Chapter 16

"No at all, madam. I welcome it." He retrieved eggs from the refrigerator along with a tomato and various fresh herbs.

"Cheese?" He asked while staring into the refrigerator's contents.

"If you were making it for yourself would you want cheese?" She asked.

"No." He closed the refrigerator decisively. "For me, simple is best. Salt, pepper, tomato and fresh herbs."

"Sounds good to me."

While he cracked the eggs into a bowl, Sidney got up to pour herself some of the coffee and Gio's head swung in her direction, one brow up and the other dipped. That was the look of disapproval.

"Allow me." He stopped what he was doing to retrieve a coffee mug from the cabinet and to pour her a cup of the freshly brewed coffee. Sidney took her seat again, mentally kicking herself for forgetting. "Cream or sugar?" he asked.

"Both."

Instead of putting the cream and sugar into her coffee he placed a small serving set containing the cream and sugar before her.

"Thank you." She said.

"My pleasure madam."

She cleared her throat and inhaled but then bit her tongue. He gave her a curious look.

"Madam? Is there anything more?"

She opened her mouth, paused and then smiled. "No. Thank you Gio."

His expression subtly changed. He didn't give her the displeased look, exactly, but he was dissatisfied. "Let me know if you change your mind," he said simply.

And she realized that the expressions that he wore were orchestrated to teach her without him having to be overt. Let him do his job. Let him serve.

"Gio," she said quickly. "I don't like when you call me madam or miss. Can you just call me Sidney?" Her face burned at the way he looked at her without responding. She should just go out to the balcony and sit her ass down.

"Okay, Sidney," he finally said while turning back to the counter to finish prepping her breakfast.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence Gio finally spoke. "You are not the first person to make this request." He glanced at her from over his shoulder. Okay, he didn't appear annoyed by her. "It is the nature of my job to maintain some distance and we do this in many ways. But I prefer first names as well." And then he smiled at her before returning his attention to the omelet.

She smiled to herself in relief. When he turned to her again, he had a perfect omelet on a plate garnished with fresh herbs and thick slices of slightly fried tomatoes.

Her eyes widened at the size. "That's one big omelet."

He just smiled.

"Will you eat half?"

"No," he said simply. But he picked up the plate and carried it back to the stove and right before she was going to complain about him taking it away, he returned it with half of the food removed."

"One of us will eat the other half later. But I have already had my breakfast," he said. "Now, would you like to be served on the balcony or at the dining room table?"

"Here is fine." Before he could give her a disapproving look, she explained. "I don't want my eggs getting cold while you carry it all around creation." She picked up her fork and knife and cut into her omelet and tomato without seeing Gio's suppressed laughter. He placed the platter of bread before her and then poured more juice into her juice glass and freshened her coffee. He left the room and then returned with the platter of fruit, which he also placed before her.

"Excuse me, Sidney while I finish preparation for your excursion." He headed out the kitchen.

"Thank you for cooking breakfast," she called.

"My pleasure," he said but thought, thank you for appreciating it.

II

After breakfast Sidney resisted the urge to stack the dishes in the sink and instead went out to the balcony. She gazed down at the lower level where kids rode the carousel, families walked around carrying ice cream cones and couples enjoyed the warm weather as they walked hand in hand.

Gio is the only person I know on this cruise ship, she thought. I need to mingle and meet people. She turned to the virtual assistant.

"Assistant, what are todays shipboard activities?"

The voice of the virtual assistant responded. "Tonight there will be a Captain's formal dinner in the VIP lounge. Formal attire is required and black and white is the suggested theme. Dinner begins at eight pm. An Ice sculpting demonstration is scheduled on the lido deck, deck four. You have an open reservation for today's show, Hanson's Folly's in the Mandarin Theater. Show times are one pm and nine pm. There is a VIP champagne art auction in the Champagne Galley on deck six beginning at six pm. French DJ, DJ Aleksi will be spinning tunes in the Countess Club on deck eleven at midnight. Live jazz will be performed-"

"Stop, Assistant," Sidney said. The black and white formal dinner would be the perfect opportunity to meet some other people. Maybe she would find someone her age to hang out with.

Gio came out on the deck and stood beside her. "Are you ready for the excursion?" He asked.

"Already? I guess I'll try to go swimming when we get back. I definitely want to go to the Captain's formal dinner, though."

"Would you prefer to go to the beach instead of on the walking tour? It's at a cozy resort with watersports, masseuse, gourmet lunch-"

"Or I could walk around a city that I've never even heard of before this cruise? I think I'm sold on the beach."

"Your wish is my command," he said with a nod of his head before heading out the door.

The walking tour was handled by a professional tour group, and he would not have attended the tour with her. The beach resort was different, though. His services would be needed to attend to his guest. Normally he would have preferred the time to himself while a guest went on their excursions, but he couldn't deny the fact that he looked forward to spending the day with Sidney while was dressed in a bathing suit. "You may wish to pack for a day at the beach, Sidney."

She looked at him, liking the way her name sounded on his lips.