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“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a beautiful day here in sunny Orlando, Florida. We’ll be touching down in approximately thirty minutes. If you’re not deboarding once we land in Orlando, you may remain seated as we continue to Topica Bay…”
“Isn’t he so sexy?” Cor whispers, interrupting Captain Thomas’s sign off.
“Please, sit back and relax as Futuro Airlines carries you safely to your destination,” he finishes.
“I see those wheels turning, Kate.” She snaps in front of me.
“Aren’t we scheduled for another flight there next Tuesday?” I ask.
Topica Bay is one of our biggest international flight destinations. The white-sand beaches and turquoise water are a big attraction, but from what our passengers have said, there’s something about the island itself that tends to leave people starstruck.
Plus, it’s far enough away from the states for a person to totally disappear—and I’m thinking that person just might be me.
“Come with me,” I beg.
“Kate.” Craning her neck, Coraline checks the isle and then lowers her voice. “Don’t be irrational.”
“Is it really so irrational to want to go off-grid for a while?” I ask.
I’m as trapped in this metal meat tube as I was back home in Georgia.
“Thad has this vision of me as some classy belle of the ball, but that role means muddying my love for getting a little dirty or enjoying a beer at a Braves game in the cheap seats—not an air-conditioned box.”
My ears pop as we descend. “Mom’s insisting on shoving medical school down my throat while fussing over the financial security of my future, and between the two of them, I can’t get my head above water.”
Her shoulders slump. “I’d love to go with you, honestly. But I can’t leave my baby girl. Especially on such short notice. My ex would flip, and we just got on somewhat stable ground.”
I pat her knee, knowing the horror stories of her possessive ex-husband. “I get it. I wouldn’t want that bastard giving you any trouble.”
The chatter in the cabin begins to rise as we get closer to landing.
“Solo vacay it is,” she says with a smile stretching her plump red lips.
Excitement has my brain buzzing.
“And you know what? There will be no men allowed. Not a single damn one.”
Coraline rolls her crystalline eyes for the second time. Her subtle twang sweetens every other word. “If you’re goin’ to the beach, there’s sure to be nothin’ but men, honey.”
Point taken.
“I’ll have to practice averting my eyes then, won’t I?”
Coraline laughs as the tires hit the ground, and the jets rumble through the plane. “Good luck.”
