Page 40 of Fire and Ice Cruise

Marina lands her eyes on mine. “Was it? With Ransom?”

I think about my hot husband who makes me laugh and keeps me safe and looks at me like I’m the only woman in the world.

“It was perfect.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Marina says quietly. “What if it’s perfect and then it ends? I’m only on the ship for a few more days.”

“Then at least you had perfect for a while,” Bess says. “That’s more than most people get.”

We fall into silence again, but it feels comfortable now.

Nicolette struts past us, then backtracks.

“Ladies!” she chirps, looking impeccable in a camel-colored coat and leather gloves. Her dark hair is styled despite the wind, and her makeup is flawless. “What are you girls doing up here? It’s freezing!”

“We’re hiding from civilization,” Nettie says.

“I can see that.” Nicolette mewls. “Well, why don’t you stop by the Mermaid Lounge in ten minutes. We’re doing a session called ‘Reinventing Intimacy After 50—Dating, Desire, and Second Chances.’ At our age, that’s always relevant.” She bellows out a hearty laugh until her eyes land on Marina and me. “Especially for our birthday girls.”

“Oh, I don’t know—” Marina starts.

“We’ll be there,” I interrupt, because this is exactly the kind of thing we need to attend. Not just for Marina’s sake, but because I want to watch the Second Act Society members interact. One of them is a killer, and killers always slip up eventually.

“Wonderful.” Nicolette checks her watch. “It starts at two. I’ll see you there.”

She disappears back inside, leaving a cloud of pricey perfume in her wake.

“Did we just get asked to attend a lecture on midlife sex?” Bess asks.

“Yep,” I say with a laugh.

“Perfect.” Bess tosses her hands in the air. “Just what I wanted to do on my sea day.”

“Look on the bright side,” Nettie says. “Maybe we’ll learn something useful.”

Bess rolls her eyes. “What could we possibly learn that we don’t already know?”

“How to reinvent our intimate lives?” Marina offers.

I nod. “Nettie, your intimate life doesn’t need reinventing. It needs adult supervision.”

Marina laughs so hard she nearly spills her coffee, and I join in because this—right here, freezing on a deck in the North Atlantic with these women—is what second acts are made of. Not the brochure version. Not the “ten steps to your best life” version Nicolette’s about to sell downstairs. Just four women, three coffees, two hot flashes, and one whale who came and went before we could properly thank it, all freezing on a bench pretending the wind isn’t trying to murder us.

I wouldn’t trade this for a spa day in Santorini.

Okay, maybe for the afternoon. But I’d come right back.

Of course, one of those people in the Mermaid Lounge this afternoon just might be a killer.

But that’s what makes life interesting.

CHAPTER 13

The Mermaid Lounge lives up to its name with ocean-themed décor that teeters between elegant and excessive.

Turquoise velvet chairs cluster around small tables, the walls are painted in graduated shades of blue from pale seafoam to deep navy, and an enormous chandelier shaped like a jellyfish dangles from the ceiling with crystal tentacles that catch the light. It’s beautiful in a “someone really committed to the theme” sort of way. Think lots of coral, fishing nets, and sea shells in addition to larger-than-life paintings of mermaids.

But more importantly, there’s a buffet that could feed a small army in the room.