Cruise Control by Sarah Mayberry

Facing your own mortality can do crazy things to a girl. Anna Jackson wants to grab life with both hands and take it for a ride, she's tired of treading water and wants to ride the waves. Anna turns her life on its ear - quitting her job as a lawyer in favor of starting her own limousine service, cropping her hair and bleaching it platinum blonde, and oh yeah, deciding to have an illicit fling.

The first time Marc Lewis rides in her car, she writes him off as arrogant and cold. He might look like dream fling material, but she had no time for jerks, even if they did spike her temperature and jumpstart her lethargic libido. The next time she's hired to drive the sexy entrepreneur to a meeting, she realizes her assumptions about him were all wrong. When they give in to their mutual attraction in the parking garage - both are stunned at the intensity of their joining.

A chance encounter at an art gallery finds them sneaking into an empty office and endulging their desires, again walking away without a word. Forcing herself to live by her new rules, Anna goes to Marc and proposings a no-strings-attached fling. They seal the deal on his hardwood floor. Thinking they'll burn the attraction out quickly, they're both surprise to find their need for one another increasing, and spending a holiday in Bali.

The intimacy of vacationing leads Anna to realize she's not having a fling, she's fallen in love with Marc, and she suspects he feels the same. Instead of relishing the idea, Anna panics. Her cancer has only been in remission for a year, she can't be tied down yet with so much she still wants to do, and more than that, if the cancer returns she doesn't want to put Marc through the loss.

Parasailing, scuba diving, bungee jumping and a new motorcycle help her keep her distance , until and accident brings everything crashing down. Sarah Mayberry has a warm and natural voice thar spins a fast past, athletically erotic tale full of beautiful views and witty humor. The Australian and Asian setting provide an elegant backdrop and the phrasing adds flavor to the story. (FYI...abbatoir is a slaughterhouse). I loved the way the characters opened up slowly to the reader and each other.