Page 61 of Two Tickets to Paradise

After all, he'd basically been kicked out of a home and sent to a hotel on the other side of the island where he didn't know anyone. As she took over setting up the tables and chairs in the center of the bowling alley, she let herself stew and grumble over the lack of communication.

There were, she had to believe, a half a dozen perfectly good reasons why he hadn't communicated with her, including the fact that she hadn't messaged him right after he left.

Cora blew out a breath that lifted the hair that had fallen forward onto her forehead.

That was on her.

She looked up at the clock over the bar and shook her head.

It was at that minute that Kawehi walked past her. "Hey, Kawehi?"

Kawehi turned and looked at her. "Hmm? You need something?"

Cora half-shrugged. "I was wondering if I could take a minute and make a call?"

Kawehi looked a little shaken and walked over to her. Kawehi's hands settled on her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Oh, Cora. You didn't have to ask. It's not like you're on the clock and even if you were, everyone gets a break." Kawehi draped an arm around Cora's shoulders and turned her around. "Look at all of these tables! You moved them all. You put the chairs to the side so we can decorate the table! That's a lot of work and you did it all by yourself. You could sit down until the end of the party, and I wouldn't find fault with it."

Maile walked by with a bottle of water with little ice chips clinging to the sides and put it in her hand. "Take a break. Make your call. We've got this."

Kawehi gestured to the bar area where they had the attached stools that twisted back and forth. "Have a seat. Relax. You've done more than enough!"

And before Cora could walk away, Kawehi took out a napkin from her apron and blotted the sweat from Cora's forehead.

"It's great to have you here."

Cora blinked back the tears. "It's been wonderful to be here and meet you two. To meet everyone in Cam's life."

"You're in ours, too." Kawehi blinked back a few tears of her own. "Now sit and relax."

Cora did what she was told, sitting down at the first stool at the bar. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she looked at her notifications and didn't see anything.

That didn't really mean anything, her phone was always messing up with sending notifications. So she lifted it up to unlock it with her face.

And the little light whirled around a few times before showing the number screen.

"Apparently, I'm a mess," Cora grumbled to herself, "my phone doesn't even recognize me."

"I don't know. I think you look gorgeous."

For a heart-pounding moment she froze, her phone clutched in her hands.

Then she felt a feather-light kiss brush against her cheek.

"I'm sorry, I didn't contact you last night or this morning, but I couldn't find my charger."

An image popped up in her head and she lowered her chin, smacking her forehead on her phone screen. "Oh god, I forgot to unplug it and put it in your duffel."

She turned on the stool and looked up at him.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't think about it when Buck was packing your stuff. Are you-"

He leaned in and kissed her.

A slow, searching kiss.

When he stopped, it took her a few seconds to open her eyes and look at him, and when she did, he was smiling.

"I'm sorry, I didn't talk to you last night." His voice was soft and combined with the look in his eyes, it made her warm all over.

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