When the train doors opened, the dozen or so people standing in the aisle filed out, giving a clear path to Amy’s objective.

“Ohhh, good call, Aim. He’s a real cutie!”

Trust Bri to automatically assume they were there for the hottest guy on board.

Not that she was wrong.

At the back of the car, a fine, strapping young gentleman sat by himself at the end of a row of inward facing seats. He stared out toward the platform side, one hand over his chin while the other kept place in a paperback on his lap. His entire pose suggested ‘lost in thought’. He wore a sporty, gray newsboy cap atop neatly trimmed, honey brown hair. Over his neatly tailored suit of some darkish blue or gray, he’d added black leather gloves and a light tan coat, more for appearance than to ward off any chill. By his sharp outfit and the fine satchel at his feet, he looked quite the professional.

Despite the pull drawing Amy toward this handsome specimen, her feet remained rooted in place.

A gentle push from behind timed with the train’s departure nudged her forward.

“Go on, missy,” Kim urged softly. “We’ve got your back.”

None of the half dozen passengers in the front end of the car paid heed to Amy’s passing. When she was just past the car’s midpoint, the handsome man turned. He looked directly at Amy, one fine brow raised in interest. A pleasant, lopsided smile formed on his smoothly shaven face.

“Hey.”

Anything else was lost in a foggy haze as Amy realized how good-looking this guy was.

No, not just good-looking, he was flat out gorgeous.

A not-so-gentle prodding at her back brought her back to reality.

“He asked if he could help you,” Bri hissed. “Say something, Amy!”

Maybe it was Amy’s imagination, but she swore the man’s eyes had widened. His smile had definitely dimmed. Hopefully it wasn’t due to some disastrous faux pas she’d committed while in that awful brain fog. How just like her to ruin something potentially so wonderful so quickly.

It didn’t help that the pull toward him was getting overwhelming.

She managed a lame, “Excuse me, sir, but can my friends and I sit here?”

He stared back silently long enough for Amy to start panicking. She was about to turn and flee when he held up the hand with the book attached. The embracing couple on the cover made her pause.

Oh, a romance novel. How nice!

The man stared blankly at the book briefly, as though he’d forgotten it was still there. He then turned to ask the most unexpected of questions,

“Did she just call you ‘Amy’?”

Amy blinked twice before nodding rather foolishly.

“Um, yes?”

“Amy Tucker, from Charleston?”

Amy vaguely heard Bri’s delighted squeal.

“Uh, yeah?”

The guy’s handsome face lit up with the most dazzling smile Amy had ever experienced. The thrill of it surged over her with more power than any blaggit’s energy blast.

“It’s me, Daniel Higginbotham!”

Daniel … wait. A flood of memory, fantasy, and emotion flooded her brain.

“Higgy?!?”

Daniel Higginbotham hadn’t heard that high school nickname in years. Even Aaron Shanks had stopped using it. But hearing it now felt like putting on an old, familiar glove that still fit snug and comfortably. And to have it spoken by the most unexpected, delightful of sources, especially on a day when he could really use some familiarity and comfort.

Outstanding!

Amy Tucker was looking positively magical with that felted blue witch’s hat and matching woolen cloak. Her dark, clever eyes and lightly parted lips were just as lovely as Dan remembered. And today she wasn’t covered up in a drab woolen coat and gray stocking cap. Her form fitting black top highlighted her athletic curves with festive fireworks, and its low, straight neckline revealed strong, gorgeously muscled shoulders. Her white, frilly skirt was thin enough to give a shadowy hint of solid, shapely legs beneath the flowing, airy fabric. He knew it might be rude to gaze admiringly up and down at a beautiful lady, but oh, how could he resist?

And then Amy made the glorious vision even better when she added with a shy smile,

“It’s you!”

Oh, now that brought back memories.

Dan had been thinking earlier about how nice it would be to see her again. Then a few minutes later she’d appeared, as though summoned by his thoughts. And not only did she remember him, it seemed as though she was just as pleased to see him as he was to see her.

This was an opportunity he wasn’t about to fumble.

“It’s me,” he nodded, his faced covered by an ear-splitting grin as he held his half-read book dramatically over his heart. “And I’m totally still at your service.”

Dan patted the seat next to him with his free hand.

“By all means, please have a seat.”

Amy remained standing, staring at him with an unfocused, rather dreamy looking expression. Her friends moved first, plopping into the two seats further along the window, leaving a one seat gap.

“So, this is the famous Higgy?”

‘Famous’? Well now, that was a good sign.

The shorter woman that had just spoken was best described as soft and showy. Her squishy, purple witch’s hat struggled to contain an explosion of frizzy black curls. That gaudy, star studded cloak wasn’t doing any better at concealing the full curves of the woman beneath. The outrageously low neckline of her purple, skin-tight dress revealed far more bouncy cleavage and satiny black scalloped bra trim than Dan really cared to see. At least the energetic smile lighting up her cheery, milky brown face was admittedly charming.

To be fair, Dan wasn’t exactly an unbiased audience, especially with the gorgeous Amy Tucker standing right there in the aisle. Monk would probably be drooling and fumbling his words.

“And here I thought that was just the name Amy used for her favorite vib-mphH!”

If the woman in front was soft and showy, the taller one behind who’d just clapped a firm hand over her talkative friend’s mouth was decidedly hard and intense. She might be sporting a pleasant smile on her lean, ebony face, but her quick reactions and alert, confident posture clearly indicated she was not to be crossed lightly.

“My apologies. I believe we should have let Amy do the talking?”

From the red military cap to the silver trimmed, black leather duster, this fierce looking woman was a near perfect imitation of Hunter Lox from the fifth season of Hunter Gold. She had the shoulder length dreadlocks and mystic warrior look down pat. Dan was pretty sure he’d even seen a shadowy hint of tattoos on her arm as she’d reached around to restrain her friend. Only the glasses, easy-going attitude, and light, friendly voice seemed off.

Wait, the show was always filmed in the east, but weren’t Hunters Lox and Turtle from the Midwest?

It had been two years since the distinctive pair had been on the show as one of the supporting teams. There were still debates on fan sites as to who or even what the helmeted and heavily armored Hunter Turtle was. Dan had always had a firm but rather far-fetched suspicion …

As the train rumbled around a bend in the tracks, Amy almost lost her footing. Before Dan could reach out to assist, the Lox lookalike had grabbed at Amy’s arm to offer support.

“Well?”

Amy gave her head a couple of light shakes and brushed away a few loose strands of black hair.

“Oh! Right, introductions.”

To Dan’s delight, Amy sat down next to him without hesitation. She even leaned closer as she turned toward him to look him eye to eye. Their faces were mere inches apart as she said,

“It’s good to see you again.”