Caribbean Dreams of Love Coming December 12, 2008 from The Wild Rose Press BLURB:  Daisy and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Lilly, are embarking on a Caribbean cruise.  She isn’t looking for anything special on the cruise other than a pleasant break from her humdrum existence as long-time divorced single mother to a busy teenage girl.  She certainly isn’t prepared for an enigmatic man named Peter whose idiosyncrasies in dress and speech mark him as an eccentric person to avoid.  But Daisy can’t avoid him.  In fact, she begins to obsess about him from the first moment she catches him staring at her in the cruise ship terminal.  Peter remains elusive and mysterious throughout the cruise.  She catches sight of him occasionally, never often enough to please her, and they connect one wonderful night as he sweeps her into his arms for a waltz.  A waltz?  On a Caribbean cruise ship?  While Daisy’s dinner companions share nightly tales of the legends of cursed pirates, Daisy dreams of the mysterious man who has captured her heart. EXCERPT             “Daisy?”             She returned her gaze to his.  His head was tilted in the most charming way, his smile sweet, boyish, adorable.             “Have I offended you?  Forgive me for prying.”             She colored.  “Oh no, no.  I’m fine.”  She looked down at her lap and rubbed her forehead to give herself a moment.  She let her eyes travel from his dark boots up dark slacks encasing muscular legs and a black silk shirt which looked remarkably like the shirt he had worn yesterday.             Wow!  He really likes black.  Musicians!  I can’t even imagine him in shorts and a polo shirt.             She smiled slightly, amused with her whimsical thoughts.             “You smile...at last.  What makes you smile?”             She gazed at him speculatively.              “You seem to wear a lot of black.  Isn’t that rather hot here in the Caribbean?”             He lowered his head and surveyed his clothing.  “Black?”             “Yes, your clothing.”  She rushed to save herself.  “Not that it isn’t attractive.  It is.  You look great in black, really...”  She put a restraining hand over her mouth.              Oh, no.  Oh, dear.  How am I going to get out of this?             He looked at her with a knit brow and narrowed eyes before he craned his neck to scan the solarium over her shoulder.              Daisy!  How could you?             His questioning gaze returned to her face.  “Is my clothing odd?”             “No, no.  It’s very attractive.  I shouldn’t have said anything.  It was rude.  I’m sorry.  I just...”             Put my foot in my mouth.  Daisy!!!             “I see.”  His lips curved in a wry smile.  “Black can be hot here in the Caribbean.  You are right.  But it wears well and hides all manner of sin.”             “Sin?” she squeaked involuntarily.             He threw back his head and laughed once again, a deep melodious sound she was beginning to crave.             “Not that kind, madam.  It was an expression.  No more.”  His right eye twitched charmingly.             Oh no, he did not just wink at me!                       Text copyright (c) by Bess McBride 2008