Page 45 of Two Tickets to Paradise

He did look amazing in his board shorts.

She'd been right that he hadn't had a swimsuit in his bags. Being from Alaska, she knew that swimming wasn't the activity of choice in Northern states in late fall and winter, unless it was an indoor pool.

But it came in handy that Buck had been living in Hawaii for a while. He knew someone who worked at a local store where they catered to clothes for outdoor activities. Swimwear of all kinds lined the shelves and hung on the racks. She'd found the whole concept of rash guards fascinating but she was thrilled when Vince had decided not to get one to wear and picked a pair of board shorts to wear to the beach.

The pattern on the fabric even made her smile. Large hibiscus flowers in white against a sky-blue background helped him cut a dashing figure on the beach.

She had a feeling that everyone around them had them both pegged for tourists given their pale skin, but no one said a thing or gave them any looks. The beach had been teeming with families and friends enjoying the day in the sunshine.

Cora lifted her sunglasses and set it on the top of her head as she watched Vince work his way through the line at the food truck.

She smiled when he turned to talk to someone behind him.

The man gestured at the whiteboard menu on the side of the metallic silver vehicle and leaned in to talk.

Gauging the interaction by the smiles and laughter that the men were sharing, things were going well.

A PING from her phone turned her head and Cora sat up, folding her legs on the towel.

Reaching into her bag, she took out her phone and looked at the screen.

Her eyes fell on a reply from one of the girls at work.

JENNY: OMG! That's a great suit! You look stunning!

She'd sent the work chat a picture of her on the beach with the awesomely blue ocean behind her. There were a few other pictures of her with Vince, but she'd save those for later.

If she sent a picture of the two of them together, Cora knew that she'd be fending off wave after wave of texts and some calls.

The newest message after that was from Cam.

Taking a breath to steady her nerves she touched her finger to the message and read it to herself.

CAM: You look like you're having fun.

Smiling, she answered back.

CORA: I am! The beach, the ocean, it's all incredible!

CAM: Good. I'm going to be on base until just before dinner. Are you going to be okay?

Cora bit the inside of her cheek as she answered back, wondering how much she should say and then decided to say what was on her mind.

CORA: We're great! Vince went to get us something to eat from a food truck. Curious what he's going to bring back.

Three dots trailed across the screen of her phone as Cam typed out a reply.

She let her attention shift to the food truck where Vince was at the window, talking to the women inside the truck. It looked like she was asking him some questions.

PING

Cora looked down at the screen and smiled.

CAM: Can't go wrong with any of the trucks in the area. Stay safe.

She shook her head. Cam was always telling her that.

Always.

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