Dangerous Attractions

The Sweetest Taboo
July 27th, 1855

I can't believe it--my childhood friend Eli Blaylock is alive! I had thought--and my mother had insisted--that he died in the Seminole Indian attack that killed my father eighteen years ago. Now he has rescued me from a shipwreck...but so much has changed for us both. He is a renowned sea captain, soon to marry into a prominent Key West family (though it is plain he still keenly feels being regarded as "just an orphaned Bahamian whelp"). He even believes I didn't care enough to find him that terrible night. And I, once-respected Boston heiress Genna Whitworth--well, I am a woman fleeing terrible scandal, determined to begin a new life to atone for my unforgivable mistake. Once I recover from my injuries, I fully intent to wish Eli well and depart Florida once and for all--it's the only fair thing to do for us both. But even now it is difficult to miss the yearning in his eyes when he thinks I'm not looking. Or to forget my own very inappropriate thoughts about him. Or to overlook the growing attraction between us that seems to intensify in the tropical heat...