Page 39 of Stunts and Sparks

“Mom!” she cried. “You’re here!”

Her mom squeezed her so tight that Heather actually struggled to breathe for a moment. “My sweet baby girl,” Stephanie said. “I was so worried. Thank God you’re okay. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Mom,” Heather said, happily sinking into her mom’s arms. It was her safe place, but now, she realized, she had two safe places. “It’s all thanks to Cole,” she said, finally pulling away. “He rescued me twice.”

Cole stood at the mention of his name.

“Oh, is this the man you couldn’t wait to tell me all about this morning?”

“Yeah, that’s him,” Heather answered.

“Well, well.” Stephanie held out a hand and Cole shook it. “It’s wonderful to meet my daughter’s new hero. She had so many wonderful things to say about you.”

All of a sudden, Cole looked like he’d seen a ghost, and it didn’t take long for Heather to realize why. He was understanding, for the first time, why Heather had been so anxious to speak to her mom that morning. She had wanted to tell the person she loved most in the world about the man she was falling for. She’d been so infatuated, so madly in love with him, that she had risked her life to share the news with her family.

And was that a tear in the corner of his eye? He wiped it away as quickly as it had appeared. “Thank you so much, ma’am. It’s been my pleasure.”

EPILOGUE

SIX MONTHS LATER: HEATHER

“That’s a wrap!” the director announced, and the whole cast and crew applauded. There were tears and hugs all around. Overall, the experience of filmingRevenge is a Dishhad been amazing. Now that Heather and Cole were not only getting along, but madly in love with each other, everyone had been delighted to work with them every day they were on set.

Heather had more people to say goodbye to than Cole did. She was more extroverted in general, and made friends more easily than he did. He was waiting for her in the courtyard by the time she finished chatting and hugging and saying farewells.

“Are you glad it’s over?” she asked, but she was only kidding. She knew what the answer would be. He didn’t want this project to end any more than she did. They’d had so much fun working together. When he didn’t answer, she assumed his answer. “Me neither,” she said.

“No more mini quiches,” he muttered.

“Such a shame,” she said.

“I’ve been waiting to give you a goodbye present.” He turned to her, and she had a little moment of panic, even though she knew it was ridiculous. Cole had always been open about the fact that he wasn’t a guy who went looking for relationships, and though he’d made it clear that she was an exception, she couldn’t stop a little part of her from worrying that it might not be one hundred percent true. She didn’t want to hear the wordgoodbyefrom him, not even in jest.

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small envelope. Then he handed it to Heather. “This is for you,” he said. “Well, it’s for me, too, but it’s mostly for you.” He grinned at her.

She opened the envelope and pulled out what looked like two plane tickets. “What’s this?” she asked, a huge smile already growing on her face.

“It’s a well-deserved vacation, sweetheart. I hope you like Hawaii — I had to pick a destination so it could stay a surprise.”

“I’ve never been!” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, thank you!”

He hugged her back. “I already talked to your mom, so we have her blessing to go together.”

Heather laughed. “Oh, I don’t think you need her blessing for that sort of thing.”

“It’s nice to have either way, don’t you think?” he said.

“Can’t argue with that.” It was the best last-day gift Heather could have asked for. It meant the opposite of goodbye. It meant he wanted to spend even more time together. And this time they’d be able to focus on each other rather than working orescaping from kidnappers or anything like that. And Hawaii? She couldn’t have been happier.

“As soon as you get home, be sure to get packed,” Cole said when Heather finally pulled away from him. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”

Heather squealed in excitement. She could hardly believe it.

As soon as she got home, Heather called her mom to come over. Stephanie had been expecting her call. Clearly, Cole was in communication with her, too.

“I wish I could go with you,” she said after giving Heather a huge hug. “But he told me it was going to be a romantic vacation, so I decided to give you two some space.” She grinned like she knew something Heather didn’t. “Just promise to call me and fill me in any time anything interesting happens.”

“You know I will, Mom.”

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