Page 54 of Two Tickets to Paradise

When she closed the door behind her, she gasped in a breath and bit into her lip until she was sure she would bleed.

Why?

Why had Cam come home early?

No, she couldn't blame it on him. It was his house after all.

No, it was her fault.

Even Vince had tried to pull away, but she didn't want him to.

She'd kept him close and put her hands all over him.

Cora put her hands over her face and tried not to cry out loud.

What had she done? What was she going to do?

How was she going to fix all of this?

She'd find some way to make things better for Vince. A hotel room? Whatever he wanted.

She didn't want this to be the last time she saw him, but after the mess that she'd just made of his visit to Hawaii, she had a feeling she'd never see him again.

And that, was entirely her fault.

Vince was strugglingto figure out his next steps. Cora had asked him to wait, then she seemed to change her mind.

"What the hell just happened?"

His chin dropped down toward his chest.

"How the hell am I going to fix this?"

"This isn't as bad as how it looks."

Vince looked up at the other man. Buck was the name that Cameron and his team called him, but when they'd been introduced, he'd given his name as Heath. Heath Derringer. He was as steady as they come. Real Salt of the Earth as far as Vince could tell.

If they'd met under different circumstances, Vince was sure they could be good friends, but at the moment, he wasn't sure that he'd ever see the man again.

Worse, he was sure he'd messed up any chance at seeing Cora again.

"I didn't press her for anything." He met the other man's concerned gaze. "I need you to know that. We were," he paused and lifted his arm into the sunlight and ignored the pinch of his sunburned skin, "we were putting lotion on to ease the burn. I was helping her. She was helping me..." He closed his eyes and knew how hollow that must sound. They didn't have to 'help' each other at all. "And then we... Well, things-"

"You don't have to say anything." Buck shook his head and held up his hands in surrender. "It's not about what I think, or even what Axl thinks."

Vince shook his head. "That's not how he feels, and I think you know that it's not going to change. The last thing I want to do is drive a wedge between Cora and her brother."

Buck nodded. He looked at Vince and they shared a long look before Buck spoke again. "I think you're a good man, Vince. Am I right?"

"After today, I'm not sure." He let out a pent-up breath. "I know what her brother saw when he came home, but I wasn't trying to disrespect him or his home and certainlynothis sister." Vince shook his head, trying to clear it and his thoughts. "Cora has me spinning in all the best ways," he felt a smile touch his lips. "We haven't known each other very long, but I feel like this is just the beginning of... of something really... special. You know?"

Buck held his gaze and a moment later, he nodded. "I think I know how that feels."

Vince nodded, but he didn't feel any better. "Look, the last thing I want to do is make this trip difficult for Cora. I know how much she was looking forward to seeing him. I think it was probably momentary insanity agreeing to come with her, butwhen someone like Cora offers you a saving grace and a ticket to paradise, it's hard, no, it's damn near impossible to say no."

Buck nodded again and Vince got the feeling that he really understood.

Vince looked over at the door to the bedroom and as much as it killed him to say the words, he knew he had to. "So, I need to ask you a favor. Not that you owe me a damn thing."

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