Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
Lian
If there’s one thing I excel at, it’s finding the bright side of any situation.
“Kevin broke up with me,” I tell my best friend via video call.
Bailey blinks at me from within his workplace, his hazel eyes creasing into concern the moment my words register. “Wait, what?”
“He said I was too much work. Me. Can you believe that?”
My friend blinks again.
“It’s fine, though,” I go on quickly. “You know why? The cruise is booked under my name.”
A fourteen-day romantic getaway from Seattle to Alaska and back, paid for by my ex. Complimentary spa treatments, cozy dinners overlooking the beautiful Alaskan skyline, dance classes, even a chance to spot whales.
It’s my dream vacation.
And tickets are nonrefundable.
“Lian,” my friend says slowly, peering at me in that way he does. “Are you okay?”
“Fine!” I tell him cheerfully. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He raises a dubious eyebrow. Bailey is the type of person who can come off as almost standoffish at first glance if you don’t know any better.
He’s covered in ink, courtesy of his job as a tattoo artist, and he isn’t the most social.
But that’s just because he prefers his quiet.
Beneath his somewhat gruff shell, Bailey is the most caring guy I know.
Which is why I can’t begrudge his concern, misplaced as it is.
“Trust me,” I say reassuringly, “this is for the best. Besides, I know you weren’t a fan of Kevin.”
Bailey winces slightly, but he doesn’t refute it. “He wasn’t…good for you.”
“Clearly,” I agree. “If he was, he wouldn’t have called me a ‘hyperactive disaster of a human being.’”
“He what?”
“It’s fine. So are you going to help me pack or what? Oh! I need a date.”
Bailey rubs his forehead, the absence of gloves on his hands telling me he’s not with a client right now.
“Unless… Do you want to come with me?” I ask hopefully. “I wouldn’t make you rub me down with massage oils or anything. Just think… Two weeks away. Fresh air. All-you-can-eat seafood. Eh?”
My friend drops his hand, his expression torn up. “I can’t. I’m sorry, Lian. It’s just…work is busy, and—”
“I get it,” I interject, not wanting him to feel guilty when none of this is his fault. “It’s not a problem, honestly. This will just give me a chance to make a new friend. Oh! I know. The Heart2Heart app.”
“The…what?”
“This is perfect,” I mutter, Bailey’s face condensing into a small corner of my phone screen as I switch over to the app. “I’ll just put out an ad for a willing seaman to board my boat, and I’m sure I’ll get a bite or two in no time. I mean, who doesn’t love a cruise?”
Bailey looks horrified. “Lian…”
“Gotta go! Talk soon. Love you. Byeee.”
My friend’s face disappears as I plunk myself onto the edge of my bed, scrolling through the app to place an ad.
“Looking for a friendly companion for a cruise to Alaska,” I type. “Fourteen days. Leaves soon. All expenses paid.”
Satisfied, I click the button to post the ad and wait. Surely, surely, I’ll get bites. I just have to pick the best one.
Someone nice. Someone kind. Someone who doesn’t think optimism is a disease they need to be careful not to catch.
I don’t expect this stranger to be my new and highly improved Kevin. I mean, what are the chances of stumbling upon that?
But you can bet your behind I’m going to enjoy every minute of this vacation with my plus-one. And then, once I get home, who knows?
Maybe I’ll be able to find the one.
The port is filled with sunshine and salt-tinged air, a couple seagulls nearby trying to snatch scraps of food left by tourists or locals alike.
The cruise ship waits, massive and gleaming white, looking like the promise of relaxation and a perfect two weeks away without a single responsibility to follow me aboard.
And I am ready to board. If only I can find Foster.
The guy I’ve been chatting with on the Heart2Heart app said he’d be arriving in a pink button-down—which, great choice of color—and that his suitcase would be black with a yellow bumblebee tag. I also know he’s twenty-nine, five years older than my twenty-four, with dark brown hair and blue eyes.
But so far, no pink shirts or yellow bumblebees.
I’m about to grab my phone to send him a message when I spot who must be him. Pink linen shirt. A tall, sleekly muscled build. And holy mother of pearl, a dimple in his right cheek as he breaks into a smile.
I wave my hand furiously, even though it’s obvious he spotted me and my bright yellow sun hat. Even so, I make my way through the crowd to meet him, a hello poised on my tongue, when my foot trips over the corner of my suitcase and I go flying.
Arms catch me before I can hit the ground, my sun hat rolling a step in the breeze before a casual loafer pins it in place. I bring my gaze up, up, up and meet startlingly blue eyes.
Foster dimples. “Caught you.”
“Ho,” I manage. “I mean, hi. Hello. Wow.”
“All right?” he asks, helping me to stand before he bends down and picks up my hat.
“So fine,” I assure him, feeling flustered as I smooth down my shirt. “You’re Foster, right? I mean, you have to be.”
“That’s me,” he says, easing my hat back onto my head. Which is…very gentlemanly and not at all palpitation-inducing. “And…how do you pronounce your name?”
“Just like Liam except an N instead of an M. It’s Chinese,” I explain.
“Lian,” he says, dimpling again. “That’s nice.”
“Hngh,” I agree.
“Shall we?”
I nod, and Foster and I make our way toward the cruise ship, our suitcases rolling beside us. I sneak glances as we walk, trying to reconcile what I know of Foster already with this ridiculously handsome, put-together and poised individual beside me.
“You’re, uh, in real estate, right? With your brother?”
“That’s right,” he says. “And you’re a graphic designer?”
“Yeah. Yep. You have a nice voice.”
Foster gives me an amused look, but it’s true. His voice is smooth, calm and deep in a way I think could lull me to sleep easily. Not that I mention that part. I don’t want him to think I’m calling him or his voice boring. It’s just…soothing.
“Well, thanks,” he finally says. “I like your hat.”
“It matches your bumblebee,” I point out. “What’s with that, by the way? Do you have a weird bee fetish I should be aware of?”
There goes that amused expression again. “Uh, no. It was a gift from my niece. My brother’s daughter.”
“You must be close?” I ask. Seems that way considering the softness in his tone.
“Yeah,” he says, nodding a little as we come to a stop at the back of the line to board our ship.
“She’s great. My brother, Troy… He’s been raising her on his own since she was one-and-a-half.
She’s seven now. I guess it’s been easy to kind of step in, you know?
To be around in those times when he can’t be. ”
My chest aches at the hint of pain in his words. “What happened?”
His smile is small as we inch forward in line. “Her mother passed. It’s been years.”
“Still,” I say sadly. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. I am, too.”
I puff out a breath before tapping the bumblebee tag on Foster’s suitcase. It’s cute, if not a little scuffed from use. “What’s her name? Your niece?”
“Ava.”
“Well, Ava is lucky to have you,” I tell him truthfully. “You and Troy both.”
Foster’s smile hitches up at the corner, his gaze running over me before he blinks a couple times, expression turning almost confused. “Jesus, how did you do that?”
“Do what?” I ask, stumbling over a crack as we move again.
Foster helps me catch my balance, his hand on my arm. “That. Get me to…spill all that so easily.”
I beam up at him. “I’ve been told I have a friendly face.”
He huffs a small laugh, not yet letting go of my arm. “Must be it.”
I nod sagely before pulling out my phone to check our boarding passes. Everything looks to be in order, but it never hurts to check. I notice Foster glancing toward the water every now and again, his throat bobbing as he swallows.
“Just so you know, we’re booked for a couples massage and swing dance lessons,” I tell him. “And, uh, a tantric breathing workshop? But you don’t have to participate in anything you’re not comfortable with.”
Foster blinks at me. “What was that third one?”
“Oh! Here we go.”
I offer my phone to the cruise attendant so she can scan our passes.
She welcomes us aboard, and we’re shuffled to another employee who gives us directions to our cabin.
The sway of the ship is gentle underfoot, the breeze refreshing as I inhale deeply.
Foster walks beside me, seeming a little unsteady on his feet.
“All right?” I check.
He nods, his grip on his suitcase tight. “Fine. Just not used to this.”
“Never been on a cruise?” I ask, checking for the signs leading to the closest elevator.
He shakes his head. “I, uh, kind of have a fear of open water?”
I stop in my tracks, staring at the man who I realize is, yes, a little green in the face. “What?” I all but shriek. “What if you fall in?”
He takes a steadying breath. “That’s not terribly helpful.”
“Sorry,” I say quickly, grabbing his arm and pulling him more inward, even though the deck of the ship is massive. We’re far from the edge. “Why did you agree to this if you’re afraid of the water?”
He shrugs. “My therapist suggested more exposure, so when I saw your ad, I thought… Well, I thought it’d be good for me.”
I take Foster’s shoulders in my hands, the man taller than me by a good few inches, and stare directly into his eyes, bluer than the water below us. “I won’t let you fall in. I swear it.”
He rolls his lips between his teeth for a moment, mirth in his eyes. “Thanks, Lian.”
Whooshing out a breath, I keep one hand on Foster’s wrist as I guide him toward the elevator. “Anything else I should know?”
He clears his throat. “I’m, uh, allergic to seafood?”
I stare at him for a long second, the open elevator forgotten. “I think you may have picked a poorly suited vacation, Foster.”
His cheek dimples. “I think it’ll be all right.”
I shake my head, even as I pull the ridiculous man after me. An aquaphobic, land-dwelling realtor who’s allergic to seafood on a two-week cruise to Alaska and back.
Yeah, sure.
Nothing at all to be worried about.