Time Stood Still by London Miller Page B

Susan pulled out the tickets that were inside the envelope, her mouth dropped open. Not just because it was a pair to the one place they had been planning to go—Paris—but because there were a number of tickets inside that didn’t expire and were available for anywhere they wanted to go.
    “We can’t accept these,” Ross said immediately.
    Lauren, at first, believed that he’d said this because the gift was extravagant, maybe more than what they expected, until Mishca spoke.
    “They are from the both of us, yes, but Lauren paid for them herself. They’re clean.”
    Ross looked like he was ready to object again, but Susan beat him to it. “Thank you, both of you. This is just what we wanted.”
    “May I speak with you privately, Susan?” Mishca asked, making both Lauren and Ross look to him.
    “ No .”
    “Thomas, don’t be so mean. He did fly all this way for Lauren to be here.”
    As Lauren watched them head out of the room, she couldn’t help but wonder what Mishca wanted to talk to her about.
    ***
    “Congratulations,” Mishca said once they were alone, or at least as alone as they could get with Ross hovering in the next room. Not that he blamed him, he understood the man’s hesitation.
    “Thank you, Mishca. What can I do for you?”
    “Lauren tells me you’re thinking of selling your house, that you want to travel for a while.”
    She smiled, but shook her head, and he could see where Lauren got some of her habits as he watched her tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “Just wishful thinking.”
    “If you want, I can set that up for you.”
    “That’s thoughtful of you, Mishca, but I—we can’t accept that. There’s so much here that we would have to take care of, and by the time we finished…maybe in the future.”
    “Lauren took me by your old house.” He could see he was treading in dangerous territory and rushed to explain. “I think, like you, she’s ready to let go and leave it in her past. This will be my gift to you,a new beginning.”
    She shook her head, tears pricking her eyes. “I still remember the first time I met you. You were so sure of yourself, even at that young of an age. I thought you were adorable. I never thought the day would come where you would become such a big part of our family, but I’m glad you’re with us.”
    “Thank you for having me. So does this mean you’ll accept my offer?”
    “From what Lauren tells me , I don’t think I have much of a choice, but I think you’ll have a harder time trying to convince Ross of this.”
    “That’s why,” Mishca said with a smile, “I’ll leave that part up to you.”
    As she went in for one last hug, from the doorway, Ross said, “Keep your hands to yourself, boy.”
    ***
    The next day, they were back at the airport after dropping off the rental car, and while Mishca knew where they were going next, he had been trying to think of the best way to surprise her. It wasn’t until they got there that he had had the bright idea of asking her to look up their departure time on the giant display, waiting for the moment when she realized what he had done. She glanced over at him after reading the board at the top, noticing the discrepancy between where they were supposed to be going and their flight number. “I think our flight is wrong.”
    His answer was just to smile, a slow curling of his lips at one corner. “Maybe not.”
    Lauren looked back up at the door, wordlessly mouthing the name of their destination as though she was trying to place the name in her head.
    “Where is Sardinia? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it.”
    “Italy,” he answered.
    “Do you have business there?”
    Since they had a bit of time before they had to board, Mishca pulled out his phone, doing a quick search for the place they would be going. Without a word, he handed it over to her, letting her come to her own conclusion.
    One picture after another flashed across his screen as she slid her finger over it, and with each