Cruise to Destiny (Contemporary Romance Novella) Read online

  ***

  Devon Matthews stared up at the giant cruise ship before him. Impressive was the only way to describe it. The massive structure made him feel as if he were about three inches tall. He could hardly believe he’d be spending the next three months aboard the floating metropolis.

  But he needed a change of scenery. New York was getting old. The string of blind dates and one-night-stands were getting even older. Women only wanted him for his money. He was only okay looking—nothing to write home to Mama about—and girls barely gave him the time of day. Until they found out his name.

  “Oh, my gawd! Didn’t you create that game for the iPhone? Aren’t you, like, a gajillionaire now?”

  Not quite a gajillionaire but hundred-millionaire was probably close enough. Clearly, none of those women worked out long-term. Which was great for a while. But as Devon neared thirty, he was tiring of the fast-paced, meaningless life of a bachelor who earned his fortune at the ripe age of twenty-eight. He wanted to do something with his life, have a lasting relationship for once, and maybe, just maybe, even settle down.

  Well, today was the first day of his new, meaningful life. He spent the last year in massage school, learning the trade part time while still maintaining his playboy lifestyle. He wasn’t sure why massage appealed to him, but it was something to do–something new to try. It turned out he was pretty good at it.

  He stared up at the cruise ship again. It wasn’t like he needed the money, but he was hoping to get something else out of being on a ship for three months. He didn’t know what, but at least he could get out of the rat race for a while.

  His phone rang and he reached in his pocket to see who it was. Brody.

  “Hey, man. What’s up?”

  “Dev, where are you? What is this note you left me?”

  Devon cringed. He was hoping he’d already have set sail by the time Brody got back from the Hamptons. “Sorry about that, man. I just didn’t want anyone to try to stop me.”

  “From going on a cruise?”

  “I’m not just going on cruise, Brody. I’m…I accepted a job as a masseuse on the ship.”

  Silence. Not surprising. Brody was his wingman, his partner in…well, everything almost. They’d been friends since the first day of college. They had worked together at the same start-up technology company. And together they had developed the hit iPhone game, Silly Squirrels. Brody had questioned Devon’s desire to learn the massage arts, but Devon had always just put him off, saying he was bored.

  Brody never really knew just how bored Devon was, though.

  “Dude, are you serious? You’re going to work?”

  “I know it sounds crazy, I just…I wanted to see what it would be like. You know, to have a job just for the fun of it, without all the pressure of earning money.”

  “You know the words ‘fun’ and ‘job’ don’t really belong in the same sentence, right?”

  Devon laughed. “Sorry, man. But I’ll be back in a couple weeks for the day. I’ll call you so we can meet up.”

  “Alright, Dev.” Brody didn’t sound convinced. “I hope it’s as fun as you think it’ll be.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  Two

  Melanie read page ten of her book for about the millionth time that morning. She couldn’t concentrate on the words on the page, so she just kept trying to read it over and over. It was time to give up.

  She snapped the book shut and sat back in her chair. About 150 other girls shared the small space with her, some of them in little huddles on the floor doing their makeup, others pretending to look over their music so that it looked like a choice not to engage in conversation with others in the room. In reality, they just didn’t have any friends at this particular audition. That was the worst. Well, it used to be for Melanie. She didn’t much care anymore, though. She brought romance novels to her auditions and happily ignored everyone else in the room.

  But today, she just didn’t want to be there. Her friends were leaving for the cruise tomorrow, and that was all she could think about. That while they were living it up on a great vacation, she would be stuck in rooms with hundreds of girls all day. And her nights certainly wouldn’t be filled with cocktails and dancing. No, she’d be serving up fried eggs and French fries to the locals, then going home to her empty apartment in Harlem.

  “Okay, everybody listen up!” the moderator yelled. “Because we’re short on time, we need you to sing just eight bars of your song. If they want to hear something else, they’ll ask for it. Can I get the next group to line up, please?”

  Melanie groaned out loud. What a waste of time. They had probably already hired the cast for this stupid show anyway, and this was just some customary union audition. Still, she had waited this long, she might as well go belt out her eight measly bars and go home.

  Since each audition was taking about thirty seconds, top to bottom, now, Melanie was quickly in and out with no requests to hear more, and no invitation to a call back.

  She tried not to let it get to her, but the fact of the matter was that she was getting worn down. Day after day of rejection tended to do that to a person. And after all this time, she wasn’t even sure it was what she wanted to do with her life. It had all seemed so glamorous three years ago, when she packed up her life and moved to New York. But now she was disillusioned. Almost bitter. At twenty-eight, she did not want to be considered bitter.

  She trekked home in a daze, thankful that it was still early enough for her to get a good nap in before her shift at the diner. At the top of the fifth flight of stairs, she walked to her door, turned the key in the lock and…

  “Surprise!”

  Melanie nearly peed her pants in fright. “What the hell are you doing?” she demanded of her friends.

  Lisa and Shauna stood there with goofy smiles on their faces and balloons in their hands.

  “We wanted to surprise you,” Shauna said, her blonde curls bobbing with her excitement.

  Melanie stared back at them, still willing her heartbeat to return to normal. “Surprise me? With what?”

  Shauna and Lisa looked at each other, then back at Melanie.

  “Well,” Lisa began, “we know you said no, but we just couldn’t help ourselves. We pooled our credit cards together and bought your passage on the cruise ship. We’re going on a cruise!”

  That last part was screamed while Lisa jumped up and down with glee. Melanie just stood there staring at them. She wasn’t sure whether to be outraged or grateful. Of course she wanted to go, but how was she going to get out of work at this late date?

  “You’re forgetting one thing,” she said, breaking up the merriment. They turned to look at her. “I have to work, you guys. I can’t get out of it this late. Cliff will fire me for this.”

  “Actually…” Shauna’s guilty expression made Melanie’s stomach plummet.

  “What did you do?”

  “I may have impersonated you over the phone…with Cliff.”

  Melanie’s jaw dropped. “Wh-what did you tell him?”

  “Just that you had to leave town for a bit due to a family emergency. I didn’t get specific,” she rushed to assure her, as if that bit of information was assurance. “I left it vague, so you can fill in the blanks if he asks.”

  “Oh, well, thank you for that,” Melanie said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm. Then she launched into her tirade. “What were you two thinking? What if Cliff finds out about the cruise? What if I get fired? I can’t take this risk! My bank account barely balances as it is. And even though you very kindly bought my ticket—which I will pay you both back for—it’s not like I can afford to have a good time. This isn’t college anymore, you guys. This is real life. And it’s my life.” She put her hand to her forehead and rubbed her temples. “Guys, thank you, but I really don’t think I can do this.”

  Lisa took her by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. “Listen to me, Mel,” she said emphatically. “You work way too hard. Harder than anyone I know. Y
ou need a break. You deserve a break.”

  Shauna stepped closer and threw an arm around Melanie’s back. “And since we got you into this, we’ll be there if you have to face any consequences. Please. Just come with us.”

  Melanie took a deep breath and looked back and forth between her friends. “Fine,” she said on a sigh. “Let’s do it.”

  A lot of squealing and jumping ensued, and Melanie, having made a decision, was getting pretty excited herself. A little time away from everything might give her some perspective—a chance to reassess her dreams and her goals. And maybe then she’d find a little slice of happiness in her life.