Valentine Vacation--Chapter One--Lenora Worth

A Valentine Vacation—Chapter One—Lenora Worth


A crisp February wind blew over the ocean, sending Amelia Hart’s auburn hair flying out around her face. Amelia didn’t mind the cool wind. The ocean breeze felt good on her skin.

She was finally here, standing on a balcony in Florida, staring out at the Gulf of Mexico. Andrew had always promised her they’d take a trip to Florida and walk along the white sand together. But Andrew was gone and she was alone.

Was it a mistake to come here only two years after he’d died in a car accident? Her children had been adamant.

“Mom, you need a break,” twenty-year old Laura had told her.

“She’s right. Just accept this as our gift and go on the trip, please,” her brother Andrew, Jr. had insisted.

Had she become such a downer even her own children didn’t want her around?

“Well, no more of that,” she said into the wind, the feel of the sun on her face making her giggle. “I promised you, Andrew. I promised you I’d come here … and have a good time.”

She hoped she could live up to that promise.

“That Andrew is one lucky man.”

Startled, Amelia glanced over at the balcony next to hers and saw a dark-haired, pretty-eyed man grinning at her.

“He was a lucky man. And I was blessed to have him.”

The man leaned over the white iron railing. “But now?”

Amelia felt a sense of daring overcome her. “But now, he’s in heaven and I’m … I’m here for what my kids call a Valentine Vacation.”

The man stepped closer. “What a coincidence. I’m here for the very same thing.”