Page 4 of Protected By The Polar Bear

I nod, straightening a book before I head off to grab some food for us. The convention center is bigger than I was expecting, and it’s already crowded with authors and their assistants setting up their tables.

I grab some donuts and two bottles of water and head back to Tessa’s table.

“Thanks,” she says, taking a big bite out of her donut.

I take a seat in one of the chairs behind her table, and she drops down next to me.

“Almost time,” she comments, and I nod.

“What does this Randy guy look like?” I ask her, and she swallows another bite of donut before she answers me.

“Brown hair, thin, maybe around forty years old? He’s not a threat, really. I think that he’s just lonely.”

I grunt and she smiles and waves at a few authors who walk by.

“I’m sorry that you got roped into coming with me,” she says, and I frown.

“It’s not a problem.”

“Really? Because you didn’t seem that thrilled when Gunner suggested it or when Niko told you to go with me.”

“It’s fine. It’s kind of like a vacation for me. I haven’t had one of those in a while… or ever,” I say, frowning when I realize it’s true.

“Really?” Tessa asks in shock, and I nod.

“Yeah, we didn’t really travel much when I was a kid, and then I joined the military. So, unless you count deployments as vacations…”

“I don’t,” she says, and I laugh.

“Yeah, me either. What about you?”

“We took a few when I was a kid. We went to the beach a few times and went camping. Then, after college, we really only traveled when we were going to signings and writer retreats.”

“I don’t think that counts as a vacation either,” I comment, and she smiles.

“Probably not,” she agrees.

“Where would you like to go?”

“Antarctica,” she says, shocking me.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I saw that they do cruises and stuff there. I don’t know, it just seems like it would be a cool experience. To get to see all of the wildlife, to be somewhere that not a lot of people have traveled to before.”

“It would be freezing,” I point out, and she shrugs.

“I don’t mind the cold. I’d rather be cold than hot.”

“Me too.”

“What about you? Where do you want to go on vacation?”

“Iceland. I stayed there when I was headed to a deployment once, before they closed the base there. It seemed like a cool place. I didn’t get to see much of it though.”

“Why don’t you go?”

“I don’t know,” I admit.

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