Page 43 of Forever Fascinating

Sophie was sitting at one of the wedding tables, had a napkin laying on top of her belly, which made Jana smile at how sweet a picture it was, and had a slice of wedding cake on the table before her, preparing to eat it. She was all smiles and looked so happy.

This was the perfect photo to send to the man, especially if he was missing his wife. It was a glimpse of normal life with an edge of adorable mixed in – and she knew it would be something she would love to see herself.

Forwarding the photo via email, she checked to see if any of her text messages to Matthew went through and saw that they had all failed. This made her glad that she’d sent the photos via email as well to him. He had been right about the reception there in Ghazni, and it reaffirmed why he’d been so clueless as to how to use the iPhone… he simply hadn’t used one before and it was much different than some old flip phone.

Putting a TV dinner in the microwave, she went to get her laptop off the charger and put it on the sofa. Stirring her dinner, she microwaved it again and turned off the screaming kettle, walking off to go change into her pajamas, before working on her client’s wish list… and emailing Matthew again.

Getting her dinner out, carrying it to the sofa with a hot pad underneath, she set it down on the end table, before moving to fix herself a hot cocoa. As she returned to the couch, she sat down cross-legged in the corner, yanking down a throw over her lap and opened her computer.

Taking a bite, she began to search through MLS numbers, subdivisions, and looking for features of the homes in the area. They wanted gas and oil heating, a generator, a three-car garage… but would settle for a two-car garage if there was an in-ground, heated pool.

“Weee…” she muttered aloud, taking a bite of her dinner, chewing thoughtfully, before she opened another tab on her computer.

“This… is… crazy…” she sang softly, searching for cheap adventurous vacations.

“Caving… no, just no. Hmm… a volcano? Uh, hello? I typed ‘cheap’and flying to Hawaii to climb the side of a volcano isn’t cheap,” she muttered, still scrolling along and talking to herself. “Work at a cattle ranch? Vacation, not work. Ughhh, let me change my search criteria, because obviously this isn’t it.”

“Whoa…” she whispered, suddenly fascinated.

It was like the entire world was opening up before her, realizing that if she wanted to actually visit some of these foreign places? She could travel with Matthew, safely, and she wouldn’t be by herself.

That thought alone was liberating.

Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Italy was surprisingly cheap right now, Greece, and Iceland. Just how serious was Matthew about traveling? How would they actually do this? Because she wasn’t planning on falling into bed with some guy - no matter how hot he was.

Nope.

She hadn’t slept with someone yet and didn’t plan to either, which meant they needed to hash out travel arrangements – and somehow manage to keep all of this a secret.

Her brother would flip his proverbial lid if he knew she was considering seeing the off-limits pilot again, knew that they were talking about traveling, and that they were testing the waters as far as dating.

Opening her email, she hesitated, and realized that if they were going to do this, there was no tiptoeing around what was going to happen.

They needed to get it out in the open, talk about rules, and priorities, because if she flew into some far-off place for them to end up arguing… there would be no friend to ‘save’ her, nor could she simply leave the restaurant.

She could very well end up stuck, trapped, in a position she didn’t want to be put in, separated and isolated in a foreign country… none of which sounded appealing.

However, there was always that slim chance that everything could work out too, that tiny voice inside her head whispered suggestively, causing Jana to sigh.

* * *

Matthew,

I need to get some things off my chest and talk because my mind is just spinning like a hurricane right now, gaining momentum. See? Even the beginning of this email is super-serious… so this is me, putting this out there, to you.

Please be open, blunt, and candid, so there are no misunderstandings via email, because I can’t see your face and you cannot see mine. I’m trying to figure this all out and meeting you has been at the front of my mind ever since we said ‘until next time’ at the airport…

This is crazy, Matthew, and yet…

I’m in.

I want to travel, have fun, and do things just like you mentioned – but I need some clarification so I can start searching and I guess we need to really discuss what is off-limits.

NO SPIDERS.

That is a big one for me. If there are tarantulas, bird-eating spiders, or I have to worry about anything large, hairy, and bite-y attacking me while I sleep? I’m out. Period. Zero arachnids – am I clear? If there is one at the hotel, I will need rescuing… I’m a severely phobic girl!

No drunken binges. I’m all for having a cocktail (or three), but I do not want to be staggering drunk in a country that I do not speak the language or get rolled in the streets by some thief because I’m vomiting in some gutter. That is not a fun vacation. If we are getting ‘trashed’ on booze? We do it at the hotel, where we are safe and can pass out cold.

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