Against the Tide: High Seas Weddings Read online

  Against the Tide

  High Seas Weddings

  Cheryl Phipps

  This story is dedicated to everyone who is afraid of love and those who aren’t sure what love is. If you give it a chance and open your heart to the possibility, then you may be pleasantly surprised by what is waiting for you.

  Sunrise Beach, on the East Coast of the United States and south of New York City, if you can imagine it, is a place of great beauty and deserving of beautiful stories of happy ever after.

  I hope, dear reader, that you enjoy my stories about Sunrise Beach, and if you do, please tell a friend or two. Word of mouth is the way books are discovered.

  Thanks once more to my darling husband, who patiently waits, time and time again, for me to finish whatever love story I am concocting.

  Cheryl

  Contents

  Free Gift

  Against the Tide

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Thank you

  Waves of Passion

  Also by Cheryl Phipps

  Books by C. A. Phipps

  About the Author

  Free Gift

  Thank you for picking up your copy of Against the Tide, the first book in the High Seas Weddings Series. Would you like a free gift? I have a sweet short story for you by simply signing up to my newsletter here. Happy reading!

  Against the Tide

  If you liked the Love Boat then you’ll enjoy the High Seas Wedding Series.

  Have you ever imagined being on a wedding cruise?

  If you like the ocean and luxury, then step aboard Majestic as she endeavors to sweep love off its feet, even for those determined to let that particular wave go by.

  Keira’s been burned by love. Badly. Losing her business—her pride and joy—has scarred her. Now sexy Captain Williams is asking her to take a chance, on business and pleasure, and she’s running scared. How can she forget the past when it resembles the future in almost every way?

  Aiden Williams may be related to reality star royalty, but his life has never been an open book. Seeking security after a tour in Iraq, he follows his brother to Sunrise Beach, where he opens a wedding cruise business. When Keira Davis, the curvaceous wedding planner, enters his life, Aiden soon realizes his feelings for her are challenging his decision to stay unattached, and the heart he’d believed frozen is fast thawing out.

  Chapter One

  The boat was breathtakingly beautiful. Hardly moving at all with the tide, it sat tied to the dock by an enormous rope as round as Keira’s head. Which was precisely the way she liked it—calm and safe. Never a confident swimmer, the open sea was not as welcoming for her as it should’ve been to people who lived in Sunrise Beach.

  Not that she was a native of the area, a fact that hadn’t won her any points with potential clients, or the two women who owned the office she worked in. Women who weren’t at all helpful and had actually gone out of their way to make her life as difficult as possible. That puzzled her, because if they intended to run a successful business, they were indeed going about it the wrong way. Lucky for Keira, she was used to dealing with difficult people, but she still felt like a fish out of water after owning her own company and now having to work under such obnoxious snobs.

  She took a deep breath to calm her nerves over her first job. Full of purpose to overcome the disaster of a failed relationship, and by default her business, she had chosen Sunrise Beach for many reasons. On the same coast as New York City, it was close enough to stay in touch and one day visit her remaining friends, but far enough away that her shattered reputation didn’t have as much impact.

  Coming from the heart of a major city, this place was a breath of fresh air in so many ways. Small detached houses ran down from the hills to the town, and they, as well as the gardens for the most part, were lovingly maintained. The scenery was stunning.

  Then there was the beach itself. Used as the backdrop for a famous reality show, it suited the trendy bars and fashion shops that lined the main road and catered to the rich and often young people who lived here.

  She stood on the gangway, breathing in the salty air while looking back to the town that was her home for now. It calmed her inner storm to be there, where no one knew her and she could begin to rebuild her life.

  Taking this job after applying for several that were more preferable had been bittersweet. She was glad to be working again, but now Keira had to put up with being treated like something stuck on the bottom of a shoe. It was a shame that the only wedding planning job she could get was with Sunrise Beach Weddings, which specialized in wedding cruises.

  While loving the concept, Keira fervently hoped she wouldn’t embarrass herself by getting seasick during her first foray out at sea—a possibility that was altogether real. She pinged the anti-nausea strap on her wrist for good measure.

  The pristine deck, suitable for the ceremony, led the way to a glass-walled room which ran two-thirds of the remainder of the vessel and was supposed to be fitted with tables and chairs. On paper, it said there was room and seating for more than two hundred guests. Looking from here, she had no doubt it could hold more.

  What she’d seen already was sufficient to convince her that this was a perfect venue—apart from the fact that it was on the water.

  She shook her head. Nothing was going to change that, so she’d better not dwell on it.

  There was so much more to planning a wedding than space, and looking from a distance wasn’t enough. She had to go aboard, and not just for this inspection either, but for the length of time it took for the cruise. She gulped. Imagining several hours out there on the open sea made her stomach ache.

  She really had to toughen up. This was not only her first wedding cruise, but it was also her first job with the Sunrise Beach company she’d recently joined, and she had a reputation to build.

  Having to start over, so far from home, was both good and bad. Good because she’d left a trail of debtors and a man who had almost broken her in every conceivable way. Bad because being a successful planner back in New York, and owning her own company, was history, and a tainted one at that, so she couldn’t use it to any advantage without revealing her abject failure.

  Keira pushed her fingernails into her palm as the thought of what she’d lost jarred her. What mattered now was this wedding and getting her reputation back. Nothing else. Except for enough money to pay her rent and feed herself.

  Keira sighed heavily. She hadn’t been on the job long enough, nor had she been given concise information, to know whom she was supposed to report to, and the thought of boarding the boat without permission was daunting. Her bosses, the two women who’d begrudgingly hired her out of necessity, had their own bookings to attend to and had dumped this in her lap only that morning. Chloe Weber, the office assistant—and as nice as the other two were horrible—had apologetically handed over a mess of papers with a printed sheet outlining where to come and the name of the captain. That was it.

  Keira looked along the pier and up the gangway. There was a lot of noise up there, but down here there was no one to ask where the person in charge of bookings might be found. As this was a boat, there was no door to knock on, and waiting indefinitely for
someone to come to her was out of the question.

  With the previous wedding planner having fallen prey to her enthusiasm for alcohol at the eleventh hour and currently drying out in a nearby facility, time was scarce. Whether everyone assumed that things would magically fall into place somehow, with Jackie making a last-minute remarkable recovery, or they just didn’t care about this wedding, nothing had been done for weeks. That meant the planning was so far behind schedule, it would be a miracle if she could pull it off.

  According to Chloe, Jackie had actually decided that to get sober, she would need to retire, but she was too scared to inform the women she worked for. As tragic as that was, it worked in Keira’s favor. With a mountain of debts to her name, she was desperate for a job. Any job.

  Unfortunately, with little organizing done, and the changes the couple had recently decided on never being implemented, the to-do list was huge. It made Keira’s headache.

  Hefting her oversized bag over one shoulder and smoothing her skirt, Keira marched up the gangway, adopting her ‘fake it until you make it’ attitude, which usually calmed a couple overexcited and confused over how they could achieve the best wedding ever.

  “Are you the new wedding planner?”

  The deep voice came from nowhere and everywhere. Startled, Keira looked up into the sun, which bounced around on the gleaming paint, temporarily blinding her. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she still had to blink a few times at the sight before her. The magnificent boat paled in comparison.

  Tall, tanned, and handsome didn’t do this man’s description justice. He looked like a god—maybe Thor, just without the long blond hair—clean-shaven, a white shirt with crisply ironed white trousers completing the immaculate picture. He had an air of absolute authority, and she appreciated every inch of him.

  An eyebrow lifted, and she was suddenly aware she was staring while making no attempt to answer.

  “Yes. I’m Keira Davis.” That was the best she could do, and even that came out on a croak. She thrust her hand at him, which he took reluctantly. A tingle shot up her arm, and she snatched it back. She needed to calm the heck down. This was embarrassing, and out of order. Having an attraction for a man she’d have to work with was a no-go area, and even more so after her last debacle of a relationship.

  The man frowned down at her. “I was expecting you earlier. I’m the ship’s captain, Aiden Williams.”

  The captain? He seemed awfully young, but what did she know about such things? She appreciated him a little more but was better at hiding it that time.

  “Sorry, I got held up at the office. There was a mix-up—”

  His frown deepened, his eyes turning almost black. “Spare me the excuses. You’re here now, and I only have a small window of time.”

  “Okay.” The way he cut her off was very familiar, and not in a good way, to how her ex-business—and everything else—partner had treated her. She took a deep breath. “Where do you want to start?”

  He folded his arms as he looked her up and down with a skeptical expression.

  “I thought you’d tell me. That’s what usually happens.”

  “I’ve never done a wedding on a boat before. The woman who was dealing with this booking left in such a hurry that there was no handover.” Keira could have bitten her tongue. It wasn’t a good look to blame other people, but he was making her unusually flustered.

  He nodded in a token way as he ran his hand over his very short dark hair. “I heard about her leaving, and that she wasn’t well, which would account for a lot. I hope you’re more organized than her, or at least capable of doing a better job.”

  “I hope so too.” She tried a smile, but he was far too serious to share a joke at her expense. At least she knew what to expect going forward—open hostility. Keira liked a challenge, which was lucky since the whole scenario of landing a wedding that had such a tight time frame, yet still demanded all the bells and whistles, was guaranteeing that.

  “Let’s start with the layout of the boat and where I’m allowed to store things prior to the setup. Then we can visit the kitchen and talk about timing and the best route to feed everyone. I’ll also need access to the bars and have a place to put the alcohol and other drinks until they’re required.”

  The captain adopted a very pained expression. “Before we go any further, I have to point out that Majestic is a ship, not a boat. And the ‘kitchen’ is the galley.”

  “Right. I’ll try to remember.”

  He seemed a little pedantic. Then again, Keira had nothing to compare him with, having never met a captain. And this was his boat, after all. Argh. Not a boat—a ship. It’s a ship. Repeating people’s names worked for her, so she hoped the distinction would stick too, since it seemed so darn important. Luckily, his downright sexiness had lost its sheen. Talk about an emotional roller coaster. And she’d only just met the man.

  “If you’ll follow me, we should get started.”

  He set off at a cracking pace, and Keira was almost running to keep up as she cursed her short legs and his long ones in equal measure.

  They walked past the floor-to-ceiling windows that sparkled in the sun with their unblemished glass. It would take an enormous amount of work to keep them free from salt, but it allowed her to see inside and note that the main lounge was spacious and filled with light. Moments later, as they walked through the double doors, she was delighted to see it didn’t disappoint. Tables and chairs were stacked in a corner while two cleaners washed the gorgeous maple wood floors.

  “What a beautiful space, and so well maintained.”

  “It is, and my crew takes care of that,” he said with a healthy dose of pride as he rocked back on his heels.

  “Do you do many weddings?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “It’s a ship designed for weddings. There’s no finer one than Majestic in the whole of the East Coast.”

  Keira reddened at his censure. Of course he did a lot of weddings on a wedding cruise ship; she just assumed he would be offering other kinds of cruises as well.

  “I’m sorry. This wedding was handed to me yesterday, and I admit I haven’t done as much research as I normally would. I assure you that I’ll get on that tonight, but I thought a look around would help more at this stage. I’d like to take a few photos, if you don’t mind? They’ll look good on the invitations.”

  “Invitations? They aren’t printed yet? I thought the wedding was in three weeks?”

  “It is. The couple is in kind of a hurry.” Keira could not believe she was blushing about such a thing. Shotgun marriages were still around, though definitely not such a social blunder as they once were, and they weren’t hidden away. The ones she’d done were handled in a much nicer, more civil way than history had dictated.

  “I see. Lucky we had a cancellation.”

  He didn’t sound fazed, which was a relief, because there some venues were still a little pretentious about such things.

  “Yes, they’re fortunate to have this venue on such short notice.”

  He nodded, seemingly appeased.

  “Over in the corner of the room are the chairs we bring out on deck for the ceremony, and there’s an arch that can be draped with flowers for the couple and the celebrant to stand under.”

  He pointed out the sound system tucked behind a panel, which would not only play outside for the wedding march and the rest of the ceremony but inside for dancing.

  Keira sighed and did a small spin. This will be perfect.

  Aiden spoiled her reverie. “I have just enough time to show you the galley before my crew comes on board. We’ve got a wedding to set up for this afternoon, so you’ll need to leave soon.”

  She’d already ticked off a few of her most pressing questions, and seeing the galley would be a significant help, but it might not be enough to get a handle on how to run things. She could ask at the office, but the other planners had been less than helpful so far.

  “Would you mind if I hang around to see how it looks after the
setup? I promise not to get in the way.”

  He took a few moments to digest that. “It’ll take a few hours until they’re finished.”

  “That’s fine. It’ll give me an indication of times, placing of furniture, etc.”

  His black eyebrow touched his hairline. “Isn’t that cheating if you copy someone else’s wedding?”

  She shook her head empathically. “I wouldn’t do it exactly the same. Anyway, I bet you don’t make up totally different rules every time you set sail.”

  His eyebrows had a different look for every emotion, and this was one of amazement.

  “I have to make allowances for tides and other ships. And for the record, Majestic has an engine room, but no sails.”

  She crossed her arms. “I didn’t mean it literally.”

  He gave her a steady look before a dimple flashed in one cheek, which gave her hope that they might manage a friendlier relationship. For a minute or two.

  “Don’t you have other clients?” he asked.

  She shook her head warily. “Not today.”

  “Hmmm.”

  What did he mean by that?

  He took a couple of steps and spoke over his shoulder. “As long as you keep out of the way and don’t bother the crew, you can stay until we depart, at the latest. This way.”

  Keira poked her tongue out at his back and followed a few feet behind him. She had to admit that the view was pretty good from back there. He had a great body, the perfect ‘Y’ shape that drew her eyes down to a well-toned butt and muscular thighs, then all the way back up again, as he descended a set of stairs. His broad shoulders pulled at the fabric of his shirt as he held the door open.