“Aunty, I wish you could see how he treats me,” she said. “He makes me feel beautiful and special. I've never been this happy in my entire life. I don't want to be with him because he's a prince and he's rich. I want to be with him because h
e makes me excited about my life and nobody has ever done that before.”
Faye was quiet for a minute and Sabrina thought she heard her sniffle. “I suppose I can't argue with that logic. And, I have to admit, that it makes me proud to hear you stand up for something like this. You must really believe strongly in your relationship with Marco.”
“I believe in it so much,” Sabrina said. “If I didn't, then I wouldn't risk moving across the planet for him.”
“Hearing you speak with such passion reminds me of when I was younger,” Faye said. “I guess sometimes, I forget what it feels like to be young and in love. It's a special time and even though I'm hesitant about you moving away, I want you to know that I have your back. Always.”
“You're the best, Aunty,” Sabrina said. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Faye said. “Call me again whenever you get the chance. I hope that I get to see you sooner than later.”
“We'll see each other soon, Faye,” Sabrina promised. “I'll be in touch and let you know the details about where I am and when I'll be back in town.”
“Okay, love. Have a fun time in Hawaii and go take a dip in the ocean for me.”
“I will. Bye, Aunt Faye.
“Bye bye, Bean.”
They hung up and Sabrina drew in a breath of air as she put the phone back in her front pocket. Marco was already on the boat, walking around and examining the rigging. Sabrina chuckled. Of course he'd be a sailor on top of everything else. He did live on an island.
Sabrina made her way back down the shore, with mixed emotion. She was surprised by Faye's reaction to the situation. Normally, Faye supported absolutely everything Sabrina did, but that's not what happened during their conversation.
Faye seemed so adamant about dating a person of royalty could never work, she thought. It makes me wonder if something happened to her once, maybe something to do with aristocrats. She is from Britain after all, so it's not out of the realm of possibility. And there are certainly a lot of things that I don't know about Faye's former life.
“Come on, gorgeous, let's start our tour,” Marco said, as Sabrina neared the dock. He walked toward her and took her hand, leading her onto the small sail boat. “Is everything okay? You look a bit shook up.”
Sabrina smiled genuinely. Hearing his voice put many of her doubts to rest. “Actually, yes. Everything is fantastic.”
“Good, I'm happy to hear,” he said. Then he turned to the captain of the boat. “Sir, all parties are accounted for. We're ready to go when you are.”
I can't believe that Marco scheduled a private boat tour around the island. He's such a sweetheart, Sabrina thought, as she watched the captain open up the sail on the catamaran. It was a small ship, built to hold only a handful of people, but Sabrina rather liked it that way better. It felt more intimate.
There were only three on board, though; the captain, Marco and Sabrina. Within minutes, they had left the dock and were sailing quickly away from shore. The wind was strong and Sabrina was glad she had something to tie her hair back.
She could hear the captain and Marco speaking. Marco sounded slightly annoyed. She watched as he looked at the sky and then shrugged. He didn't seem too concerned, so she wasn't worried.
“This is really nice,” Sabrina said, as she sat with her feet hanging over the edge of one of the hulls. Beneath her, blue water flew past as they raced across the ocean. She looked up to see Marco frowning slightly at the sky.
“I'm glad you like it,” he said, reaching over to touch the top of her knee. “I'm excited to see the volcano. While you were on the phone, the captain told me that the island grows larger every single year because of the molten lava hardening in the ocean.”
“Believe it or not, I actually knew that,” she said. “I've spent a lot of time looking at travel brochures for Hawaii and researching it on the Internet.”
“It makes me happy that I've able to take you here then,” Marco said.
She smiled at him and then turned back to the water. Deep water was dark and mysterious beyond them. The boat rocked and she gripped at the rail.
“Everything okay?” Marco asked, turning to face her. “You seem lost in thought.”
Sabrina nodded. “Yeah, I'm great. Just enjoying the moment, that's all.”
They sailed in silence for a while, feet hanging off the side. She thought of laying down in the netting between the hulls and taking a nap, but instead just sat where she was.
Sabrina closed her eyes, soaking up the sun while taking a little cat nap. It was so calm and peaceful. But the peace didn't last long. The next thing Sabrina knew, the light breeze that she had been enjoying had turned into powerful gusts of wind. It flapped against the sails and the sound caused her eyes to shoot open. She lifted her gaze toward the front of the boat. Dark clouds had begun to roll in over the horizon. It was clear that a storm was moving toward them and it was moving quickly.
“We weren't supposed to hit that,” he murmured, rising to a standing position.