Chapter 28

Josiah took Rossalyn's hand and led her onto the ship. James and Brad followed loaded down with luggage for their trip. Rossalyn looked around her in awe, placidly being towed by the pull from Josiah's hand as he guided her through the deck then halls toward their suite. Everything seemed far too opulant for her tastes, but then she'd never been on a cruise ship either. She supposed it was supposed to be fancy.

"Who all will be coming with us?" Rossalyn asked Josiah as they walked onto the elevator to take them to the top floor of the ship.

"James, Brad, Abigail, and a couple other people from our staff at home. We will have no need to leave the ship except for exploring." Josiah told her then smiled at her as the doors opened onto the floor of their suite. "After you." He gestured for her to lead the way off the elevator which she did a little hesitantly.

She stepped off expecting to find a hallway with doors, but instead found a wide open floor plan that had pretty much everything they needed like a loft apartment. She looked around and noticed a comfortable looking seating area arranged in front of an entertainment center that held a large flat screen television, another seating area that included two chaise lounges arranged with bookshelves that were loaded with books and magazines. She looked further and found a billiards table and other archade games. She walked forward looking around as she explored the space they had and found their kitchen area with everything stocked for them already. She found a door that opened to a large bathroom that couldn't be anymore perfect than if she had specified the decorations herself.

"What do you think?" Josiah asked as she explored the bathroom.

"I think you have great tastes. I love this bathroom and the bathtub couldn't be more perfect!" She said happily as she looked at the deep tub with spa jets that would easily fit the both of them.

"I'm glad you like it." Josiah grinned at her as she left the bathroom to explore further into the room beyond.

Rossalyn moved around the room and found another door that opened up onto a bedroom that was more luxurious than she'd ever entered before. Everything looked too beautiful to touch. The king sized bed had a thick white comforter on the bed and six large pillows that had white cases on them. There was a bright red throw blanket across the foot of the bed that felt like faux fur. Even the two arm chairs positioned in front of the balcony door felt like they'd be too fancy for her to be allowed to sit in. She was not accustomed to being around such vibrant displays of wealth. Josiah seemed completely at home in the space and that spoke largely to how differently they lived their lives until recently.

"It is all overwhelming for me though. It is still hard to process that I'm allowed to be here and touch all the things." She said with a nervous laugh and glance to Josiah who had quietly followed her to let her explore at her whim.

"I can understand that. You've struggled to support yourself for your whole life. I can say that you'll get used to it eventually." Josiah said soothingly.

"I hope that isn't true. Because if it is, then I'll have lost something important, I think." Rossalyn said, though mostly under her breath.

"Come on, I'd like to take you on a tour of the rest of the ship while Abigail and James unpack our luggage." Josiah said as a ding sounded from the elevator on the other end of the room.

Josiah took her hand once again and led her back to the elevator and spent the next hour taking her through all the places in the ship that would be accessable to her through their journey. There were parts of the ship that neither of them had any reason to be, such as the navigation room and engine room. There were also the staff's quarters that neither of them really had reason to go to. Through the tour he showed her the casino, beauty salon, gym, swimming pools, golf course, movie theator. She was fascinated by all the options for entertainment that were available to them.

Josiah explained that, though his men would be there in a working capacity, for the duration of the trip it would be more or less a working vacation for them. That if they wanted complete privacy, they'd have to be up in their loft. When he took the men out with him on the ship, they were permitted access to all the public amenities as they were. Rossalyn wholeheartedly agreed with that since she didn't think it would be fair to lock everyone in their rooms when there was a whole ship for them to spread out on. But she did appreciate the fact that unless they were specifically invited, they would not be in their private living area.

"So, Mrs. Roja, what would you like to do first?" Josiah asked as they came to a stop at the railing and looked out over the water where they could see ships moving in and out of the port that Josiah stored his ship in.

"Honestly, I would like to go to bed." Rossalyn said then glanced up at him and he could see the exhaustion in her eyes and shape of her body.

"That is definitely something I can accommodate. It has been an exceptionally long day, hasn't it?" Josiah smiled down at her.

"That it has." Rossalyn said as she looked up at the moon shining brightly down on them.

"Well, lets go to bed. When we wake up we will be somewhere in the middle of nowhere." Josiah held his arm out to her to escort her back to their living quarters.

"That'll certainly be a first for me." She took his arm and walked next to him as she gazed around them, still in wonder of their surroundings.

She didn't know a lot about what to expect for their honeymoon, or what to expect for their future. She knew that once they returned to the real world the real test of her commitment to try to make things work between them would be put into action. It would be easy for them to just spend the next few weeks, or months, getting to know each other and building a bond. But when things get hard, when real life crashes into them upon their return, that is when everything will be put to the test. She hoped that for their time away, they were able to get close enough that they don't tear each other apart when they get back.