Chapter 357: SS4 04: The Honeymoon Cruise Package

"Stay back! Don't come any closer!"

"No! Stay where you are. I mean it. I'll let go."

"What do you mean no I won't? Don't presume to tell me what I will and will not do. You don't know me."

"You're distracting me. Go away."

"What in the world..." Ambryan had left to order drinks for him and his wife. His aviator sunglasses shielded his eyes from the sun. White shorts and three unbuttoned blue short sleeves, he had captured the eyes of many.

So did his wife but for a different reason.

Eve paced up and down the poop deck. The hem of her maxi skirt trailed behind her whichever direction she headed for. She wore a hat as protection from the sun. Despite her frustrated stomps around the deck, elegance fell on her shoulders.

The scowl between her eyebrows deepened.

Ambryan stopped a few meters away from her. "Eve, what are you doing?"

"I know what ice fishing is!" She glared in return. 

Now, Ambryan felt more lost than before. The cold drinks in his hands began to sweat and to soak his palms. He took cautious steps forward, saying, "Good to know."

Eve halted in her steps and shook her head at him. "You're crazy."

"I'm starting to think that."

She pursed her lips and groaned. "This is the part where you introduce yourself."

Her husband raised both of his eyebrows, more confused than ever before. He offered her the glass of piña colada. "I'm Ambryan Hathaway."

"No! Not like that!" Eve protested, both of her hands waving in front of her. Her dreams were shattered in an instant. "You were supposed to say you were Jack Dawson!"

She huffed out the last of her frustrations and snatched the glass. Her legs marched towards the main deck as her lips muttered. "I swear… CEO of one of the top romance movie companies but doesn't even know one of the top romance movie blockbusters of all time… and we're already on a ship!"

Ambryan stayed one step behind her and heard all of it. "The love story on a sinking ship?"

"Come on, now. No need to hate. It was sinking from the start."

A pool occupied the center of the main deck. People from all ages flocked around it as well as in it. Eve shifted her focus to the endless blue waters on the other side of the railing. She laid her arms on top of it and sipped from the straw of her piña colada. 

"How far are we from the island?" She asked Ambryan without looking his way. They had left New Zealand after three whole days of activities. A cruise was just what they needed. She had never been more glad to do nothing but relax. 

For his beverage, Ambryan picked white wine. He took a sip and enjoyed the view along with his wife. "About a few more hours. It should be visible from the bow by now."

"The bow? The front part of the ship?"

"Yes, that one."

"Then, what are you waiting for? Let's check it out."

Eve sprinted ahead, leaving him in the dust. Ambryan had learned she did this whenever she didn't want him to refuse her ideas. He followed at a slower pace and savored his white wine. A group of tourists appeared from behind a door. 

They walked in one big group and blocked his sight of his wife. 

Eve checked behind her but only found the crowd instead. She decided to wait for Ambryan to catch up, drinking the rest of her piña colada. She set the straw aside and drank it all in one go. A server happened to see her and offered to take her empty glass.

She thanked him. 

"Hey, pretty lady," a voice called out behind her.

Assuming it meant someone else, she ignored the voice and focused on the door. The crowd never seemed to end. Just how many of them were able to fit in that room? That was when she felt fingers touch her hair.

Eve clutched the spot and turned around. Her muscles went rigid with caution.

A blonde-haired and blue-eyed man her age stared back in amusement. Eve wished he wore a shirt besides his broadsorts. That was her impression of him—especially how his sun-kissed skin seemed to mock how pale she was. 

His hand still hovered in the air. He let it fall to his side when she neither spoke nor moved. "Has anyone mentioned how beautiful your hair is? Like a ruby or a red rose?"

"And if it was brown, would you compare it to poop or to a tree?"

He threw his head back in laughter.

A bored expression painted over Eve's face. Her comment wasn't that funny.

"I think I would have used chocolate or coffee, depending on the shade."

"Nice choices…" Eve nodded. She let her hair go but watched their distance. "The lady is bound to like one or the other. Props to you for that."

A smirk stretched the corner of his lips. "Then, which one are you?"

"Both—"

"Mine," Ambryan cut her off. He stepped in between them while grabbing her wrist. The flecks in his violet eyes darkened. His sunglasses sat on top of his head. The warning in his gaze intensified every passing second.

"Woah, dude, chill." The guy whistled and raised his hands in surrender. He pointed his chin towards Eve who half-hid behind Ambryan. "I didn't know she was taken."

"She has a wedding ring."

Eve lifted her free hand for him to see, an apologetic smile on her face.

"That she does now that I see it…" he said in a daze. His expression returned to normal after a second. He had a nice chat with Eve and that would have to be enough. Backing away, he waved his hands goodbye. "Nice meeting you both, anyway. Enjoy your time."

Ambryan eyed him until the latter vanished from their sights. Then, he turned around to face his wife. "Why were you talking to him?"

Eve blinked up innocently. "I was waiting for you. We didn't actually get to talk much."

"He was flirting with you." The goofy smile on the guy's face was unmistakable and his eyes liked what they saw. Ambryan found that Eve often underestimated her looks and charm. She could simply thank someone with her smile and they'd take a liking to her.

He never pointed it out since her attention would shift to something else after that.

That wasn't the case for this incident though.

Eve saw it in her husband's eyes. She only had one thing to say about his behavior. "Please don't try to jump off a flight of stairs. You know what happened last time."

"I'm not jumping off a flight of stairs."

"Good boy." She rose to her tiptoes and patted his hair. "Now, let's take a peek at the island." 

Ambryan continued holding her hand. They were to spend with the same crowd of people for the next few days. It shouldn't take long before their relationship status becomes bluntly obvious. That should be enough to ward off the busy bees around his wife.

Eve gasped when she saw the bow and the island up ahead.

She let go of Ambryan, dashing for the front of the boat. 

"It's so beautiful…" she breathed out as she held onto the railing. There was so much greenery on the island. She could also see the white sand of its beach. They were still too far away for her to see more detail but she already liked the place.

It was a tempting place to live.

Ambryan snorted before glancing at the back of her head. "Yes, it is."

Eve climbed onto the lowest bar of the railing. Ambryan immediately lunged for her. He snatched her by the waist, intending to pull her back on the deck. Eve spread her arms like an eagle. "I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!"

Her loud voice caught him off guard.

Laughing at herself, Eve screamed some more. "Whoo! I'm flying, Jack! I'm flying!"

"Alright, get down before we get in trouble," Ambryan lifted her off the railing and walked backwards until they were at a safe distance. He set her down on her feet. Relief settled on his shoulders. 

Eve spotted lounge chairs behind them. She dragged Ambryan to one and instructed him to sit. Once he did, she placed herself between his legs, wrapping his arms around her. A satisfied sigh exhaled out of her nose. She leaned back a little to feel more of his warmth.

"I'm sorry about that guy I was talking to," Eve spoke softly.

Ambryan listened quietly and played with her hair. Remembering how the guy tried to do the same, Eve couldn't help but smile. She detected the difference right away and knew it wasn't Ambryan who touched it earlier.

Another sigh flowed out of her lips. "Besides, he laughed a little too loud for my taste."

"Why is that?" 

"I'm supposed to be the only loud one. He'd be stealing my spotlight"

Ambryan chuckled, starting a thin braid from the top of her head. "Pretty and loud… how could you have hidden that all those years as my secretary?"

Eve stiffened for a moment. "That seems so long ago."

"It was long ago."

"It's been only a year. Give or take."

"Felt longer to me."

Chuckling, Eve raised her left hand. Two rings glinted under the afternoon sun. The man who never committed gave both of them to her. All those years of beautiful women… and he had picked her? Would it always feel like a dream?

"Don't find another wife, okay?" Eve joked, putting her hand down.

Ambryan stopped braiding her hair. He frowned in her direction. What could his wife possibly be thinking? "I'm busy enough as it is and barely have time for one wife."

"Have time for kids too."

"Well, I definitely have time for making kids."

A smack hit his arm.

"Ow!"