LaVerne glances at Lilly's short sleeves and raises a brow. "Then perhaps you should have dressed for the weather."
"It's still summer in North Carolina. Who knew it would be this cold?" Lilly's teeth chatter.
LaVerne laughs. "It's the end of winter in New Zealand, so I'm loving this weather."
Mac strolls across the deck in shorts as if it were hot outside. "Has anyone seen Mary or Lyn? I can't find them anywhere."
"We're up here!" Lyn shouts.
Mac, Lilly, and LaVerne turn to see Lyn and Mary sitting atop the ship in one of the life boats. Lyn cups her hands around her mouth and shouts down to the other hostess. "We're on the lookout for our guest of honor, Donna Steele."
"Her hunky hero, Professor David Morrow will be flying Donna and Dr. Amanda Sutton in on a private helicopter," Mary explains. "David thinks the virus might have originated on a cruise ship, so he wants to spend as little time as possible on board."
"Virus? There's a virus on board this ship?" LaVerne pulls her shirt up over her mouth.
"I'm sure this ship has been sanitized or something." Mac watches with worried eyes as Mary and Lyn climb down from the life boat and approach the other hostess who are gathered together on deck.
"We're perfectly safe," Mary says.
"Relax ladies, and enjoy the scenery," Lyn says. "Why, just look at those glaciers."
Lilly's eyes grow round. "I've read Donna's book and there's something scary about those melting ice bergs. I mean, the series isn't called The Melting for no reason."
Mary shoves a beer into Lilly's hand. "Relax. Drink. Enjoy."
Lyn shakes her head. "Look at the lovely ice sculptures."
LaVerne swallows. "Melting ice sculptures. Global warming. World wide pandemic. I write stuff like this. I know when things are about to turn bad."
"They're not going to be zombies or anything on board. Are there?" Lilly looks to the other hostesses for reassurance.
"Were there zombies in Donna's book?" Lyn asks.
"Noooo...."
"Then relax, Lilly, and have a good time." Mary says.
Mac grabs Lilly's arm and drags her toward the dining room. "The reception is about to begin."
"Oh, and there's Oliver," LaVerne gushes. "Isn't he the most handsome waiter of all?"
"Yes," Lyn agrees, "But would you look at those yummy crab legs."
"Oh, there's also salmon and caviar, Mary adds.
"Oh!" Mac gasps. "Look at that lovely Baked Alaska."
"Oliver really outdid himself this time," LaVerne says, smiling as Oliver approaches with a bottle of
champagne.
Mac smacks her lips. "Pour me a drink!"
Before Oliver can fill her glass, she points across the dining room to an upper deck. "Look! Here comes Donna, and David and Amanda are with her."
"Then let the celebration begin!"
The Melting - Blurb
David Morrow has studied global warming first as a prodigy and now as a respected professor.
He knows the value of sustainability and clean energy. But is it too late for the planet? He expected the rising of the seas, harsh hundred-year storms, but he never expected this.
Amanda Sutton first studied medicine to please her father, now she’s part of the scramble to find a cure before the virus destroys civilization.
Will the strange connection between them keep them together as the world disintegrates around them?
Excerpt -
Dr. Amanda Sutton checked her coat at the door and took a quick glance in the mirror near the entrance. She hated these stupid cocktail parties. Okay, she was affiliated with the medical school at Georgetown University, but she had graduated some time ago. She was already making a name for herself in the field of pathology, at least around here. It wasn't really a big deal, but she found herself annoyed anyway. Mostly with herself. Once again the males in the pathology department had managed to get her to attend a thank you reception. This one was for the gift of an endowed chair in the medical school. So what if the donor was some former congressman? She hadn't voted for him.
She only needed to put in an appearance tonight, which didn't quite explain the care she had taken with her makeup. She had her blonde hair down for a change, her regular ponytail a little too casual for this occasion. Maybe no one would recognize her.
She stood five foot seven and in heels, like tonight, nearly touched five nine. The royal blue dress she wore emphasized her blue eyes and slim body and hopefully didn't show too much leg. She never dressed like this. She was much more comfortable in her scrubs or jeans, but Scott, her supervisor, had stressed this was a dress up night. Of course, he wasn't here to put up with it.
She didn't really blame Scott. He had a family he worked hard to spend time with, and she didn't. That shouldn't make her time off less valuable. It was his supervisor who held title of the biggest pain. Dr. Anton Guilford demanded such off hour duties and as the solo woman in the group, she was expected to handle these things. At least she'd finally put a stop to getting the coffee for everyone. Baby steps.
Amanda was quite sure the esteemed Dr. Guilford didn't believe women should be allowed to attend medical school even in this day and age. One of these days she would drag her knuckles on the floor to see if he noticed. She had thought in the twenty-first century all of those cretins would have died off. Unfortunately not.
With a sigh, she entered the large room and scanned it for someone she recognized. Several people from the medical school were already here, but they were all engaged with others, so she made her way to the bar. With a glass of white wine in hand, she moved over to the horsd'oeuvres table, nodding at a few people, but keeping her distance.
Something made her look up, and she spotted a man entering the room. Tall, he probably hit a little over six feet, with dark hair that needed a haircut. Also slim, with an excellent build, he had what she referred to as a swimmer's body—broad shoulders tapering down to a tight butt. She was confident she wasn't the only woman staring. If they ever hired strippers for these events, he'd be the one she'd choose. No, he looked more like he could pose for GQ or something.
He turned and caught her staring at him. Amanda forced herself to look away, hoping she hadn’t made him uncomfortable. Judging by his expression, she had. Well, she couldn't blame him. What was wrong with her? She placed a couple of crackers on a napkin and moved away from the table. God, she was probably blushing.
****
More than tired of being hauled out for these events, David Morrow had joined the party under protest. The donor had probably made his money in oil or coal or deforestation, somehow raping the land. David hadn't bothered to look him up this time. The man would no doubt try to corner him somewhere and attempt a debate on how wrong David's theories were. The planet wasn't heating up and even if it were, it was probably some cyclical thing. Nothing that the congressman's industry could be condemned for. And certainly nothing he would spend funds to fix.
Projecting much? He wandered toward the ballroom where he heard the noise and stepped inside. He scanned the room and immediately his eyes were drawn to a young woman in blue, her long blonde hair spilling past her shoulders. And she looked at him.
He took an involuntary step forward, inexplicably drawn to her. But the hand on his armstopped him. It took a heartbeat before he recognized Phyllis Lawrence as the owner of the hand.
"I didn't know you'd be here tonight. We could have come together." The woman fussed coyly at him. Was she flirting?
If he'd known she would be here he'd have worked harder not to be. "Sorry, I barely had time to get here from the lab. I won't be staying long," David replied.
"You will if the Provost sees you. Drinks later?"
He managed not to sigh. Phyllis had been a mistake and it looked like he'd be paying for it forever. She had been a good tutor in all things sexual, but the attraction no longer existed.
David could see her now for the—oh, hell, say it—the star f***r she was.
"I need to make it an early night. Let's see how long this thing takes."
She nodded but seemed disinclined to leave his side until a professor joined them and
distracted her. David silently wished the man luck and scanned the room for the woman in blue.
Women
strong enough for love.
As an empty nester with my beloved best friend and husband (who actually encourages this mad passion of mine) I write all the time – whether or not I have a pen or keyboard handy.
Ever since I learned to read—from Superman Comics, Dick, Jane and Sally held no appeal—I’ve wanted to write. The possibilities of science fiction have always drawn me and I’ve read them all. There just needed to be a little more romance in them. I finally got up the courage and I’m delighted that I’m able to share these stories with you.
My premiere novel, a science fiction romance – Rth Rising – was released on March 3, 2012 through Rebel Ink Press. My romance eBooks Learning Trust, Homecoming, Welcome Home, Red Shoes, Wraith’s Heart, Nowhere for Christmas and The Melting,Book 1- The Infection are now available at all eBook sellers. Wraith’s Heart and Learning Trust are now also available in paperback through Amazon.
I’m a member of Romance Writers of America, the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Chapter of RWA and the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers.
Amazon - http://www.amazon.
Barnes & Nobles - http://www.
AllRomance- https://www.
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