First Class Voyage (First Class Novels – A Contemporary Romance Series) Read online

  First Class Voyage

  by AJ Harmon

  http://www.firstclassnovels.com

  Second Kindle Edition, March 2013

  Copyright 2013 by ABCs Legacy, LLC

  All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without written permission from the author.

  First Class Voyage is the 4th book in the First Class Novels adult contemporary romance series by AJ Harmon. When best friends Janie and Katy fell in love with the rich and sexy Lathem brothers Matt & Mark they didn’t realize the new family dynamics they would be sucked into.

  Family time takes on a whole new meaning when Maureen, the matriarch of the Lathem clan, decides she wants to celebrate her wedding anniversary by taking the entire family on a Caribbean cruise. She drags her husband, seven adult sons, their significant others, five grandchildren and a mother-in-law onto a floating city in the Caribbean Sea with 3000 other passengers… where insecurities and tension between in-laws begin to surface.

  Matt and Janie are still enjoying their happily ever after while Katy struggles to find her place in the large family. Frustrated by Maureen’s constant pressure to transform her 3 year engagement into wedding bells, Katy boards the ship expecting it to be the worst 14 days of her life. Mid-voyage, panic sets in when Janie’s best friend fails to return from a shore excursion with Mark. Remember what happened the last time Katy went missing?

  In this book you’ll be introduced to Matt and Mark’s five younger brothers including Paul, a Navy Seal on leave between tours of duty. He’s not excited about being trapped on a boat surrounded by the circus called his family. Is Paul ready to trade in the organized discipline of military life to be a civilian with a wife and family?

  First Class Voyage is a light, easy, smile-inducing read that explores love and family in the 21st century.

  More Top Rated Romance Novels by AJ Harmon:

  First Class to New York (Book 1)

  First Class to Portland (Book 2)

  First Class Justice (Book 3)

  First Class Voyage (Book 4)

  High Praise for this Bestselling Series:

  “Really enjoyed this book... nice to read a modern day romance... Five stars without a doubt!” By Rubystar on Amazon UK

  “Definitely going to recommend this book!” By kellygirl3 Amazon/Kindle

  “I started reading First Class to New York and I thought that Janie was a weak woman who needed to really find herself.... I can so relate to Janie as she is an insecure woman… about her body and doesn't see herself as others see her.....” By psychstudent13 "AGC" (Wilkinson, IN USA)

  “The book is very well written...destined to be a bestseller... AJ Harmon will be a bestselling author.... I can feel it in this awesome love story.” By Tammy - First Class Novels on Facebook

  “Absolutely loved this story! So nice to read a great love story that wasn't about a 20 year old college kid, but a middle-aged contemporary women and mother. I felt like she was a real woman.” By Jane on GoodReads

  “...the love scenes are hot, bordering on erotica.... one of the best romance novels on kindle.” By Book Junkie

  Dedication

  When beginning to write this book, I knew I wanted to celebrate family, a great big loud loving family! I suppose I made the Lathem family big because I came from a family of six children and I am fortunate to have had a very happy childhood.

  So this book is dedicated to my family; to my husband, my children, my parents, my siblings, all of whom bring me immense joy. I love you.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter:

  PROLOGUE

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  11.

  12.

  13.

  14.

  15.

  16.

  17.

  EPILOGUE

  About the Author

  PROLOGUE

  Peter and Maureen Lathem were married in the spring of 1960. Their life together certainly hadn’t been perfect, but they were happy and still very much in love. Peter sold life insurance and had made a comfortable living for his family. They were a solid upper middle class Catholic family, living in Manhattan as had their parents and grandparents before them. Maureen had been an elementary school teacher for the first few years of their marriage, and after years of trying to have a baby they were finally blessed with Matthew, and then Mark, and then Andrew, and then David, Benjamin, Paul and finally, Timothy.

  They had raised a family of fine young men, all of whom they were extremely proud. Maureen had always wanted a daughter; she had waited and waited. Matt’s first two marriages had not resulted in the daughter Maureen had been looking for, nor were they wives she had wanted for her son. But he had finally managed to capture the woman of his dreams in Janie, who was also the daughter of Maureen’s dreams. Now, in addition to Janie’s two sons with her first husband, Maureen had two beautiful little grandchildren to love and call her grandma.

  And now Mark and Katy were together. Maureen adored her sons’ fiancée and was anxiously waiting for them to finally get married. It had been three years since they got engaged, and still no wedding date. They had made it clear that they would get married when they were ready. Katy had battled some tragedy in her life and had pulled it all together and found her perfect soul mate in Mark. The Lathem family welcomed her with open arms, along with her son Derek, who now lived in New York and worked for Matt and Mark at MEL Holdings - their real estate development firm - but Maureen had commented to Father Todd on several occasions that it was hard for her with them not being married and living in sin. Mark rolled his eyes when his mother brought up the wedding and Katy bit her tongue, so hard on some occasions that she had drawn blood. But despite all of that, they were all very happy and comfortable with each other and the Sunday family dinners were always a riot.

  Andrew, their third son, and his husband Rory, had been married just a little bit longer than Matt and Janie. Andrew, a stock broker, and Rory, an attorney, had been looking into adopting a baby. They didn’t care about the gender or ethnicity, they just wanted to be parents and share their love with their child. They were hoping for a newborn, but if an older child was available they were prepared to consider all options. They had started the long process over a year ago and with each passing day, they became more anxious. Soon, they hoped. Very soon.

  David would be considered a classic middle child. His older brothers were incredibly successful. All were in healthy relationships and all financially wealthy. David wasn’t jealous of his brothers but felt that in some eyes, he probably didn’t measure up to the standard they had set for him. The bar was very high and he had stopped trying to catch them a couple of years ago. Now in his mid-thirties, David had decided he needed to get his life together and move out of his parent’s house. After multiple failed investments and get-rich-quick schemes, he had found himself very happy as a curator for a small art gallery, finally putting his education to use. In school he had drawn for hours and hours in his text books, usually being scolded by his teachers, until in eighth grade - one teacher took notice and pushed him into the arts. He had loved it and excelled. An incredible artist in his own right, he now was paid to do what he loved. Why he hadn’t figured it out sooner, he didn’t know, but he was glad he had stumbled into his dream career. It would never make him wealthy like Matt or Mark, but it made him happy and that was what
mattered most.

  Benjamin was son number five. Ben worked for his brothers, Matt and Mark. He had started as a lowly assistant and had moved his way up in the company after proving his worth. Matt didn’t believe in nepotism and would not have anyone who worked for him question whether or not Ben deserved his position. He worked hard and was happy to have had the success he had based on his own achievements rather than the fact he was a little brother of the owners. Ben had been dating the same girl for about the past six years, and as often as they were together, they were ‘broken up’. Maureen never knew what their status was and had given up asking years ago. She had told her husband that he should just cut ties and move on, but Peter, wise man that he was, said that Ben would need to make that decision for himself.

  Then there was Paul. Paul was the son Maureen worried about most, not because he was a troubled child or anything, but because he was a Navy Seal and most of the year Maureen had no idea where he was or what he was doing. She didn’t know if he was on a ship somewhere or on a secret mission; whether he was doing drills or killing bad guys; whether he was rescuing hostages or in training. Yes, she worried about him most of all. This would be his tenth year in the military and he had the opportunity to leave the Navy and be a civilian. The last time she had spoken to him about it, he hadn’t decided what he would do. He loved his job passionately, but he wanted to get married and have a family and he knew he couldn’t do that while a Seal. Every Sunday when the entire family got together for dinner after Mass, there was always a place set at the table for Paul, Maureen’s way of willing him home safely.

  And finally there was Tim, Maureen’s baby. As an impressionable teenage boy, Tim had seen the horror of 9/11. He witnessed firsthand the enormous tragedy, and then the weeks, then months that dragged into years, of his city’s and its citizen’s recovery and healing. The images had imprinted on him and after college his only desire was to be a New York City firefighter. It had been his dream and he had worked hard to achieve it. He loved his job, he loved the people he worked with and he loved the fulfillment it gave him.

  Maureen’s seven boys had been her entire life for the past forty-four years. She had sacrificed so much for them and had loved them more than any mother could, and now it was their turn to repay her. She was only asking for one thing, one thing they really didn’t want to do, but she was going to pull every guilt card she had stashed away, because for hers and Peter’s wedding anniversary they were going on a cruise!

  1.

  “I am the grandmother!” Maureen yelled at the nurse.

  “I’m sorry ma’am, but Mr. Lathem has requested no visitors for another hour. You are welcome to wait in the waiting room down the hall,” the nurse said, trying to be polite but firm.

  Peter Lathem led his wife by the hand to the waiting room. She was not happy.

  Inside the delivery suite, Matt Lathem laid on the narrow hospital bed cradling his wife, Janie, who was holding the hour-old baby boy they had just named Christopher. Ella Rose, their almost two-year-old daughter, whom Matt called ‘Little L’ and she called herself ‘L’Ella’, was with Katy and Mark.

  “Wow,” he whispered into her hair. “We have another boy.”

  Janie’s twin boys with her first husband, Tyler and Adam, were almost twenty-five now, but Matt thought of them as his, and the boys loved him back.

  “I’m very glad it’s a boy seeing as though it’s our last,” Janie smiled and kissed baby Christopher on his tiny little nose.

  “I didn’t care either way,” said Matt. “But I have to admit I’m thrilled it’s a boy,” he grinned.

  There the three of them lay snuggled together; Janie exhausted from the delivery, Christopher sound asleep lying over his mother’s heart, and Matt unable to stop grinning from ear to ear, until the moment was broken with Matt’s mother’s voice outside their door.

  “It’s been an hour. I’m going in and you’re not going to stop me from seeing my grandson.”

  “Here we go,” chuckled Matt.

  *****

  After Ella Rose had been born, Janie hadn’t thought much about birth control. After all, she was forty-four years old, and her child bearing years were coming to an end. She didn’t rule out the possibility of another child. Matt was so in love with his baby girl that she knew he would be thrilled to add more to their family, but she had to admit that she was surprised when she found out she was pregnant again.

  The doctor had warned her of the possibility of a difficult pregnancy at her age, and he hadn’t been wrong. Morning sickness, the threat of gestational diabetes, and then the diagnosis of preeclampsia had scared her and Matt. Mark and Katy, Matt’s younger brother and his fiancée, had become their saviors, keeping Ella during the really bad days, and Maureen, Matt’s mother, had all but moved in to their apartment the final couple of weeks so that Janie could stay in bed and rest, giving their unborn child as much time as possible to develop his lungs before entering the world.

  Janie’s OB had helped deliver a healthy baby boy, much to the relief of his parents, but the doctor had said it should definitely be Janie’s last and Matt had adamantly agreed. There was no way in hell he would risk the love of his life’s own life again. They had the twin boys and now Ella and Christopher completed their family.

  And as much as Maureen loved her step grandsons, Adam and Tyler, when Ella Rose had been born, she was over the moon. When Ella had stopped breastfeeding, around five months old, Maureen had arranged with Janie that once a week she would take Ella for an afternoon; just grandmother and granddaughter time. Matt insisted that if they left the apartment that Ray, his long-time driver and most-trusted employee, take them to their destination and wait for them to bring them home again. He would not take any risks where his wife and daughter’s safety were concerned.

  Katy had asked Janie on several occasions how she dealt with Maureen so well and Janie always had the same answer: “Everything she does stems from love; genuine, deep, unconditional love for Matt, for me, and for Ella. How can I not love her for that? How can I deny her the thing she loves most? Her family.”

  “You’re a saint,” was always Katy’s reply. “She’s just a bit too…too overwhelming for me.”

  Janie had smiled and understood Katy’s feelings, but she also understood Maureen. Their relationship was unusual for a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. She considered herself very lucky.

  *****

  The hospital room door swung open and Maureen bustled in with a balloon bouquet in one hand and a giant stuffed panda bear in the other. She dropped both when she saw the blue beanie peeking out of Janie’s arms.

  “A boy!” she exclaimed.

  Matt and Janie had asked that the doctor keep the sex of the baby a surprise. They had said that as long as the baby was healthy, they didn’t need to know.

  “A boy,” Maureen said again as she reached for her son and pulled him into her arms. “You have a baby boy!”

  Matt chuckled. “Yes, I do. A beautiful, healthy baby boy.”

  Maureen released her son and sat on the edge of the bed and took Janie’s hand in hers.

  “How are you Janie? Everything go smoothly? Are you tired?”

  Janie smiled at Maureen and handed her the tiny bundle in her arms. Maureen squealed as she pulled him to her bosom and kissed his tiny cheeks.

  “I am tired,” Janie sighed, “But feeling very happy right now. Meet your grandson, Christopher Matthew Lathem.”

  “Lovely name,” Maureen smiled.

  Peter came and stood next to his wife and looked at his grandson.

  “Well done, Janie,” he grinned at his daughter-in-law. “You make handsome babies.”

  “What about me?” Matt asked. “I helped!”

  Peter laughed. “Your job took thirty seconds. Your wife did all the work.”

  Matt pretended to be wounded, but grinned as he leaned down to kiss his wife. “You do make beautiful babies,” he whispered.

  *****

 
A couple of hours later, Janie having taken a short nap and Matt taking a photo of his new son every two minutes, Katy peaked her head into the hospital room.

  “Ready for a special visitor?” she grinned.

  Matt leapt off the bed and hurried to greet Ella Rose just outside the door, firmly in Mark’s arms.

  “Daddy!” she squealed as Matt took his daughter from his brother. He kissed her on both cheeks and she put her chubby little hands on his face.

  “I missed you Little L,” he smiled.

  “L’Ella miss you. Where’s mommy?”

  “Come see mommy.” Matt kissed Katy on the cheek and thanked her and Mark for babysitting their niece for the past twenty-four hours.

  “We loved it,” Katy smiled. “We’ll keep her tonight too if you want.”

  “Thanks, but I’ll take her tonight. Looks like Janie will be here for another day or two so we can have some daddy-daughter time before her world is turned upside down with her new competition.” Matt grinned and took Ella to see her mommy and introduce her to her new brother.

  *****

  When Maureen had come up with the idea of a cruise for the entire family, Matt had just announced that Janie was expecting. When Maureen calculated the dates, she realized that either Matt and Janie wouldn’t be coming with them, or she would be postponing the cruise. Of course, the decision was easy; they would push back the cruise for two months, giving Janie a few weeks to recover. Janie’s mother, Patty, would be flying in from Portland for a few weeks after the baby was born, so Maureen had invited her to join them on their two-week celebration. Patty was thrilled and graciously accepted the offer.

  “It’s going to be a circus,” Matt had whined.

  “Yes, but probably a very entertaining one,” Janie had said. “This will be a vacation to remember.”