Free Artful Love: A Short Summer Love Story (new adult/contemporary romance) by Jillian Leeson Page A

people around her little finger. It was always about her, and her alone.
    In fact, it surprised me that she had given me the cruise. She must have been feeling guilty about forgetting my birthday last month. And she knew I had never been abroad, let alone on a cruise. The farthest I had ever travelled from home was when Kate had taken me on a shopping trip to Chicago.  
    It would simply be insane to pack up and take a tropical holiday. But the thought was also thrilling, exciting—something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I’d been down in the dumps lately, worn out from the daily grind. It was utterly exhausting, answering call after call, day after day. The worst was the unwarranted abuse from rude customers. It had made me throw my headphones against the cubicle wall more than once.  
    A break would do me a world of good; I just needed to get away from it all. The least I could do is try to get my leave approved. But as I had expected, my supervisor was less than thrilled with my request for leave.  
    “Jessica, this is an extremely busy time. Especially now Practal has launched their new beauty line, I need every single one of you. There’s no way in hell I can give you leave right now.”
    “It’s only for ten days. I’ll make it up to you when I come back. I’ll even do overtime.”
    “It’s up to you, honey, but if you insist, I’m afraid you won’t have a job when you come back.”
    I was disappointed, but certainly not surprised, and continued my work for the rest of the day, pushing the ludicrous cruise idea from my mind.  
    Early the next morning, a loud knocking on my door woke me, and my roommate called out, “Jess! A courier delivery arrived for you.”
    In the living room, a stack of big parcels awaited me, with a compliments card from my sister. When I unwrapped them, I felt my mouth falling open. The branded labels jumped out at me: Chanel, Armani, Gucci—brands I had only seen in magazines. There were stylish tops, skirts, pants, shoes, and dresses for all occasions, even swim- and sleepwear.  
    I immediately tried on the new outfits, and when I looked in the mirror, I could barely recognize myself. I had transformed from a small-town gal to a hot, stylish babe from the Big Apple. I would fit right in with the luxury-cruise set, just as Kate had predicted.  
    Damn Kate. My sister had always done exactly what she pleased, and led the life she wanted to lead. In contrast, I had always done what was expected of me: get a steady job, with steady income. I’d always been the responsible one. Why couldn’t I, for once, do something fun and crazy? Maybe this was my chance to finally escape from my boring life, and find a way to be happy and fulfilled.
    That’s when I decided.  
    Hell, why not?

    The cruise ship was all I had imagined, and more. Gleaming in the sun, with more than fifteen decks towering over the water, the Glory of the Seas resembled an enormous floating city. Inside, a throng of people were spilling into the cavernous open atrium and onto the pair of symmetrical sweeping staircases. The accompanying din was somewhat soothed by the babbling of live piano music.  
    After check-in, I made my way downstairs to find my cabin. The thick crowds combined with my excitement had made me lose all sense of direction. I thought I had located my cabin, but it turned out to be the wrong floor. When I finally reached the right floor and started down the corridor, I spotted a sign that directed me in the opposite direction.  
    With a deep sigh, I turned on my heel and was about to take a big stride forward when I collided into a clothed wall.  
    “Oh! I’m—I’m so sorry,” I mumbled. Looming in front of me was a row of shiny golden buttons, attached to a white jacket, part of an all-white uniform, worn by a tall man with a bronzed face framed by blond wavy hair—the handsome ship’s captain.
    “Are you alright?”
    “I—I’m OK. I just don’t know where I’m going.”