Chapter 38

Cora decided it was a good day to do her laundry. Tomorrow she'd get started on deep cleaning the condo - that ought to kill a week or so. Maybe she'd even go through the boxes she had stashed at the back of her closet - the ones she hadn't touched since she'd moved in. After that... Well, she really didn't have any plans for after that.
What was she going to do with more than two weeks off? Suddenly a trip to the beach was starting to sound pretty damn good.
When a first-class airline ticket arrived in the afternoon's mail, temptation ratcheted up another notch. She'd never flown first class before. A brochure with her resort reservations was in the envelope as well, and she practically whimpered at the sight of the luxurious guest cottage. There was a big couch in the sitting room. Maybe she could sleep on that and he could take the bed - if he even wanted to go at all. Surely they wouldn't throw her out if she showed up on her own.
She waffled all afternoon while she washed and folded clothes - wool skirts, sweaters, jeans and heavy socks. February in Charleston wasn't exactly arctic, but it wasn't a tropical paradise either. Wouldn't it be nice to spend some time in shorts and swimsuits? If this whole thing wasn't a prank, she just might have that opportunity. If she had the guts to go for it.
She was still mumbling to herself about the pros and cons, and ironing all her work blouses when her doorbell rang. Who would be stopping by at...? She glanced at the clock. Was it really 5:30 already? She switched off the iron and went to the door, standing on her toes to look through the peephole.
There stood Val in the hallway of her building with a big grin on his face. He held up a huge bag from a nearby Chinese restaurant.
No warm-blooded single woman on Earth would have had the willpower not to let him in. Cora smoothed back her unruly hair and opened the door.
"I didn't know what you liked, so I got a little bit of everything," he said with that endearing, quirky smile. "Hope you haven't already eaten."
"Uh...no." She glanced down at her ratty pink sweatshirt and faded gray yoga pants. Val, of course, looked perfect as ever in a leather jacket over a black dress shirt and khakis. "Come on in."
"Nice place." He stepped into her living room and looked around. "You said you have a roommate? I'm sure there's enough for three."
"Marla's away on business until tomorrow." Cringing at the mess, Cora led the way through an arch into the small dining room, which opened into an even smaller kitchen.
He unloaded the bag onto the table while she got out plates and silverware.
"I have diet soda, sweet tea and a couple of fairly ancient beers," she announced as she looked into the mostly empty refrigerator.
"Since I'm walking home, I'll take a chance on one of the beers." He accepted the bottle she handed him, left from one of Marla's friends at...Christmas, maybe. "So, I'm guessing you got a package in today's mail too?"
Cora nodded as she sat down, her own glass of diet cola in her hand. Did he really expect the two of them to eat this much food? He hadn't been kidding when he said he'd bought a little of everything.
He helped himself to some dumplings and an egg roll, wielding his disposable chopsticks with a flair Cora envied. "I went online and checked with the airline and the resort. Everything seems legitimate. The tickets and reservations are fully paid for and in our names. The coincidence is pretty unbelievable, but it's all for real. If you want to spend the next three days in the tropics, we're good to go. Since it's the US Virgin Islands, you won't even need a passport."
Marla paused with a crab rangoon halfway to her mouth. "It is awfully tempting, but like you said, it seems too coincidental to be real."
Val shrugged. "Sometimes coincidences really do happen. Other times? Well, I still wouldn't be surprised if one of my brothers or sisters was involved. It's the kind of stunt one of them would pull, and at least two of them have been trying like crazy to fix me up."
"That wouldn't worry me." Well, it would, but only a little. Cora liked knowing she paid her own way in the world. She served herself some cashew chicken and rice. "It's the idea that identity thieves are involved or someone setting us up to smuggle drugs or something."
"It's not identity thieves, I'm sure of that. Believe me, I've spent hours trying to hack back into Compu-Cupid and can't come up with anything but a legitimate dating site. If you want to go, we'll just be really careful to check our luggage before we get back on a plane."
"Wait - We? Does that mean you're actually considering going on this trip?" She stared at him as he calmly chewed on an eggroll.
Val nodded. "If you want. It sounds like fun to me. I haven't had a vacation in ages. How about you?"
Cora's mind boggled at his easy acceptance of the possibility. "But you - We - I mean - We're not - That is... Don't you have to work?"
He winked at her. "I haven't used up my vacation time in the last few years either. I've got a good backup team. I can take some time off."
"I suppose it doesn't hurt that you work for the family business, does it?" She ought to resent that. His privileged existence was everything she'd envied as a child and secretly disparaged as an adult, even though the rational side of her knew it was hardly his fault he'd been born into a wealthy, loving family.
"It has its advantages." He used his chopsticks to pop a dumpling on her plate. "Here, try these, they're fabulous. There's a downside to working for my dad, of course. Believe me, when we get into it, we really get into it, but yeah, there's some pretty good perks too."
He was just so cheerful and straightforward about everything, it was impossible not to smile back. Then of course she had to taste the dumpling, which really was as good as he'd said. Lord, if she spent much time around him, she was going to gain a ton.