Poison in Paradise - Melissa Baldwin Page 0,1

it," she said with a laugh.

"Worse. They threw their cones into the pool."

She cringed. "Another reason I don't want children. They are much too messy."

I turned on the shower and tested the water.

"Oh, come on. I'm sure you and Levi would have some gorgeous children together, and they would have the cutest accents." I loved when little kids spoke with accents. Chloe was originally from Norway, but her home was in London when she wasn't sailing.

She was a stunning blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty. Her latest boyfriend—or, as she called him, "friend who is a boy"—Levi was from the Netherlands, and his eyes were even more blue than hers. I felt a bit plain next to her, with my golden-brown hair, hazel eyes, and Floridian accent (according to Chloe). Do Floridians have an accent? I didn't think so.

"My friend Levi and I haven't had any discussion about children," she insisted. "What about you? Have you met any of the new transfers yet?"

Chloe was a hopeless romantic, and the fact I hadn't had a love interest in a very long time drove her mad (her words). Several new crew members had joined our ship over the past week, and she thought I should check them out.

"Not yet. I've been busy working," I replied.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, hop to it. I've heard there are some good options."

I quickly jumped into the shower to avoid any more discussion of potential onboard love affairs. It wasn't that I wasn't curious about the new staff members—it was just that I had a job to do. But after working on the ship for months at a time, it was good to get some fresh blood in here.

* * *

As I glanced out the round porthole window next to my desk, I caught a glimpse of the sun fading into the horizon. That view never got old. The Port Adventures office was located on Deck Four, right next to the shopping area. Our department had one of the best locations on the ship because it was right in the middle of the action. Guests wouldn't be able to miss us on their way to purchase all the duty-free goodies and Epic Cruise Line souvenirs. The office was cozy, with dark wood desks and soft navy blue chairs. Our office walls were covered with paintings of the different landscapes of our ports of call, which had proven to be a great selling point. It was a nice change of scenery from being on higher decks and out in the sun all day.

I opened my schedule and scrolled through the list. My first guests of the evening were Phillip and Josie Edwards. As I read through their profile, I was shocked to see they were from my hometown, Winter Park, Florida.

"Hello. We have an appointment at six thirty," a voice called. I looked up to see a muscular man holding a rocks glass filled with brown liquid, with a petite blonde peeking around behind him.

"Come in, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards," I said, standing up to greet them. "I'm Alexa Walker. I'll be helping you select your activities."

"Lexi Walker, is that you?" the woman interrupted as soon as she sat down.

All of a sudden I realized she looked very familiar.

"Josie Brooks?"

When she smiled, I immediately knew it was her. Holy crap, my best friend from fourth grade was here on my ship. It'd been years since I last saw her. Obviously she looked older, and I could tell she'd had some work done. Her cheekbones were higher, and her lips were fuller.

"It's Josie Edwards now," she said, placing her martini glass down before shoving her left hand in my face. The diamond on her ring finger looked much too big for her tiny hand.

"I can't believe it," she exclaimed. "I haven't seen you since we were kids."

"What happened to you?" I asked. "The last thing I remember was Mr. Stanley telling the class that you had moved."

She nodded. "My parents had a messy divorce, and my mom basically wanted us to start a whole new life. She sent me to a private school, and I lost touch with all my friends. It was the saddest time of my life."

I knew the feeling. I remembered crying to my mom about Josie moving away.

"This is such an amazing coincidence," Josie exclaimed, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder. She was wearing the shortest white dress I'd ever seen, and it fit her like a glove. "Baby, isn't this so funny? Lexi and