When Greg Durning jilts Kathryn and weds Ellen, she
           is so devastated that she goes to sea.  Now the captain 
           of the Ile de Or'leone, a luxury liner based in France, 
           she learns the man she has always loved, a widower of 
           two years duration, is on her ship and she immediately 
           sends him an invitation to dine with her without telling 
           him who she is.
                Wondering why the ship's captain has invited him to 
           dinner he reluctantly accepts.  They soon pick up where 
           they left off more than seven years earlier.  Their
           romance blossoms aboard ship and Greg presses her to
           marry him, and tells her that his trip to Paris is to 
           fetch his two young motherless children back to their
           home in New York. 
               Kathryn loves the sea and she is reluctant to give
           up all that she has accomplished in seven years.  And 
           then, there are the two children of the woman she has
           always hated.  Besides, she is under contract to the 
           shipping company.

A CHANCE MEETING
Chapter One

	"Are you sure you don't want me to help you with that, Ma'am?" the
taxi driver asked, slamming the car's trunk closed.
	"No, thanks, I've been doing this for years," Kathryn said cheerily,
stuffing some bills in the drivers hand. She hoisted the seabag on her
shoulder, then walked up the gangplank pushing her way past embarking
passengers, without really noticing them. She was in a hurry to get a
cup of coffee before going to the bridge.
	Hoping the navigator and second mate, Rebecca Corgan, was already
aboard, she hurried past the purser and security with nothing more than
a good morning nod. Hearing the purser say something she stopped dead
in her tracks. Turning to look back where the last few passengers were
boarding, she almost bumped into Rebecca, following close behind her.
"Did you hear that name?"
	"No, why?" Rebecca turned to look at the man Kathryn pointed out,
but he had his back turned to them, and they could only see his six-foot
frame dressed neatly in a dark gray pinstripe business suit that hugged
his lean figure. "Looks like upper class. Do you know him?" Rebecca
continued with a grin.
	Kathryn looked away from Rebecca a moment. "No, it can't be him. It
must have been some other name I heard the purser say."
	The two women watched as the man followed the steward, who was taking
him to his cabin.
	"He's traveling alone," Rebecca remarked. "I did hear the purser say '
sports deck number seventeen.'"
	Just below my quarters, Kathryn thought, and then to Rebecca she said,
"This bag is getting heavy. Shall we stow them in our quarters and get a
cup of coffee before going to the bridge?"
	A group of people walked between them and the man, so they could no
longer see him. Kathryn said again, "No, it can't be him. It's too much
of a coincidence that he would be on my ship."
	Later, as the Ile de Or'leone luxury liner eased out of its
berth in New York Harbor, carrying more than two thousand passengers on
a voyage that would end in LeHavre, France, its home port, Captain
Kathryn LeBlanc remembered the glimpse she had gotten earlier on the
lower deck. There was something about the man that reminded her of him,
though for the life of her she couldn't think what it was.
	Maybe it was the way he walked down the corridor ahead of them,
taking long strides; or maybe it was his shiny, thick, black, wavy hair.
If only she could have seen his face or heard his voice, she would know
for certain. Had the purser really spoke his name? Or was it her
imagination?
	Watching the tugboats maneuver the ship from its berth and down the
Hudson River to the open water of the Atlantic Ocean, Kathryn tried to
get the man off her mind, but couldn't.
	Several hours later, when the ship was beyond the twelve mile stretch
of territorial waters, the Atlantic was as smooth as glass, except for
the occasional school of dolphins that broke to the surface and
entertained the guests on deck with their antics. The sun beamed down
and nothing could be seen as far as the eye could reach, but sky, sun,
and sea. In international waters she turned the wheel over to the
Quartermaster, Vernon Sparks, and went to check her list of passengers.
	Shaken when she found his name listed, Kathryn went to her quarters
and tried to sleep. She must meet him. He must know that she is on this
ship. She rose from her bed, still in her captain's uniform, and went to
her dressing table.
	Her hands trembled as she began to brush her hair, arranging it just
so, that it would fit neatly under her cap. When that was done she
picked up pen and paper and began to write: You are cordially invited
to sit at the captain's table for lunch at one o'clock in the first
class dining saloon on B deck. She'd have the steward deliver it first
thing in the morning along with eighteen others chosen at random from
the first class passenger list.
	Hands still trembling she removed her cap and lay down across her
bed. She must pull herself together. She couldn't help but wonder what
his reaction would be when they came face to face tomorrow.
	Weary from the nerve-wracking ordeal of getting the ship safely past
all the other ships in the harbor and having missed lunch, Kathryn had
just begun to doze off when the knock sounded on her door. She opened
the door sleepily to find Rebecca standing there.
	Having just finished her twelve to four o'clock watch charting the
course the ship would take to its destination, Rebecca asked excitedly,
"Did you find out who he is?"
	"Yes." Changing the subject, Kathryn asked, "Did you have any lunch?"
	"No, I haven't had anything since our early morning coffee. Have you?"
	"No, and I'm starved. But it's too early for dinner. Shall we go to
the gym and get some exercise?"
	Kathryn wasn't ready to talk about him yet. Besides the
exercise would help put him out of her mind. She could get rid of all of
her feelings of anger and hatred for Ellen on the gym's treadmill. That
thought startled her. She hadn't realized before how she felt about the
deceased Ellen. A dead woman couldn't hurt her any more.
	Rebecca must have realized the struggle that was going on in Kathryn's
mind, because she asked no more questions, even though she was looking
at Kathryn oddly.
	"I'll meet you at the gym in fifteen minutes, as soon as I get
changed out of this uniform."
	*** 
	Rebecca entered the gym to see Kathryn already using the treadmill at
a fast pace. She went through her workout on the machines, exercising all
of her body's muscles, then returned to the treadmill area where Kathryn
was still going strong on it, breathing hard. Sweat poured from her face.
	"Come on, Kat; you’ve done enough. We need to get cleaned up for
dinner." Rebecca used her towel to wipe sweat from her brow.
	Kathryn got off the treadmill and used her towel to dry her face and
arms. "I hope we don't run into him in the dining room."
	"Do you mean you haven't met him yet?"
	"No, but I'll meet him tomorrow."
	"I'd have been knocking on his door already, before some beautiful
passenger had a chance to gain his attention." Rebecca smiled, teasingly.
	"Tomorrow is soon enough. I need time to think."
	"What's to think about with a handsome man like that running loose on
the ship for all the female wolves to fawn over? I would've introduced
myself long ago and staked my claim."
	Kathryn didn't say anything, so Rebecca continued, "Oh I get it. He
broke your heart a long time ago. I see. Sorry, I'll keep my mouth shut."
	*** 
	Kathryn smiled when the steward reported that Mr. Durning couldn't
imagine why he was chosen to dine with the captain. Although he had
accepted, he thought there must be some mistake."I assured him there was
no mistake."
	"Good," she smiled at him and sent him on his way.
	Alone in her quarters, she could smell the wonderful odors wafting up
from the alley, the aroma of fresh bread baking, and the luscious roast
of beef mingling with other scents made her realize how hungry she had
become. She had eaten little breakfast; she'd been too excited,
anticipating their first face-to-face meeting. Kathryn LeBlanc had been
in love with Greg Durning ever since she could remember, but he had paid
her little attention. Once she had invited him to a movie and dinner at
her place afterward, but he had already made other plans. Her heart was
broken when she learned of his engagement to marry someone else, so she
had tried to forget about him and they had gone their separate ways.
	The ship's bells told Kathryn she had a half hour before lunch. She'd
been up since the wee hours of the morning and she wanted to look fresh,
although she felt anything but. She was hoping to impress Greg. She'd
heard that his wife had died, bu she had not even sent her condolences.
She'd been determined to put him out of her mind forever. This would be
the first time they had seen each other since their graduation.
	Kathryn could feel the rhythmic thump, thump of her heart as she
entered the dining room and seated herself at the head of the captain's
table, which was set for twenty people. She wondered if he would
recognize her after all these years. She was glad that her captain's
uniform would stand out among all the other diners. He could not mistake
her for anyone else. She had made sure that Greg would be seated to her
right. The others were already seated when she arrived a couple minutes
late.
	"Sorry, I'm late," she said quietly, her eyes sweeping the guests
until they came to rest momentarily on Greg.
	Their eyes met in full recognition of each other. Kathryn's heart
started beating faster. She hadn't known how much she was looking
forward to their meeting. She wished now that they had met more privately.
	Kathryn thought she saw Greg's face light up on seeing her. He
smiled, showing that same charm that she had fallen in love with. She
wondered if he had a lump in his throat as large as the one in her own.
	Willing herself to speak calmly, she continued, "As you already know,
I'm the commander of this ship, Captain Kathryn LeBlanc. Please make
yourselves comfortable. I hope you will enjoy your meal." Hoping her
discomfiture didn't show, she spoke to the headwaiter, "You may begin
serving now."
	Greg sat quietly all this time. Kathryn wondered what he was thinking.
It was a quiet and dignified meal. She asked each guest to introduce him
or herself. When that was done, she asked if they were enjoying the
cruise. Then the conversation came almost to a halt as they finished
their lunch.
	At last it was over and Kathryn thanked her guests for dining with
her, wished them bon voyage, leaving as quickly as she reasonably could.
It was too much being this close to him. He hadn't let on to the others
that he knew her. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and she began to
run, wanting only to go to her quarters and fling herself on her bed and
cry her heart out.
<©> 2002 Copyright all rights reserved LaVonne Boruk