I went into writing NIKKO knowing he’d be a duke and also that he believed his one chance at true love had passed him by in a traumatic incident earlier in life. As a result of this, he lives a very devil-may-care life and he’s positive he has nothing to offer any other woman, including Kath, the date arranged for him by the Intergalactic Dating Agency under their contract with his home of Ardanna.
Of course Kath, a resilient dentist, who’s been working on a remote mining colony for the past few years, turns all his assumptions upside down and Nikko really has to struggle with his core beliefs about himself and about true love and a fated mate. She’s pretty hard headed and knows “dukes don’t marry dentists”.
There’s a new-to-me sport at the heart of the story – blow cart racing, which originated in New Zealand. I happened to catch a brief scene in a movie about people racing these wind driven go karts along a beach and I immediately thought my characters could do that. It’s the kind of activity the IDA would be likely to offer on their Resort Planet. I did a lot of research and watched youtube videos on the sport and then worked it into the plot. It turned out to be kind of a pivotal point in fact and led to some fun scenes. Now I want to try it someday!
Here’s the excerpt, when Nikko, Kath and their friends arrive at the racing venue.
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The resort employees were ready for them and had a small fleet of blow carts waiting, along with helmets and gloves and optional visors. The woman in charge gave them a rapid overview of how to operate the small vehicle, which in Kath’s mind condensed down to letting go of the rope for practically all problems. The rope was for controlling the sail and the cart also featured a handlebar to clutch and make changes in direction but nothing else. No AI, no sensors or readouts and the carts skimmed along a few inches above the ground on three wheels.
“Ladies first,” Nikko said, waving his hand at the waiting carts.
Kath strode forward confidently and selected a white cart with a two-tone fuchsia-and-pink sail. One of the employees gave her a second, hands-on demo of the cart’s features, consisting mostly of a seatbelt, the famous rope and the handlebar and helped her adjust her helmet and take her place inside the composite fabric body. Then she was off on a trial run. Slowly gaining confidence she allowed the sail to catch more wind and soon she was speeding over the hard packed sands. The wind against her body was exhilarating and she got carried away, going too fast and one of her wheels lifted off the ground.
A second later she was on her side in the cart, sail stretched along the sand like a beached fish. She wasn’t hurt, merely surprised. The body of the cart had kept her from hitting the ground and the seat belt had done its work well. A resort employee came rushing up to help her out and then to right the cart.
Nikko arrived in his cart, which had black and gold sails. “Are you all right?”
“Perfectly fine,” she said, preparing to re-enter the driver’s seat. “Now I know what not to do. These things are fast.”
“Having fun?” he asked with a grin.
“It’s wonderful. Are we going to race?”
“We can, if you want. There’s an obstacle course set up over there.” He pointed to the right where there was a racetrack laid out with bright orange cones to mark the curves.
“Sounds like fun.” By going slowly and playing with the angle of her sail, Kath managed to get herself to the actual course, where she found the other Ardannans having a great time zipping around the cones and trash talking each other. The idea was to post the lowest time and each person got three tries. On her first circuit of the cones Kath crashed again but emerged with a pretty good understanding of what it would take to successfully complete the challenge. Her second run was a respectable time, in the middle of the pack.
Nikko pulled up next to her as she was lining up for her third and final circuit of the course. “Good luck, mine is the time to beat.”
She checked the portable scoreboard and saw he’d done the course in thirty seconds less than the closest driver. “Challenge accepted,” she said, lowering her visor.
When the starter flashed the green light, she wasted no time pulling the rope tight and bringing her sail to its maximum wind catching position. The ground underneath flashed by and the cones were blurs as she maneuvered her way through them and when she crossed the finish line there were loud cheers. Checking the board she was chagrined to discover she’d lost to Nikko by five seconds.
“Rematch,” she said as he came up to her side in his cart. “But on the straightaway this time.”
He was obviously surprised at her competitive attitude but he grinned. “Challenge accepted but we should have meaningful stakes, not simply boasting rights.”
Feeling mischievous, she tilted her head and gave him a coquettish look. “I have these silk scarves in my luggage I’m not using. Winner gets to decide what to do with those scarves in bed.” She felt a tightening at her core just contemplating using the scarves to have Nikko at her mercy for even a few minutes. Maybe then she could break through his walls and get closer to the truth of who he was and why he couldn’t let himself get truly close with her outside the bedroom.
The duke blinked and did a doubletake as her offer sank in. Then he gave her a truly devilish smile. “I had no idea you were such a gambler.”
“I have hidden depths,” she said. “Don’t we all? Are we going to race or what?”
NIKKO: SOLDIERS OF THE ARDANNAN BOOK SIX (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) by Veronica Scott
A reluctant Duke, scarred by an incident in his past…a human woman looking for a fresh start…five days on the resort planet…Nikko, Duke of Winddome, has come to the Intergalactic Dating Agency’s Resort Planet under orders from his government to participate in a five day date. He’s determined to get through the time with as little effort as possible and make it more of a vacation with his military friends. His heart was broken years ago and he refuses to start a relationship with any woman when he knows he can’t truly love her. Kath Alverstan just completed five years as a dentist on a remote, desert mining planet so she’s ready for a complete change of pace on the lush resort planet. She hopes to meet a man she can fall in love with and start building a future together. The Duke certainly checks off most of the boxes on her mental list of what she hopes for but the man is frustratingly hot and cold to her – sizzling in the bedroom where their chemistry is off the charts but distant and distracted the rest of the time. Besides, Kath is a realist and dukes don’t marry dentists. When Kath disappears while on a solo outing, Nikko realizes what he’s in danger of losing. He’ll have to break his own rules if she’s to be found. Will he be able to tear down his protective walls and give Kath the true love she deserves? Will she forgive him?
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