Chapter 9

She discreetly checked out the other people in the room. There were two other couples, both appeared middle aged—one of the couples appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent with their colorful ankle length robes.

As she observed her surroundings a family entered the room, led by their butler.

Hmph, she's a trophy wife, Sidney thought to herself as she checked out the obvious age difference between a man that appeared to be in his sixties and his wife that looked to be in her thirties. They had a teenaged son that looked annoyed as he tagged along behind them, thumb typing on his cellphone.

Their butler was watching her, which wasn't abnormal. Everyone always took a double-take, if for no reason than because of her deep dark color…well and also because she looked good. But this guy was really checking her out. He was wearing sunglasses and he lowered them. He was tall, handsome, blond haired and blue-eyed. His suit was also impeccable with skinny slacks and shiny black shoes that fit the role of a butler very nicely, only he wore a paisley printed bow tie that was snazzy and unexpected.

He was staring so hard that it caught the attention of his male guest and now both were staring at her—and when that happened the wife had to check her out too. She didn't seem impressed and maybe even mildly annoyed that there was no one checking her out in the same way.

Sidney inclined her head politely even though they were being rude. She turned back to the large window without seeing if they had returned the gesture.

"Madame," Gio was suddenly beside her. "Shall we?"

"All done?" she asked.

"Yes." He passed her passport and a ship card to her. "We will have a muster drill here at four o'clock. You will have the opportunity to meet the Captain and his crew and they will take you and the other VIPs on a behind the scenes tour of the ship."

"Oh, nice. I can't wait to see the rest of this ship. This room is gorgeous."

Gio was led her out of the room and he turned to her. "Would you like a tour of the ship before I take you to your suite?"

She wasn't sure. This was her first cruise and she couldn't wait to see the ship, but she was intrigued about a suite that cost the equivalent of half a year's rent.

"Suite first." But that was mainly because she had to pee.

Gio led her out of the lounge, but not before glancing at the family that was supposed to be his. He suppressed a smirk at the sour look on Nicco's face.

As they headed for a set of elevators Sidney took in the opulence. The corridors were decorated in gold and cream colors. The carpet even seemed to mimic marble.

Gio took in his guest's expression as she checked out the smallest details as they headed down the corridor.

"Is this your first cruise, ma'am?" He asked.

She smiled sheepishly. "Yes, and my first time in Europe. I've been taking pictures like I've never left home before." He would probably be amused to know that she had her cellphone poised and ready to take photos as soon as they reached the suite. Would it be rude of her to ask him to step aside so that she could film her walk-through? Wait, was she insane! In years to come she would want to remember every exquisite inch of her butler. She would definitely want him in her walk-through video.

Sidney smiled to herself as she considered how thirsty she was acting right now. But it was all in good fun. A man like that was probably married or had a supermodel girlfriend.

"We will strive to make this a memorable experience," he said while scanning them into one of the elevators.

You already have, she thought.

Once the two were enclosed in the elevator she caught Gio's subtle scent. In the U.S. she would have described it as clean like soap, but here, it was probably some expensive cologne that mimicked cleanliness. She liked it, though.

The elevator door opened to an expansive corridor that made the previous level look cheap in comparison.

She knew the butler was watching her expression because one corner of his lip moved slightly upward but not as if he was mocking the way her eyes had gone wide. It was more like he took pride in her acknowledgement of the enhanced accommodations.

The floors were white marble. There were sculptures in alcoves, and beautiful modern paintings that created a contemporary vibe. The ceilings were even painted in funky but tasteful geometric shapes. Tall back chairs were situated along the corridor just incase you got tired on your way to your room.

"This way," he led her down the large corridor. "This is the rear of the ship. We call it the aft. My apologies for the long walk, but as you can see we have tried to make the journey enjoyable."

She tingled at his low sexy voice and wanted to keep him talking. "What do they call the front of the ship? The fore?"

"Close. We call it the forward. You've made an excellent selection in rooms. Many people enjoy the aft suites because of the uninterrupted view of the ocean and the wake."

They finally reached her room and the butler inserted his black card into a slot on the door. "The elevators will only allow access to this level with the use of a VIP keycard."

"How many rooms are on this level?"

"Four." He paused before opening the door and then he did so with such a flourish that his movements seemed to say TADOW!

Sidney stepped inside slowly as she tried to take in everything at once. She remembered her camera and dug into her purse for her cellphone to record it all. Gio was the first thing to appear on her screen when she pressed record and he smiled at her.