Chapter 1

The ringtone from Safira Louis’s cell phone distracted her from the box of hair products on her desk in her home office. Looking at the caller ID on her cell, she pushed a button on the hands-free receiver. 

“Yes, Angela. I’m packing, but so that you know, I'm doing it reluctantly.” 

“Why reluctantly?” 

“I’m so busy. I’m only doing this because you and Jasmine are my good friends, and I feel bad that I have to keep telling you girls I can’t make it.” 

“Well, don’t feel bad. For the first time, I can say I sort of understand.” 

“What is that supposed to mean? For as long as I have known you, you never turned down an invitation to have a good time.”

“Safira, I know you almost better than you know yourself. Come open the door.” 

“Are you outside my house talking to me on the phone?” 

“Yes, girl,  now come open the door.” 

Safira hung up the phone and answered the door. Her friend Angela was standing there, bearing a gift of her favorite chocolate candies: Chocolate turtle doves. 

“You are unbelievable… get in here.”

“Yes, I know…Take this and promise you you will hear me out.”

Safira agreed begrudgingly and listened while opening the candy box to retrieve the chocolate. The minute Angela stated she couldn’t go, Safira was stunned. 

"Angela, we discussed this trip for months and made arrangements months ago. You initiated it. Wait a minute… Can't you make other arrangements with another coworker so you can take off from work?"  Safira asked her good friend. 

"I can't, sorry, girl." 

"How about you bring your work with you on the cruise? It doesn’t make any sense that you can’t go."

Angela sighed heavily. "I would if I could, but my boss is in her last month of pregnancy, and she asked me to manage the office while she's gone on maternity leave. Safira, this is my only opportunity to prove I deserve the promotion to the administrative supervisor position once she takes maternity leave. I can’t pass it up.” 

"Oh wow! Congratulations! Okay, okay. Let’s just cancel the cruise and go another time.”

“No, no, no! I planned this more for you than for me. Safira, please go. Don’t even think about canceling the trip or skipping this vacation. You need it after all you’ve been through.” 

“But I was only making this sacrifice to go because of you, Angela. I’ll be alright. I don’t need a vacation, nor do I take vacations. I'll be fine.” 

“See! Yes, you do! Starting right now, I want you to have a nice, relaxing cruise vacation. It will be a vacation where you don’t have to lift a finger. Safira, I’ve known you since high school, and you’ve worked so hard to take care of yourself and provide for yourself since your grandmother died. And we will not mention your dating life. It has been dismal. Seven days of sun in the fun is the perfect vacation for you. Especially since this is something you have never done before." Angela says, looking at her friend's disappointed face.

“But who do you know go on vacation by themselves?” 

“A lot of people! Now, promise me you will still go.” 

She was shaking her head and sucking her teeth. “I can’t believe this. Crazy stuff is always happening to me. Alright, Angela, I’ll go.”

"Yes! Now, since I can't come, Safira, please don't make this all about business and work, and don’t bring that laptop of yours. I want you to live a little and just be free. Please...." Angela requested, winking at her, "Now let me see what you got packed in these suitcases here." 

Angela, Safira's closest friend, flipped open the suitcase she had placed on the bed. "There's barely anything in here, sexy? Girl, you're going to the Caribbean, for heaven's sake! You're not going to find a man wearing business clothes."

“Find a man? Who said I was looking missy?”

“I’m making it clear right now: Safira Louis is looking for a man. Didn’t you tell me the other night specifically that you were tired of being single, that you hated coming to this empty house, and that you didn’t like sleeping alone?”

"Yes, that’s because there are no good men out there. I loathe married men who flirt with me or the guys who only want to check in on the weekends and want me to be their sugar mama. I want more. But I won't be able to get more, running around in skimpy nothings. When men see you dress like that, do you know what they think?

Angela paused and laughed. “No, but I’m sure you will tell me since you got your degree in dating by reading. Don't tell me you've been reading that disgusting man's books, Mr. Walker! If you follow his advice, you'll never find Mr. Right,” she stated sarcastically.

“Angela, he speaks a lot of truth. Men don’t take women seriously when they're scantily clad. They only see us as an easy girl they can lay with and lap up on for one night only." Safira says, as Angela's eyes expand and she gasps. 

“Ooh, such foul language.” Angela teased.

"Well, you will thank me later after I repack this suitcase for you. Step aside; we don’t have all day." Angela winked at Safira, moving her away from her suitcases. 

"If I do happen to attract some guy's attention—and that's a big 'IF!'—please, lord, let him be different from all the other men I manage to run into."

"Now see, when the lord answers that prayer, you better not reject that blessing," Angela states. 

Amongst all her friends, Safira was known as the gentle, compassionate, sweet girl with a complex nose for business and men. And usually, she was spot on. Safira wasn't looking for fun and games; she wanted a man who would love her without conditions. But more than anything, she wanted to get married. She felt she deserved that and a good man. 

But her friend's words encouraged her to let loose a little, and her reminders were good. But Safira had done something she had never done before. She took her beloved grandmother’s advice and prayed for a man. The sheer thought of that made her a little nervous.

"I can't believe I'm letting you pick out my wardrobe." Safira and Angela laugh.

"You barely got anything in this closet that’s sexy. But I'm finding a few cute little numbers amongst your things." 

"And I can't believe I'm taking my first cruise alone. This is insane…" 

"Oh, please. You travel by yourself all the time. You can't tell me you're not a little bit excited about this trip whether I'm going or not."

Safira sighed. “That’s not true. I’m more of a nervous wreck.”

Angela took hold of her friend's shoulders. "Now repeat after me. I'm going to have a good time and be open-minded."

Safira rolled her eyes.  She sees Angela is serious and waiting.

"Fine. I'm going to have a good time and be open-minded," she grumbled.

They continued packing. "Girl, you're going to have a ball, trust me."

Safira wiggled her eyebrows and rolled her eyes. "I guess…I'll try." 

******

Safira gets to the port and exits the taxi wearing a lightweight black and white sweater off one shoulder, black fitted capris, and slip-on high-heeled black and white sandal-like shoes. Her massive curls floated around her shoulders and face. While gathering her luggage, she felt a pair of eyes gazing at her. When she looked in the direction where the gazing came from, the man didn't turn his head. He nodded, asking, "Do you need some help, Ms.?

"Thank you. The taxi driver is getting me a cart for my luggage." 

"Wait, is his meter still ticking?" 

"Oh, I don't know." 

The man came and looked in the cab driver's side of the car and just stood there.

"Well, is he charging me?"

"Don't worry, I'll handle it when he returns." 

"Sir, I don't need you to handle it. I can handle it myself. Just tell me if he's charging me or not. I will assume he is since you are still standing here. Sir, I'll take care of it." 

"Are you sure? I don't mind. I know a shyster when I see one." 

"So do I..." She said. "Thanks again."

Gazing with a curve in his lips, he smiled at her. Something about his magnetic green eyes pulled her in, and she couldn't let go. Safira forced her head to turn and break away from the eye contact. 

"He's persistent." she thought. The guy was unlike any she'd ever encountered, and she dated some pretty handsome men.

The taxi driver returns. "Sir, you can take that back, and I'll get it myself. You left your meter running. Do you expect me to pay that astronomical price?" 

"I did you a service." 

"Yes, you did, and I was going to tip you for it. But you were gone charging and taking my tip, weren't you? Shame on you, Sir. Do you know what the real amount is I owe you?" 

"Fifty-five bucks!" 

"Here, take this and be on your way." 

The cab driver was so angry that he pulled off and left the cart on the curb. Safira snickered. "I think I handle that pretty well." 

Safira enters the building and heads to customs to check in. His gaze continues to scan her from head to toe, taking in her silky smooth complexion, pert nose, high cheekbones, and bright red lips. Then there were the dark brown hair spiral curls that crowned her face and bathed her shoulders, giving her a radiant look. He liked what she was wearing. That outfit complimented her physique perfectly. Her figure had the power to rivet the eye with clothes on. 

Fidgeting in her purse on the gangway, stuck in line with the horde of other passengers boarding the Palace of the Seas. It was one of the largest cruise ships. It was an hour before departure when the crowd had arrived to get on the elevators. With her hand-carrying luggage, she entered the elevator. Safira's calm, elliptical eyes scanned the crowded elevator, and there he was again. She glanced up at him, and that's when he spoke; she heard his smooth voice as their hands grazed.  It stirred something deep within her. Safira bit her bottom lip, fearing her heart was in more danger than she could imagine.