In my sweet holiday romance, Aloha to Love, the heroine is on a cruise ship bound for Hawaii, where she meets the hero.
Here is a peek excerpt from the first chapter:
Angelina Conte stood along the railing of the Bird of Paradise cruise ship as the achingly familiar Los Angeles, California, skyline disappeared from view. The ship’s horn blew, and people waved madly from the shore. In the deepening dusk of a glorious December day, the intimate ship began cruising the sparkling Pacific Ocean waters, leaving San Pedro Bay far behind.
Sipping her refreshing glass of iced tea, she turned and gazed through the glass doors of the grand atrium, the center of the ship. A sweeping spiral staircase, bedecked with brilliant red poinsettias, commanded attention, and the bubble elevators eased passengers up and down to the various decks with amazing efficiency. Every detail of the cruise shouted “Happy Holidays” and high living, and she would have loved to savor the experience. There was a catch, though, and a big one. Unexpected script changes for her screenplay, Aloha to Love, had to be fixed by January first. And all these fixes were because of one man, the eminent volcanologist, Dr. Caleb Sloane.
Partridge Production Studios had paid for her cruise under the stipulation she attend Dr. Sloane’s lectures on board the ship. The studio had hired him after she’d handed in her screenplay, and he had problems that the studio insisted she discuss face-to-face with him.
“Dr. Sloane insists that correct details are equally as important as your story,” her boss, Devon, had quoted. “Working with him directly will give you a better grasp of the destructive nature of volcanoes.”
“I know, I know,” she murmured, although it was difficult to abandon her view of the stunning scenery to go below deck and plug away. She scanned the red-and-green flowered garland strung along the deck railings. A gigantic gingerbread display had been set up in the main lobby, and each guest had received a celebratory tote bag upon boarding. On Christmas Eve day, church services would be held.
The most important part of Christmas, she mused, was what one of her favorite pastors had once said, a quote she’d seen many times: “The child of Christmas is God.”
She set her iced tea on a side table as a woman who appeared to be in her forties rounded the corner. Her head and face covered by an impossibly broad fedora straw hat, she had graying red hair, wore a flowing sun-flowered caftan, and was noticeably pregnant.
“Hi. I’m Rachel Olson. Or rather, aloha.” The woman took a bite of the chocolate ice cream cone she held in one hand while extending the other for a handshake. She apparently had come from one of the numerous ice cream bars. “The cabin steward described you to me when I dropped off my luggage, so I presume I’m your roommate for the next few days. Did you know that most people think that aloha means both hello and goodbye in Hawaiian?”
“I didn’t, but now I do,” Angelina said with a smile.
“Although people use the term for both greetings,” Rachel licked her ice cream, then finger-quoted, “Aloha really means ‘something that genuinely comes from the heart.’”
Angelina’s smile was now largely from relief. Because the studio had had to book her berth at the last minute, she had to share her cabin with a complete stranger. Fortunately, she immediately liked Rachel Olson. She shook Rachel’s free hand. “I’m Angelina Conte.”
Want to keep reading? You can find Aloha to Love as an ebook on Amazon. Also available in paperback and audiobook, and FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
Do you have a favorite warm weather vacation destination? Please share in the comments below.