Page 56 of Two Tickets to Paradise

He wanted to talk to her, but yeah, he didn't trust himself to walk away if he did, and that, he knew, was going to cause a lot of problems between brother and sister.

"Thanks, Buck."

"No problem, man. Consider this my good deed for the day."

"For the day?" Vince shook his head. "Much more than that."

Buck cameout a few minutes later with his duffel in one hand and something else in his other. He opened the door behind the driver's seat and set the duffel inside it. When he got in the driver's seat he reached out and put something in Vince's hands.

Looking down, Vince saw the bottle of aftersun lotion and shook his head. "She needs this."

"Well," Buck smiled at him, "she wants you to know that she understands, and she said she'd already ordered another bottle." He nodded his head in understanding. "I think things will work out for the two of you. She's mad, but not at you. So, I wouldn't turn off your phone for a bit."

Vince looked down at the bottle in his hands and smiled.

"Yeah, I wasn't planning to turn off my phone anytime soon. I'm hoping to talk to Cora later tonight, if she wants to."

Buck pulled out of his parking spot with a knowing smile. "Yeah, she wants to."

FOURTEEN

Cora wasicy to her brother at the dinner table that night and the others were on their best behaviors trying to smooth things over. By the end of the meal, Cora was even looking the others in the eye, much of the embarrassment from the afternoon put behind her. Her real issue was with Cameron, and everyone knew it.

Especially Cameron.

It took him a while to convince Buck to tell him where he'd taken Vince.

He'd tried to demand the information first and that had worked about as well as it would have worked with him.

So when he arrived at the Navy Lodge later that night, he should have known that he'd have a tough time getting past the welcoming committee.

The woman standing just inside the lobby door had her arms crossed over her chest and a knowing eyebrow raised in his direction.

"Axl?"

He knew that tone. He'd heard it from Buck a few times.

If he didn't know that the two were just friends, he'd think they were beginning to share a brain.

Or at least an over developed moral compass that was, at the moment, pointed directly at the center of his chest, where he knew his heart was.

Even if it was more than a little bruised at the moment.

He nodded his head in greeting and didn't even have to look at her engraved name tag to know the formidable woman he was standing in front of.

"Marikit."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Heath called and let me know you were on your way."

He cleared his throat. "I need to talk to Vince."

"To whom?" She had a ghost of a smile on her face. "I don't have a Vince here."

His shoulders dropped and his jaw tightened at her ridiculous answer. He'd never say that to her, but he could certainly think it.

That wouldn't get Buck pissed off.

"Marikit. I really do need to talk to Vince."

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