"How can I get ready when I don't know where we're going? Are we going parasailing? A museum tour? Zip-lining? A cruise…"
"Just get dressed. I have everything we need in here." He held up the duffle bag.
“How many diapers did you bring?” I asked, trying to gauge how long this road trip would be.
“Enough. Stop digging.” He grinned. “How much time do you need to get ready?”
“Fifteen minutes?”
“See you in twenty.” He snatched the duffle bag off of the bed when he saw me edging toward it.
“Do I need my passport?” I yelled as he closed the door to the bedroom.
“No,” was his muffled reply.
The five ofus boarded a smaller version of the plane that brought us to Barbados. This one didn’t have a bedroom.
“How many planes does Adam’s brother have?”
"No clue," Cole said with a shrug. "But I think he owns an airline."
“He owns part of an airline. The jet we took here was his personal plane, but I thought it would be too big for such a short trip and half the amount of people,” Kimberly chimed in.
"So," I mused. "It's a short trip, and I don't need my passport…"
“Kimmy, please stop helping her spoil her own surprise.”
"Don't tell me what to do," Kimberly quipped with a giggle. "But he's right, Lisa." She smiled at me and leaned back in her seat, slipping her hand into Adam's and squeezing. She took a deep breath and looked nervous.
“You okay, princess?” Adam asked her.
“I’m fine,” she answered and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I have you.”
I gazed at Cole and smiled.
"I don't know where you're taking me, but I already know I'm gonna love it. Thank you." I squeezed his arm before I slipped CJ off of my lap and buckled him in his car seat.
Ninety minutesafter we left Barbados, the pilot announced our descent. He didn't mention our location, which I was sure was for my benefit. Cole also made sure all of the shades were drawn on the windows. I was ninety-nine percent sure where we were headed, but I didn't want to get my hopes up, and I also wouldn't want to hurt Cole's feelings if I was wrong. He seemed to have gone to a lot of trouble to plan whatever he was planning and might have been more excited than I was.
The plane bumped to a landing and came to a stop. Cole put out his arm to stop me when I went to unbuckle my seat belt.
“Not so fast.” He grinned and reached into the duffle bag pulling out three dark blue booklets.
“You said we wouldn’t need passports.”
"Technically, we don't. But we do need IDs, and I said you didn't needyourpassport because I already had it,” he said with a grin.
A moment later, a beautiful woman about my age stepped onto the plane. As soon as I saw her, I knew exactly where we were. She had pale, golden-brown skin and sleek brown hair tucked into a low bun. She wore a blue suit with a pin of a bright green-jeweled frog holding a red, white, and blue flag on the lapel.
Cole handed her our passports and turned to face me. My eyes welled with tears, and my cheeks were strained from the giant grin I was wearing.
“Surprise,” he said.
“Pize!” CJ mimicked.
“Welcome to Puerto Rico,” the customs agent said to Cole when she returned our passports. “Enjoy your stay.”
Two identical SUVswere waiting on the tarmac. Adam and Kimberly climbed into one. Cole and I climbed into another. There was a car seat for CJ and a stroller folded in the trunk.
