation along the edge of the lake and she leaned in toward Vince. He pulled her in against his side and they watched as a second bird took flight and cut through the blue, blue sky above their heads.

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