“Is the location close enough to my Mum that we could stop there for a couple of days?” Another sip of his coffee brought him to the bottom of the cup.
“I believe we could make that work. I’m not certain of the Queen Mother’s schedule, but I’ll find out and see if we can make the arrangements.” George made a note on a pad of paper.
They both turned toward the open door when Elise called his name.
Frederick set his mug on table and stood. “Thank you for the updates. Will you see that breakfast is sent up?”
George stood and tipped his head toward Frederick. “Yes, sir.”
Stifling a yawn, he went back into the owner’s suite. “Elise?” He didn’t go around the wall until he heard a response. “Good morning.”
She sat with her back to the wall and legs criss-crossed in front of her. “Good morning. How did I get in here?”
Frederick sat on the opposite edge of the bed. “You fell asleep outside, but when you woke in the middle of the night, I helped you in here.”
Elise looked over at him and blinked. “You did?” Her gaze shifted to the pillow next to him. “But where did you sleep?”
When Elise sawthe look on Frederick’s face, she felt like she had to be missing something.
Her brain wasn’t fully functioning. That had to be part of the problem.
Then it clicked.
The covers on the other side of the bed were rumpled.
“You slept here.” She hoped her relief came through. The last thing she’d want is for him to feel like he had to sleep on a couch somewhere or another suite.
“I hope that doesn’t make you uncomfortable. I would have gone somewhere else, but I don’t know the layout very well, and it was the middle of the night.” The tone of his voice was tinged with concern.
“It’s fine. I’m glad you chose to. If anyone should sleep elsewhere, it’s me. This is your yacht.” She struggled to contain a yawn. “Besides, it’s not like we’ve never slept in the same bed before. We did that within a couple of hours of meeting for the first time.”
“I know.”
She shifted to sit up a bit straighter. “I haven’t seen an itinerary for this trip. Are we spending most of it at sea or are we going somewhere and then we’ll spend time there - some family island resort maybe?”
“We’ll be sailing around the country for a few weeks. Essentially every other day will be at sea most of the time. I’ll ask George to make sure you get a copy of it.”
“Thank you.” Elise looked out the glass wall in front of her. Bright blue water extended as far as she could see. “It’s beautiful.”
A grin crossed his face. “It’s one of my favorite things about living in an island nation. The views and the seafood.”
“I’m not big on seafood, unfortunately.” Elise grimaced. “I’m probably going to have to learn to like it well enough to eat it regularly, won’t I?”
“That would probably be the best option,” he agreed. “You’ll be offered seafood on a regular basis. Some of the communities are rightfully proud of their local seafood dish. Refusing or only eating a little bit of it will be offensive.”
“I’ll manage.” She hoped she could. Maybe the chef could make some of the dishes for her to try so she would have an idea of what they tasted like or how to tweak it to where she could eat it without giving away her general distaste.
Before she could mention the idea to Frederick, a knock on the main door caught their attention.
“That’s our breakfast.” Frederick walked out of view then returned a moment later with a tray. “Where would you like toeat? Outside? Or in here?” He tipped his head toward the small table for two.
“In here is fine this morning.” For some reason, going outside in her pyjamas in the morning felt different than going outside in her pyjamas after dark.
The light breakfast was perfect for Elise. Her stomach couldn’t handle much more, not as it started to set in that she really had decided to retire at a very young age from a successful and growing career in entertainment. On top of that, she’d married a man she didn’t know well - yet - and had somehow ended up queen of the island nation.
“Is everything okay?” Frederick must have picked up on it.
“Everything is just starting to sink in. I don’t want you to think I regret any of it, I don’t, but it’s still a big change. It’s hitting me that I’m technically retired and have somehow become a queen.” She pulled a bite off of the pastry in her hand.
