Two Little Secrets

“Nothing is going to happen to the twins,” Lucie had said firmly, steering him through the security checkpoint and toward the gate. She held on to him as if she feared he would bolt in the opposite direction. “Emma always knows when Nick is trying to con her and she keeps Trey out of trouble. You just enjoy your vacation. And remember what I told you. For the next two weeks, no mention of your kids. You’re a single man out for relaxation. That’s it. And if you get lucky—” she paused “—I packed what you’ll need in your shaving kit.”

Zach groaned. He really should have made a run for it, but he knew his bloodhound of a sister would only drag him back. The woman was relentless.

He dropped into the aisle seat and adjusted his seat belt. He wouldn’t be surprised if Lucie had stationed herself by the door, prepared to stand there until the plane left the ground. With him in it.

An exotic fragrance he couldn’t hope to name floated from his seatmate. Nothing overpowering but enough to tempt the senses. The lady was ready for her vacation in the islands in a short black knit skirt that bared a pleasant amount of leg and a blue silky top that stopped a couple of inches short of the skirt’s waistband. Brown hair that shone with gold and coppery highlights was pulled up and back in a curly ponytail that cascaded down her back. The eyes that watched him were a startling shade of blue. They were large and liquid, meant to captivate a man. Her voice held a husky note that was equally enthralling. Zach, the kid, would have stuttered his way through an introduction. Zach, the man, almost swallowed his tongue.

Maybe this vacation won’t be so bad, after all.

Since his seatmate was engrossed in her book, Zach opened the book he’d brought with him. With Lucie so insistent on his finding some romance in the islands, he wasn’t about to allow her to choose his reading material.

As they took off, he glanced out the corner of his eye and noticed her knuckles were white as she gripped the book.

“Flying’s safer than riding in a car,” he said in a low voice, in the hope of relaxing her.

“Cars remain on the ground while planes, which are infinitely heavier, go up in the air and have the chance of coming down when least expected,” she murmured.

He noticed she started to relax once the plane had leveled off, even if one leg still had a habit of jiggling up and down. Which drew his attention back to her legs, which were as nice as the rest of her.

“Don’t worry, I won’t start screaming or anything,” Ginna said. “I couldn’t sleep last night, so I turned on the TV. Big mistake. I think every disaster movie ever made was on. I channel-surfed from crashed planes to earthquakes to tornadoes to sinking ships. You watch enough of those and anyone with normal intelligence would be afraid to leave the house.”

“I guess that could get a person thinking,” Zach admitted, silently amused by her candor. A logical man to the core, he couldn’t imagine that watching a few disaster movies would keep him off a plane.

Ginna leaned over. “If I’d seen one more movie showing a plane crash, I wouldn’t be here,” she confided in a low voice. “I’m not a good flyer. When my mother was six months pregnant with me, she was on a plane that developed engine trouble and could have crashed. Which is why I usually spend my vacations at places you can drive to.”

“That could limit your options,” Zach commented.

Ginna shrugged. “I live in Newport Beach a short drive from the beach, a little over an hour’s drive from the mountains, maybe a couple of hours from the desert. I think I have most of the bases covered if I want to get to one of those places. Anything else, I plan for a longer drive.”

“Yet you’re flying five hours to a Pacific island.”

“I got a great deal from a client who’s a travel agent,” she said, then went on to clarify, “I’m a hairdresser.”

“Funny, I got a great deal from my sister, who happens to be a travel agent,” Zach said dryly.

Ginna raised her plastic glass of diet soda. “To travel agents who know where the deals are.”

Zach tapped his glass against hers. “The plastic clink isn’t as satisfying as crystal goblets, but we know the sentiment is there,” he said.

She nodded. “Exactly. The thought is there. So what do you do, Zach?”

“I write a magazine column,” he replied, figuring it was close enough to the truth.

“Really? Let me guess. A travel column. How to fly and arrive in one piece.”

“Are you sure you don’t write fiction in between haircuts?” he joked, relieved she’d answered her own question.

She shrugged. “I’ve been told I have an overactive imagination, but I can’t even write a decent letter. I guess when someone says they write a magazine column, I tend to automatically think of the wilder side of the business. Someone who’s free and easy, able to pick up and go when they please. And you seem to be a good flier.”

“I was in Florida not all that long ago.” He figured that was the truth without adding that his trip involved Disney World from a four-year-old’s point of view.

“My parents took us there years ago. Did the Disney World thing. They had just as much fun as we did.”

“We?”

She nodded. “I have three brothers and one sister. Keeping tabs on all of us wasn’t easy. Mom once said if she could have, she would have hooked transponders on us so she’d know where we were at all times. Dad said if they lost one of us, it would just be one less mouth to feed. We figured he meant it.”

“Close-knit family, then?”

“We’re all pretty close in age and I guess we’d qualify as a gang. Makes family gatherings interesting,” she said candidly.

“I just have the one sister,” he said. “There’re times when I feel as if she’s three people in one.”

As the flight progressed, Zach found himself enjoying this time with Ginna. He couldn’t remember meeting such an open and honest person. The last lovely woman he’d talked to was the kids’ pediatrician. He was relieved he could carry on a conversation with a woman without discussing eating habits and how best to handle a child’s fears at night.

They made jokes about the airplane food served to them and discussed movies, books and even touched on current events. Zach was definitely enjoying himself.

So why is she looking at me the way a surgeon looks at a critically ill patient?

THIS IS EXACTLY what I need. Time away from work and the attention of an attractive man.

Ginna gave a start when she was positive the plane lurched in a way it shouldn’t have. She relaxed when the pilot’s voice came on and announced they would be landing soon. She was looking forward to planting her feet on solid ground again.

At the same time, she was reluctant to leave this small space with Zach.

She breathed another sigh of relief when the jet’s wheels touched ground with barely a bump. They soon stood up and slowly filed down the aisle.

The moment they stepped onto the jetway she could feel the difference in the air and atmosphere. Zach walked by her side as they headed for the luggage carousel. He took her carry-on bag for her.

“I understand the hotel has a shuttle bus,” he said, after learning they were staying at the same hotel.

“That’s what I was told also,” she replied.

“Why don’t you call the hotel and request the shuttle to pick us up? I can watch out for the luggage if you tell me what yours looks like,” he suggested.

“My nieces offered to let me use their Barbie suitcases, but I explained I needed something a lot larger.” She laughed. “It’s a large teal soft side with a hot-pink band around it.”

“I’m sure that will stand out.”

Ginna found the phone and board listing the hotels. She made the call and was assured a van would pick them up in about forty minutes. When she returned to the luggage carousel, she found her suitcase at Zach’s feet. He was occupied grabbing a black suitcase from the carousel and setting it down by his side. He looked up when she reached him.

“They’ll be here in about forty minutes,” she told him. “They pick up by the hotel shuttle sign, which is right outside.”

Luckily the shuttle bus was prompt in picking them up and transporting them to the hotel.

“This is just what I needed,” Ginna breathed, looking around the lobby with avid interest.

She was smiling and bubbly during check-in procedures. In no time, she was given her room information.