Page 54 of Too Far To Sea
“Yes. But I get lonely. It would be nice to see them more often than I do. Even so, I have my fun.”
“You’re from England then?”
“I live in London. Every year for our anniversary, we take a trip. Sadly, these past two years I’ve gone without my dear husband.”
“My condolences. Did you have fun on this cruise?”
“I met some wonderful people. And some are not so nice. Did you hear a young man jilted his bride-to-be on our cruise?”
“That was my sister. And why my mother was yelling at me.”
“Oh my. I didn’t mean to gossip. So, you are part of the big bridal group then? It must have been a lovely hen party until it ended.”
“It was. We made lots of memories. My sister is more about making sure everyone had some fun than everything being about her.”
“When was she to be wed?”
“This Friday.”
“She may not think so, but it was fortunate that she found out before the vows were said.”
“She knows.”
“Forgive me for being a nosey old woman. I shouldn’t have asked. I’m Hermione, by the way. Like the girl in that wizard book you kids all seemed to love. However, I am not magical.”
“You raised my spirits. That’s magic enough for me.” Dana smiled to prove her point.
“What are you going to do now that there is no wedding?”
“I’m going to go out to Bath and see everything I can and probably head down to Lyme Regis.”
“Ah, you’re aPersuasionfan.”
“Guilty as charged.”
“Do you have a Captain Wentworth in your life?”
Dana’s cheeks warmed.
Hermione chuckled.
“Not really. We’re not in a position to start a relationship.”
“If it’s meant to be, it is meant to be.”
Too bad it wasn’t that easy.
The tech stopped the X-ray machine. Another bottle of whiskey. Why passengers thought that they could sneak liquor on board, McKay would never know. It was so much easier just to declare it and turn it over to the crew so it could be returned at disembarkment. He waved the passenger over to Martina, who was in charge of checking in the liquor.
McKay turned back to the queue of passengers. A few people away, Dana laughed with an older woman he’d seen several times during the cruise. The women scanned their ID Cards.
“Welcome back on board. Did you have a good day?”
The older woman answered first. “Indeed, I did. I didn’t attempt to kiss the Blarney Stone. I don’t need to seeing as I already have the gift of gab.”
“And you?” McKay looked at Dana.
“Does air kissing count?”
