This quarterback is making the greatest play of his life…

Quiet bookstore owner Morgan Reed can’t wait to lie on the beach on her much-needed tropical vacation, but getting tackled by a tall, green-eyed stranger playing touch football isn’t exactly what she had in mind. Neither is falling for said stranger, or going along with the eccentric islander who sends them off with a mock wedding. But all’s fair when it comes to vacation romance, and Morgan has plenty of time to get back to reality when she gets home.

When he slams into the beautiful Morgan on the beach and sends her to the infirmary, superstar quarterback Seth Blake insists on helping her recover—if she agrees to share his bungalow with him. Seth is nothing less than smitten, and the best part is that the beauty has no idea who he is.

But when he finds out that their little “wedding” was the real thing, Seth finds himself in a sticky situation. Especially when Morgan finds out the man she fell for isn’t at all who he made himself out to be…

Morgan Reed was long overdue for a vacation. It occurred to her while doing inventory in her quaint bookstore last week that she’d read almost every book in the travel section, but she’d never seen any of the scenic places. Her world had never seemed quite as small as it did once she made the realization.

When she told Teresa, her travel agent, she wanted to get lost on an island, Teresa took her cue and began furiously tapping on her keyboard.

“I want to get lost at sea if possible.”

Theresa’s eyes narrowed as she read the screen. “There’s a new destination, just started doing business with them a month ago. Very secluded. All-inclusive, the rooms are beautiful. They don’t allow cell phones or newspapers. Just days of endless bliss on a deserted island.”

“How deserted? I won’t be seeing Gilligan and the Skipper, will I?” Morgan winced.

“No, silly. Deserted as in no obnoxious people standing on the beach gazing at a beautiful sunset with cell phones in their hands.”

“I’ll take it,” Morgan said. The idea that no one could contact her was the most appealing part of the package. She longed for the days when cell phones were things you carried for emergencies only. Now it was a cure for boredom in most, and brought out bad driving habits in others. Paradise sans technology sounded like a good idea to her.

After tunneling through all the frivolous crap in her spare bedroom closet, Morgan finally located her suitcases. The large, pale pink suitcase and matching carry-on had seen better days; they looked like props from a seventies movie. She surveyed them and had to admit the style was a bit old-fashioned. An old airport luggage tag was still attached. When she leaned closer, she realized the tag bore a date from seven years ago when she went to Vegas. Seven years! What had she been doing for seven years?

Oh yeah, she'd spent the last seven years trying to keep her dream of owning a bookstore alive. The bookstore was her life. A quiet and organized life and she loved it, even though sometimes it was hard to keep afloat.

Whenever she got the blues, she would read one of the books in the travel section. She read about Fiji, the Cayman Islands, Australia, Hawaii, and Scotland. All of these places had rich histories set against the backdrop of a cinematic dream. It took a book about stress falling off the shelf and onto her head one day to make her take action.

Morgan walked to her desk in the living room and began jotting notes. First, she would get a new set of luggage. Then she would sift through her summer wardrobe and see what was salvageable. She wasn’t much of a summer dress-up person, so maybe a visit to the mall was in order as well. She would have to go to her dad’s house and get her passport. She was pretty sure it was still current. Now if only she could break in in the middle of the night and get the passport without having to inform her father she was going on vacation alone.

Morgan knew why they treated her that way. She had gotten lost during a family camping trip at Lake George when she was fifteen. After storming away from the family when one of her brothers had told her she was too young to get on a Jet Ski, Morgan had walked around for hours, refusing to admit she was lost. Finally she’d happened upon another family, who’d called the ranger’s office to report she’d been found. Four hours later, a ranger dropped her off at the hotel. Her father’s initial relief was followed up with the lecture to end all lectures. And to make matters worse, the brothers chimed in for good measure.

She kept her passport at her father’s house not only because it would never be misplaced there, but because her dad was comforted by the idea that he would know when she was leaving town.

While writing all these things down, a wave of serenity washed over her. Ten glorious days on an island with nothing to do but watch the sun set while pondering the mysteries of life. She smiled and screamed into a pillow. Oh my God! I am going on vacation!