Page 40 of Stunts and Sparks

They spent the evening choosing outfits, packing for Heather’s vacation, ordering delivery for dinner, and watching movies together. Heather’s mom really was the best friend she could have asked for. She always knew having her mom for a best friend was unusual, but she never could bring herself to care. With her mom as a best friend, Heather never had to feel alone. Her time with the kidnappers had been the loneliest she’d ever felt in her entire life, and she had hated it. Now, with Cole in her life, Heather felt like she had hit the jackpot. She had the best mom in the world and the best boyfriend in the world to boot. How could she ever be unhappy again?

For the first time in her life, Heather realized that, if someone had told her they could go back in time and undo the injury that had stolen her career in gymnastics, she would have beggedthem not to. If she’d never been injured, she wouldn’t have gotten into stunt work. And if she hadn’t gotten into stunt work, she never would have met Cole.

She confessed as much to her mom, who put an arm around her while the two of them sat together on Heather’s couch. “That’s what happens when you fall in love, honey,” her mom said. “You start to feel grateful for every moment, no matter how unpleasant, that led you to meet the person you love. That’s how you know he’s the one.”

“Do you really think he is?” Heather asked.

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” her mom answered. “But I will say this — I have never seen you as happy as you’ve been over the last six months. Anyone who can make my baby that happy has my approval and then some.” She ruffled Heather’s hair and smiled at her. “He’s a good man, Heather. For what it’s worth, coming from someone who never did meet Mr. Right, I think he’s the one.”

The second she stepped out of the airport and that warm, humid air hit her face, Heather knew she was going to love Hawaii. Their hotel room was also the nicest one they had ever stayed in — only one bed, of course, in keeping with tradition. It was luxurious to say the least.

The bed looked so fluffy and inviting that Heather had to resist the urge to get into it right away, but Cole had other plans. He pulled out her yellow sundress and the shoes she had gotten to go with it. “I had it dry-cleaned,” he said. “So I can finally take you out to that fancy dinner we never got to have before.”

Heather enjoyed getting dressed up and going to dinner with Cole. He finally wore an expensive-looking suit that wasn’t part of his costume. “You look amazing,” she told him.

He looked her up and down. “You know I can’t hold a candle to you, sweetheart.”

She grinned and took his arm as they headed down to dinner.

The following day, Cole took her snorkeling. She had never seen so many colorful fish outside of the tropical fish section in a pet store. The experience was nothing short of magical. After snorkeling, they had lunch on the beach, and then Cole brought her to a surprise surfing lesson. Heather scoffed at the idea that she could actually surf, but Cole talked her into trying it.

“You’re going to do great,” he said with a wink. “And if you don’t, I’ll get some great footage of you wiping out that I can blackmail you with later.”

“Only if I get to gather footage of you wiping out, too,” she said.

He smirked at her. “You’re welcome to try.” Heather never would have guessed how comfortable she would eventually become with his arrogant attitude. Now that she knew it for what it was, it was actually charming. She wouldn’t change him, given the chance. She wouldn’t change a single thing about him.

As it turned out, Heather was actually better at surfing than Cole, which made her abnormally happy. Her competitive streak with him had not cooled just because they were now seeing each other romantically. She got several great shots of him wiping out from the shore, and she couldn’t stop laughing as she replayed them for him. He was a great sport about it all, though, and he just told her, “I’ll get you next time, my pretty,” in a witchy voice.

By the time they were done surfing, Heather’s legs were more wobbly than custard. She had used some muscles she hadn’t used in a long time, apparently. But she’d had more fun than she’d had in a long time, too. “Let’s do that again tomorrow,” she said, “if my legs can handle it. I think surfing is my new favorite sport.”

“Good thing we live on the coast, then,” Cole said.

They had a beachside dinner together and took the evening slowly. All the while, Cole seemed to be getting more and more distracted. Heather couldn’t help wondering why. To her, they’d been having a wonderful time, and she couldn’t see a reason why he should be concerned. On her second drink, she finally asked him. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, trying to laugh but failing to hide his concern. “Why do you ask?”

She shrugged. “You just look like you’re not feeling one hundred percent right now. You look stressed for some reason.”

“I’m sure I’m just exhausted from surfing,” he said. “You know how it is. Well, maybe you don’t since you’re apparently a natural.”

She scrutinized him for several more minutes before taking her last bite of dessert. She had seen him exhausted many times, and this didn’t look remotely the same. “I don’t believe you,” she concluded.

“I’m hurt,” he said with a fake pout.

“I still don’t believe you.”

Cole just laughed in response. But she also noticed he hadn’t completely finished his dinner, and that was so unlike him thatshe actually did start to get concerned. Was he sick and just not telling her?

“If you’re not feeling well, we can just go back to the room,” she said. “You know that, right? My vacation won’t be ruined or anything. You know how I love lounging around in hotel rooms.” She winked at him.

“I have other plans for tonight,” he admitted, “if that’s okay with you.”

“Whatever you want.” She gave him a reassuring smile, but she wasn’t sure he actually saw it. She’d never seen him look so distracted before. She really was starting to worry now. So far, he’d been enjoying the vacation. He’d had everything planned out, and everything was going smoothly. She couldn’t see what he had to stress out about at all, but she didn’t want to press him too much about it. Maybe there was something in his life he just didn’t want to share with her. The best thing she could do was just be there for him, she told herself, and if he wanted to talk, he would talk.

That evening, he had stargazing planned. Really, it was a good excuse to sit on the beach on a picnic blanket and watch the sky. The sunset had been miraculous, and the rest of the evening was warm and comfortable. There was something so soothing about the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. Heather sat comfortably between Cole’s legs, using his strong chest as a backrest. She liked the way his voice vibrated against her back when he spoke.

“So,” he said after an hour or more of silent stargazing, “you asked what was wrong earlier. I think I’m ready to tell you now.”

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