Making Waves at Sea – a character interview from Cruising
Toward Love!
Welcome to my
blog, Callie’s Cogitations. I founded
the largest search engine in the world, WhoWhatWhy. Running it kept me waaaaay too busy to even
daydream about a trip. But now that I
took the company public, made a gajillion dollars and retired at the ridiculous
age of twenty eight, I’m off to see the world.
My friends back at my old company want to keep up with my super-exciting
first vacation in a decade. Personally,
I think none of them believe I’ve left the country and want proof. Plus, none of them ever take vacations. In
order to live vicariously through me, they convinced me to write a travel blog.
To bring you up
to speed, I’m on board the luxury cruise ship Amphitrite, somewhere in the
middle of the Caribbean. I promise I’ll
upload photos soon – my pal Reed is the ship’s photographer. His shots will wow you almost as much as his bulging
biceps wow me! He claims ship rules
prohibit him from fraternizing with guests.
Hmm. The brochure I got said, and
I quote, this ship will cater to your every need. And my need is for a tall,
slightly nerdy hunk. When I tried to
kiss him last night, he freaked out. But
stay tuned – I intend to find out what’s underneath that uniform of his.
Right now I’m in
the solarium. I thought it would be a
soothing place to meet my new bestie, Zoe.
She’s nursing a wicked hangover, and doesn’t look pleased with my choice
of locale. The pale green glass of the
ceiling filters the sun’s direct glare, but it still glints powerfully off the
swimming pool. I told her to stare at
the wall of bright purple bougainvillea instead. She brought this misery upon herself. Sure, Zoe was shocked to discover she’s stuck
sharing a cabin with the guy who broke her heart ten years ago. Is that any reason to guzzle good French
champagne like it’s tap water? I don’t
know why she’s so upset. Apparently the
combination of moonlight and a romantic deck stroll got to her, and she planted
one on Nate, and then it became mutually hot, amazing smooches. Huh.
From loathing to lip lock in one day. Might be a world record.
Anyway, Zoe’s got her
panties in a twist about what to say to Nate. Should she wait for him to bring
up the smoochfest? Or pretend she was so drunk she can’t remember what
happened? All excellent questions, so we
need more input. Additional data always clarifies the correct option. Sorry,
the computer geek in me typed that last sentence.
Whoops! Zoe just snagged my iPad and now is all in a
lather that I’m taking notes on her, and I quote, ‘wreck of a life’. But since we haven’t hit any ports yet, this
drama between she and Nate is one of the most exciting parts of the trip. Let me know what you think in the comments
section. Should she ignore ten years of
bitterness and hurt to keep up the lip lock with Nate? Or find a way to leave him stranded on a tiny
island?
Can an unexplained breakup and ten years of
heartache be cured by the romance – and endless buffets – of a tropical
cruise? When her sister is left at the
altar, small town librarian Zoe Balis jumps at the chance to take the bride’s
unused ticket for the honeymoon cruise.
But she didn't count on sharing a cabin with the man who broke her heart
ten years ago!
Army medic Nate Hyatt never told Zoe
goodbye when he enlisted - or the real reason why he dumped her on prom night
after a year as high school sweethearts.
And he never stopped dreaming about the girl he left behind. Could this voyage be his chance to fix the
worst mistake he ever made? After all, a
Caribbean cruise should be romantic… if he can convince her to
move past ten years of bitterness and hurt.
Once aboard the luxury liner, Zoe
befriends a bored Internet mogul with more heart than tact. Nate
vents his problems to a ship’s photographer battling PTSD. The four team up on an island hopping
treasure hunt. The stakes grow higher
with each of Zoe’s mysterious brushes with death. They race to discover why she's a target and
who's behind it, while still competing in the treasure hunt. Zoe’s never
gotten over her first love, and is tempted to let Nate back into her life. But she already lost him once. She’s not willing to risk loving a man whose
career keeps him in a combat zone. Can
Nate breach her defenses and suture her broken heart? Grab a deck chair and see if they survive the
stormy relationship seas as they cruise toward love!
For more information on all
of Christi’s books, please visit www.christibarth.com or swing by her blog at http://christibarth.blogspot.com .
