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Cabin Fever
Mary Leo
Sometimes you need someone to teach you the things you already know. . . Becky Montgomery's husband was a real catch. And when he died two years ago, she buried her emotions–and her needs–with him, and buried herself in her job. Sailing aboard the cruise ship Alexandra's Dream for a weeklong vacation with her two children and a painfully exacting mother-in-law, Becky figures a Christmas holiday doesn't seem like the time to start dipping her toes into the sea of love.But when she finds a pendant that's supposed to bring her luck–and meets Dylan Langstaff, the ship's charismatic diving instructor–she may be ready to take the plunge. Dylan has charmed a lot of women in his time working aboard Alexandra's Dream, but there's something different about Becky. It's changing the way he wants to live. . . just the way something about him is changing the way she wants to love. . . .
Mediterranean NIGHTS
Mary Leo
CABIN FEVER
TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON
AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG
STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID
PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND
For my daughter, Jocelyn, and my son, Rich…
all my love
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank Kathryn Lye and Marsha Zinberg for offering me this great series, Janet Wellington for always being there when I need her most, my niece, Dionna Phillips, for being the beautiful visual inspiration for Tracy Irvine, my husband for coming up with the core conflict for my hero/heroine, the other eleven authors of this series who shared their ideas, thoughts and concerns on our loop, with a special shout-out to Ingrid Weaver for writing a fabulous opening book, Diana Duncan for starting the loop and keeping us informed throughout the process, and Marcia King-Gamble for generously sharing her intimate knowledge of cruise ships.
PROLOGUE
THE QUARTER MOON sat high in the sky as Alexandra’s dream slipped peacefully through the dark waters toward her next destination. She was an elegant vessel with sleek lines, a graceful chipper bow and a somewhat squared stern. This was her long, lazy repositioning voyage from Piraeus on the Greek coast to Miami Beach, Florida, where she would spend the winter months in the Caribbean.
Patti Kennedy sat alone in the crowded back office of the ship’s library, looking through a cardboard box filled with the remaining reproductions of antiques that the police and the FBI had left behind. Ariana Bennett, the ship’s librarian, had decided to send the larger pieces, a bust of one of the Caesars, a Greek vase and an Etruscan plate to a friend of hers who was interested in antiquities. She had asked Patti to go through the box one last time to see if there was anything she might want to keep.
Patti couldn’t sleep and decided at one in the morning that now was the time to go through the box. Her mind still raced with recent events aboard the ship that had brought her to this moment and she needed to find closure. She also needed to assuage the feeling of guilt she shared with other senior cruise staff. As cruise director, Patti felt she should have had some awareness that a smuggling operation had been taking place on board the ship during their entire Mediterranean segment.
The incidence had also eroded trust among staff members. Patti didn’t know who to believe anymore. First Officer Giorgio Tzekas had been arrested for his participation in the smuggling—an involvement partly motivated by gambling debts. Then there was Mike O’Connor a.k.a. Father Pat Connelly, who had smuggled aboard black market antiquities and displayed them with the reproductions he used for his library lectures. Both men worked for Anastasia Catomeris, who had set up the scheme to frame Elias Stamos, the ship’s owner and her former lover.
According to Ariana, Anastasia, or Tasia, had given birth to Elias’s child, Theo, forty years ago. Even though Elias had generously paid support for his illegitimate son, that wasn’t enough for Tasia. She wanted Elias to acknowledge Theo publicly as his son. Elias eventually did, and now father and son were busy building a relationship, despite Tasia and her devious ways.
But it was Mike O’Connor who had fooled everyone, even Gideon Dayan, the head of security. He’d had his suspicions but could find no evidence the guy was a fraud. Thanasi Kaldis, the hotel manager had actually defended the man at one point.
Patti sat back in her chair when she thought of Thanasi, and played with the silver necklace she’d found in the box. The man owned her heart, but there was no way she could even tell him, at least not in the foreseeable future. For now, it was enough they worked together and besides, as cruise director she didn’t have time for a love affair. But she could dream, couldn’t she?
The necklace slipped out of her hands to the floor, and when she bent over to retrieve it, a clear blue light flashed from the teardrop pendant.
“That’s odd,” she said out loud.
There was only a small window in the office, but as she glanced through it, she caught the sliver of moon winking in the dark sky.
As she sat upright again holding on to the silver pendant a shiver swept through her and she rubbed her arms to get rid of the tingling sensation.
When she carefully placed the pendant down on the desk in front of her, she remembered the Greek legend Mike O’Connor had said was attached to the pendant. It was something about the moon goddess and her love for the sheppard, Lexus, and how the sun god, jealous of their love, had the shepherd killed. The silver pendant was supposed to hold the diamond that had been in the clasp of a magic cloak the goddess had made to conceal her lover. After Lexus’s death, a teardrop from the moon goddess hardened over the diamond and covered it. The moon goddess told one of her attendants to hide it where she and Lexus had spent their days together and whoever found the pendant would have good luck, especially in love.
“That’s it!” Patti said, grabbing the pendant.
The rest of the stuff could be sent off to Ariana’s friend but the pendant, even though it required a little polishing and a few repairs would serve as a fun way for the crew to get past the scandal.
She’d hide it in a randomly selected stateroom and make a game out of it for the passengers. “Find the pendant and find your true love” or “Whoever finds the pendant will be lucky in love,” or something like that.
She’d have to get the details worked out, but she was hoping Ariana could help her with that. Now that Ariana had found her own true love, a former Italian undercover police officer, perhaps she would know what slogan to use.
She wanted to go to Ariana’s cabin and talk about it right now but she knew she needed to wait until morning.
Patti grabbed the necklace closed the box of reproductions, turned out the light and headed for her own cabin, tired but feeling content.
As she walked by a bank of windows and gazed up at the crescent moon, she had to smile at the romance of it all. It was childish to think a piece of inexpensive jewelry could change a person’s life, but with all her heart she wished and hoped it was true, not only for the passenger who would find the pendant, but for her, as well.
CHAPTER ONE
THE ONLY REASON Becky Montgomery had agreed to this Caribbean Christmas cruise aboard Alexandra’s Dream, with her late husband’s family was because of Laura, her fifteen-year-old niece. The girl knew her way around Becky like no one else, especially when it came to dealing with Becky’s mother-in-law, Estelle, the matriarch of the family.
“You don’t even have to see her,” Laura had said with that assuring voice of hers. “You know how much she hates the sun. She’ll probably stay in her cabin all day sleeping, or annoying the staff telling them how to run things. Besides, I need you and the kids to keep me sane. Between my mom nagging me all day and Grandma reciting the proper rules of etiquette over and over again I might end up hurling myself overboard. You wouldn’t want that on your conscience, would you?”
“If I go, I may have to hurl myself with you,” Becky had told her. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be going on any cruise with Estelle Montgomery. The mere thought of being trapped on a ship with the woman had given her instant heartburn.
“Then we can save each other once we hit the water. Please, Aunt Becky. You have to come. I’m your favorite niece and I’m begging you.”
“You’re my only niece.”
“That may all end soon if you don’t come on this cruise.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“I’m desperate.”
“You’re fifteen. All fifteen-year-olds are desperate.”
“Yes, but I’ve got Estelle and Kim for my role models. My desperation is on another level.”
That was the precise moment when Becky’s resistance had tumbled and she had agreed. She always was a sucker for an underdog and she really felt for Laura.
However, now that the departure date had actually arrived, Becky was having second thoughts. The suitcases were packed, the shore excursions were purchased, and Becky had secured a neighbor to come in and water the plants, feed Brad and Angelina, Sarah’s lovebirds, play with Lance Armstrong, Connor’s tabby cat, and walk John Wayne, the family bulldog. Now Becky wasn’t so sure this whole thing was such a smart idea. She was so nervous about the adventure that the Mickey Mouse pancakes she’d made for her kids for breakfast had given her the dry heaves, and the headache she’d been trying to ignore since waking was now about to blow her eyes out of their sockets.
Still, the fact remained, she had made an agreement with Laura and it was too late to back out…or was it?
Wouldn’t a simple phone call to Estelle solve all her problems? She could merely say she was really sorry, but she and the kids couldn’t make it this year…or next year, or ever.
Becky sat down at the table with her favorite mug filled to the brim with hot tea and a bowl of dry Cocoa Puffs cereal, her favorite breakfast treat, and seriously pondered the idea as she watched her seven-year-old daughter Sarah gently eat around Mickey’s ears. She liked to save them for last.
“I think this whole thing is dumb,” Becky’s ten-year-old son, Connor, announced. He hadn’t touched his food.
“You think everything is dumb,” Sarah countered.
“Yeah, including you,” he shot back.
“Please, kids. Let’s try to be nice to each other while Mickey’s at the table.” Becky liked to discipline with whatever aid she had at hand. Usually she used the various pets as negotiating tools, but for some reason they weren’t in the room.
“Mom,” Connor reasoned, rolling his eyes. “These are pancakes.”
“It doesn’t matter. They represent Mickey, and while he’s a guest at our table, there’s no arguing.”
“Whatever,” Connor said, stabbing the pancake with his fork.
Becky stared at her young son. Laura had convinced her to agree to the cruise, but there was another reason that it might not be a good idea in the end: Connor. She hoped the trip would bring him out of his shell. Ever since his dad had died almost two years ago, Connor had slipped further and further into his own world, and now he hardly spoke or ate. And when he did converse, he was usually sarcastic or contrary. She’d tried everything she could think of to get him to come around, but nothing seemed to work for long. He seemed more distant with each passing day.
Becky watched as Connor made little circles with his fork in the syrup, not really eating, his mind obviously somewhere other than the present.
“Connor, two more bites, and finish your milk, then you can leave the table,” Becky said, knowing he just wanted to get back to his room.
Without saying a word, he did as he was told, then picked up his dish, placed it in the sink and left the room.
“Don’t worry, Mom.” Sarah patted Becky on the back. “Mickey understands why Connor’s so sad and he’s not mad at him for not liking the pancakes.”
Becky’s eyes watered as she hugged her sweet little girl.
“THE PURPOSE OF A CRUISE is to relax, especially a Caribbean cruise,” Lacey Garnett told Becky. “Take in the sights. Float on a breeze. Enjoy yourself.”
“Easy for you to say. You don’t have a mother-in-law like Estelle Montgomery,” Becky snapped.
The two women were standing in front of their shop, Frock U, a trendy boutique in Hillcrest, the uptown district of San Diego. Lacey turned the lock in the door and they stepped inside.
“She’s technically not your mother-in-law anymore. She’s simply your kids’ grandmother.”
“I know, you’re right, and I do want to keep that relationship strong.”
“Good. Then sit back and enjoy the perks.”
Becky flipped on the lights and the little shop came to life with color and bling. The women knew all about fashion trends and were constantly on the lookout for the next big craze.
“But I’ve hardly spoken to Estelle in two years, other than those phone calls every other week so my kids can keep in touch with their grandmother,” Becky said, putting her purse down behind the counter. She started to fold some T-shirts. “It’s just that she’s so controlling. Last week I received a detailed outline on the appropriate attire for each formal dinner and event on the ship. Not for my kids, but for me!”
“She’s just being helpful.”
Becky stopped folding and glued her fist to her hip. “No, she’s not. Helpful is what baggers do at grocery stores. Helpful is when you open a map in the middle of New York City and someone steps up to point out the way. Telling me what to wear on a cruise ship suggests that I don’t have a clue even though she knows I co-own a fashion boutique!” Becky’s arms were flailing now.
“I think you’re reading too much into this. Maybe she’s changed, but because you never really talk to her, you can’t see it. I still think she was simply trying to be helpful.” Lacey joined in the folding.
“Impossible. Her spots go all the way down to the bone.”
Lacey walked closer to Becky. “Hey, shouldn’t you be home right now, packing all those outfits for all those dinners and events or something? Doesn’t your plane leave in, like, three hours?”
“I’m not going.” Becky walked over and picked up the retro rotary phone behind the desk and started dialing.
Lacey stopped her mid-dial. “You need this vacation. Your kids need this vacation.”
