Special Delivery (A Valentine's Short Story)

SPECIAL DELIVERY (A Valentine's Short Story)
Sometimes gifts of the heart are the best gifts of all...

All Amanda Holiday wants is for her husband to come home for Valentine's Day. She's expecting their first baby, but her husband Luke - a US Navy fighter pilot - is half the world away. So Amanda determines to get through her childbirth alone with the help of a trusted good friend. When a raging snowstorm hits, complications ensue. Will Amanda's strength see her through? And can Luke stay out of harm's way? It may all depend on the power of love to achieve a happy ending.

SPECIAL DELIVERY (A Valentine's Short Story)

Amanda recalled the first time Luke winked at her, causing her knees to go weak. They'd been stopping in the same coffee shop during one of his shore leaves and had happened to run into each other an uncanny number of times. One of those times, she'd just cut her fairly long hair into a new style that was layered and fell just past her shoulders. Luke reached for his tall, nonfat latte and grinned. He had an asymmetrical smile that tilted up higher at one corner, causing Amanda's heart to do a heady flip-flop.

"New do?" he asked her.

She nodded numbly, unable to find her tongue. When one spent one's mornings talking to small children, responding to open interest from a red-hot stranger didn't come naturally. She mumbled something barely intelligible like, "Uh, um...yeah."

He returned a thoughtful look before shooting her a wink. "I like it."

Then he was off and out the door, leaving Amanda's pulse fluttering. It took the person behind her in line nudging her for her to realize the barista was staring at her from the other side of the counter, waiting on her order.

Amanda was flustered beyond embarrassment. "Sorry," she told the coffee server. "I just lost track of..."

"No worries, doll," the older woman said with a knowing look. "Luke Holiday has that effect on everyone."

"Everyone?" Amanda asked lamely. She couldn't help but feel disappointed. As inane as it seemed, she'd somehow hoped the increasing attention Luke had paid her during their early morning run-ins was meant for her.

"Not everyone," the girl behind her insisted. "He's never noticed anybody's hair before."

Later, Luke assured her it was true. He found her blonde tresses mesmerizing. And the way they played about her pretty face? Enticingly awesome. He'd also noticed her eyes. He'd never seen any so blue. And her hands--so fine and delicate. He could tell she was a compassionate person by the careful way she'd cradled her coffee cup. Amanda accused him of laying it on thick, but he'd simply chuckled in response swearing to goodness it was true. And precisely why he'd gone back to the coffee shop at the same time the next morning in hopes of asking her out. He suggested meeting for coffee to start. It only seemed natural. They already had a regular place...