Genre:
Contemporary Romance
Themes:
Fish Out of Water
Forced Proximity / Stranded Together
Interracial / Multicultural Relationship
Long Distance Relationship
Low Angst
Opposites Attract
Vacation / Travel
Heat Level:
Medium (sex scenes are included and may use mildly graphic description)
Archetypes:
CEO / Executive
Pilot / Ship Captain
Sailor
Small Business Owner
Geographic Location:
Asia / Pacific Islands
Caribbean
Continental Europe
United States: Midwest
United States: Pacific
Ocean / Sea
Setting:
Boat / Cruise Ship
Carnival / Fair / Circus / Amusement Park
Corporation / Office / Workplace
Foreign Country
Island
Seaside / Beach
Sexual / Gender Identity:
Lesbian
Smooth Sailing
By Susan X Meagher
A forced vacation was the last place Laurie expected to find love.
Opening a new theme park is not for kids. Laurie Nielsen is so overworked and overstressed that she’s forced to take a vacation—on one of her company’s kid-centric cruise ships. It’s a slow torture, but she eventually makes the best of it and gets off the boat in St. Maarten. There, Laurie meets and insults
Kaatje Hoogaboom, a woman who has very little of Laurie’s work obsession. But they still manage to hit it off—to her great surprise.
Once Laurie returns home they stay in touch, getting to know each other via phone calls and e-mails. But Laurie isn’t an ideal girlfriend. Work is at the top of her priority list and toppling it might be more than Kaatje is able, or even willing to do.
Kaatje and Laurie both have to do a lot of soul searching; what do each of them want and need, and how far is each willing to compromise? They’re both strong-minded women who’ve adjusted to being single. The adjustment to being coupled can be just as, if not more, trying.