Page 7 of Her Surprise Vacation Date

And boy, has she grown up.

I can’t tear my gaze away from the woman sitting in my passenger seat. Fortunately, we’re still parked because I am distracted with a capital D. Hope looks like the girl I once knew, but she’s even more beautiful now. Her features are more defined and sophisticated. My favorite trait of hers—her long red hair—has morphed from frizzy to silky, and it flows around her shoulders like it’s ready to star in a shampoocommercial. Those crystal blue eyes that used to light up when she got annoyed now radiate a sense of warmth and contentment as she grins. A satisfied sigh emerges from her lips, a sure sign that the cookie she’s devouring meets her standards.

“I take it you like the cookie?” I remark as I stand beside her car door. My shadow falls on Hope as I try my best to block the sun’s rays from her faceandthe prized box of cookies.

“Like it? I love it!” She takes another bite, then licks her lips. “You’re the best, Shane! You’ve single-handedly turned this day around for me. I can’t not smile when I look at this box of my favorite treats. The smell alone makes me happy.”

I laugh and shake my head. “You and your double negatives. I see you haven’t shaken that habit of yours.”

“You know what they say—two negatives make a positive. It’s how I keep my sunshiny outlook on life, so I don’t spiral into self-pity for trusting a complete stranger with my luggage.” She hams it up with a painful smile that makes it look like she’s sucking on lemons. “Oh, who am I kidding? I’m two bites away from spiraling. I’m pretty sure I’m never going to see my luggage again! It’s probably on its way to some remote town where it’s going to wind up being sold at a flea market, along with the birthday gift I spent months picking out for your sister! All of it gone—poof! Just like that.”

“Hey, you don’t know that for sure. The guy at the lost and found said people’s bags turn up all the time.”

After searching the entire first floor for her luggage and coming up empty, we’d filed a report with the airport, then the police. There hadn’t been much sympathy shown to Hope when the authorities learned that she’d practically handed her bag over to a complete stranger. Especially when she didn’t have a good description of said stranger, other than a vaguememory of him being tall, blond, and friendly-looking. She’d walked out of the terminal on the verge of tears until I’d handed her the box of cookies. In my line of work, I get called a hero pretty often, but I never felt more like Superman than when I’d made Hope smile. Unfortunately, my words don’t do much to console her now.

“Thanks for trying to be optimistic.” She starts in on her second cookie, a chocolate chip walnut one. “You’d think with a name like mine, I’d be more of a glass-half-full kind of person. But let’s face facts—my situation is not looking good. As my students like to say, I’d be delulu to think I’m getting my luggage back in one piece or at all.”

“De-what-now?”

“Delulu. It’s short for delusional.”

“Oh. Well, I for one like to believe anything’s possible. God’s in the business of doing miracles. I see them happen on the job all the time.”

“That’s because you deal with major life and death situations. Mine hardly qualifies as one. God has way more important things to deal with.”

“It may feel that way, but anything that matters to you matters to Him.” Hope gives me a wide-eyed look that’s a cross between disbelief and impressed. I rub the back of my neck as her gaze stays on me. “I don’t mean to be preachy. I just don’t want to see you lose hope already.”

With an eye roll, she points to herself and laughs. “Actually, hope is one thing I could never completely lose even if I wanted to. But I do appreciate the reminder. Thanks, Shane. Ames was right. You’re a lot more pleasant to hang out with now that you’re older.”

“Ouch. My preteen self is deeply offended by that compliment,” I say with a smirk. “I was a fun kid… I think.”

“You were, but kind of like a fun-size candy bar. Cute andsweet and a little nutty, but just the perfect size when you don’t want too much of a good thing, you know?”

“Mm-hmm.” The cheesy smile she flashes my way makes it hard to keep a straight face. How can I when she called me cute? This comment brings to mind when she called me gorgeous earlier. I’m still on cloud nine over that one. Being around Hope is more invigorating than a shot of epinephrine. I fight hard to keep the corners of my mouth from curving up, then narrow my eyes to feign my disapproval. “Have you been taking lessons from a politician or something? Because you’re sure good at buttering a guy up.”

“Does that mean it’s working?”

“Possibly. Maybe.” I give up and let a smile overtake my lips. “Okay, fine, yes.”

“Oh, good.” She wipes some imaginary sweat from her brow. “’Cause I kind of just remembered that I’m at your mercy for the next couple of days. I already lost my luggage; I’d like to not lose my vacation associate, too.”

“Vacation associate?” A hearty laugh emerges from my gut, causing a couple of passersby to glance over. I give them a friendly wave while I catch my breath, then turn my attention back to Hope. “Where’d you come up with that?”

She shrugs. “It sounded good in my head. Would you rather be called something else?”

“How about friend? Or buddy or pal could work, too.”

“You’re totally right. Wearefriends.” She pauses to fan herself with her hand, then sets the box aside. “It’s really warming up. Don’t mind me, I’m just going to take off a couple of layers before I melt.”

A couple of layers?Before I can ask Hope what she means, she shocks me into silence with her next move.

I blink in disbelief as she gets out of the car and takes off one skirt, followed by another, her sweatpants, and a pair ofjeans. She then proceeds to remove her jacket and a hoodie, leaving her with a long-sleeve shirt on. To my surprise, she starts pulling the latter off as well, but she stops mid-way with her arms raised and the cotton material covering her face.

“A little help, please!” Hope calls out, her voice muffled. “I’m stuck!”

I step forward and look for a hem or sleeve to work with. It’s a challenge with Hope squirming about like she’s desperately trying to escape a straitjacket. “Easy now. It’ll be easier for me to formulate an exit plan if you stay still.”

“Argh,” she groans, “I’ll try.”

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