Just as Rita Frazer is about to make her costume design debut, her wayward and unreliable sister, Jayne, abandons her to elope -- of all things! Working together on a cruse ship to support their mother, Rita and Jayne have very different lives. As the ship's seamstress, Rita finds herself in the shadows, making sure the showgirls look their best. And Jayne, as the best dancer in the group, is always in the spotlight, the only girl with a solo. Although it looks like Jayne's solo might go un-danced tonight, seeing as how she's eloped with her scumbag boyfriend.

Rita has watched every practice, attended every lesson, and although she has two left feet, she knows Jayne's number as well as Jayne does, and tonight she'll have to swallow her fear and dance in order to save her sister's job. All Rita needs is to focus.

Sitting in the front row, Special Agent Harrison Masters is brooding into his beer, wondering how he's going to find a lead on his missing ex-girlfriend and the money she stole from him. He's so consumed, that he's missed most of the performance, but something about the music makes him look up, only to find himself the subject of the dancer's undivided attention.

Meanwhile, on the island, Jayne is being forced to acknowledge that she's been stood up, in the rain, in a see- through dress. Her no-good fiancé only proposed to get into her pants, and now that he's a no-show, she's stuck. The only person she knows is the only man to ever break her heart. One year ago, he asked her to marry him, and when she asked for time to think it over, he took it as a "no" and left. Jayne never expected to lay eyes on him again, much less have to ask him for help.

Emmett MacNeil thought he could get over Jayne Frazer by marrying the next woman he met. Never had he been so wrong! And he certainly doesn't expect to see a soaking wet Jayne walk through the door on the very day his divorce is final. But to Emmett this is fate, a chance to win back the woman he loves, if only she'll let down her guard a little.

When these two couples are drawn together to help expose an international gambling scam, tempers flair and passions ignite. Rita and Harrison find that they make a great team and that they can't keep their hands off each other. And Jayne and Emmett rekindle their lost love and realize that it was never really gone. But the challenges of catching the bad guys, keeping their mother from losing the shirt off her back and protecting each other from harsh pasts, may prove to be too much for the budding romances.

THE PLEASURE TRIP is a great read; all the better for its "two-for-one" romances. I recommend picking up a copy today.

Book Summary

She may be on a cruise liner, but lately, Rita Frazer's life looks more like a shabby dinghy. Working as a seamstress on a ship called the Venus, Rita hasn't been feeling very goddesslike. More like a Swamp-Thing with red hair and a mouthful of pins. When the ship hosts a fashion show, Rita figures she finally has a chance at being a designer — until she finds herself on the runway, instead of her designs.

But Rita's found her muse. And he's watching the fashion show. Harrison Masters is capable of making any woman drop sails, anchor and most of her clothes. And he might be successful with Rita, but she panics when her sister disappears. Now Rita's little dinghy — which was ready for an upgrade to full-on Love Boat only moments ago — is starting to leak. Bail water...or bail out?

Read an Excerpt