A woman leaves behind the big city holiday bustle for the peace and quiet of Sanibel Island and finds her passion for life, her true love, and a rare seashell she’s sought since childhood.

SYNOPSIS:

A Romance Feature written with Marie D. Jones.

Hot shot corporate lawyer SARA MARTIN has little time for pleasure. Her nights out are mainly business dinners with her fiancé, Jack, a high-powered attorney who keeps avoiding planning their wedding. Now, she’s up for a huge promotion that will have her working longer hours than ever before. And just before the Christmas holidays, she nails a huge contract to buy out several family-owned businesses that are holding up a new shopping center.

One of the business owners she shuts down is an attractive man named ROB HARPER, who confronts her and chews her out publicly for destroying his family’s gift shop. Sara is shaken by the experience and decides to escape the hustle and bustle and take a holiday vacay to regroup. She grew up walking the beaches of Sanibel Island, the Seashell Capitol of the World, with her now deceased mother, and the island is calling her name. She heads to Sanibel to wind down, but also to seek a rare shell she’s always longed to find. A Junonia. Those lucky enough to find one are part of an elite group and the tradition is to get your picture taken with it for social media.

Sara rents a hotel room and walks the beach looking for shells, captivated by the blue skies and vast ocean. When she ventures into The Shell Shack to buy some beachy items, she runs into Rob Harper. There is bad feelings between them, but also a strange connection. Both have come to Sanibel to escape city life.

She notices a holiday-themed crafts competition coming up, dusts off her creative muscles, and makes something to enter. Seashell Sleighs with tiny bells attached. She sells out of her sleighs and bonds a little more with Rob. He has a booth near hers, and when he suggests she make more sleighs for his shop, her creative passion is re-awakened.

Rob apologizes for his behavior back in the city, and Sara apologizes for shutting down his family business. They agree to lunch and get to know each other by touring Sanibel and taking a boat ride to Captiva Island to the north. They agree to a date for Christmas Eve at a fancy dinner and dance, where they both realize they are falling for each other...until Sara’s fiancé JACK shows up. Seems she forgot to tell Rob she was engaged.

Sara didn’t forget. She didn’t want to tell Rob. She just isn’t in love with Jack. She’s also realizing the hard-driving legal life isn’t what she wants any longer, thanks to some wisdom from her dad, ROGER, who retired to do what he loves – travel the world. But it’s too late, because Rob storms off, and when she gets up the nerve to go to his shop, she learns he has left for Sedona, Arizona to help his parents relocate. And he may stay there for good.

Sara gets the big promotion and heads back to the city, but her heart is back on Sanibel. She works a deal with her boss and heads back to the island. At her first stop, the Shell Shack, she tells the salesgirl JILL to please get a message to Rob. She knows that after that the ball is in Rob’s court.

One night, as she walks the beach alone and silently asks for a sign that she is doing the right thing, she sees something reflecting on the sand. She finds a large, unbroken Junonia. But the sea and the stars have another surprise in store for Sara when Rob appears. He received the message that Sara was back. Now they have both found their heart’s desires. They confess their love, share a kiss, and take a picture together with the Junonia.

ONE YEAR LATER

Sara runs a law office on Ft. Myers, a satellite office of the one she left in the big city, where she plans her dream beach wedding on her lunch breaks. It’s just across the causeway from Sanibel, where Rob now owns and operates the Shell Shack. His best-selling item – Sara’s Seashell Sleighs with bells. On a shelf, in a special glass display case, is the one item that will never be for sale. The Junonia that brought them together.