Page 27 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Heart

Orion frowned. "Are you worried that they are a threat?"

"Not really, but you know me. I always prefer to err on the side of caution."

The balcony doors were flung open, and Amanda stepped out with a margarita glass in hand. "Here you are, darlings. The Odus brought up our luggage, so we should head to our cabins and unpack. Mother wants to see what ours look like, so you'd better get moving."

Frankie

"Thank you so much." Frankie watched the taxi driver unload her suitcase, carry-on, and makeup bag, ensuring he didn't forget anything inside the trunk.

Mia had told her that Tom had paid for the taxi, but she wanted to at least tip the driver. When he was done, she pulled out her wallet, but he lifted his hand to stop her.

"It's all been paid for, miss. Enjoy your vacation."

"Thank you."

Her suitcase was enormous and weighed a ton, but thankfully it had wheels. Not great ones, so Frankie still had trouble dragging it behind her, but at least she didn't need to lift it.

Hopefully there would be no stairs, or she would have to ask for help.

It was only ten days, but the thing was stuffed to bursting, and to close it, Aunt Rachel had to sit on it, contributing all of her two hundred and something pounds to the packing effort.

Most of it wasn't even Frankie's.

Her cousins Angelica and Bianca had collected evening dresses from her other female cousins, ensuring she had a new outfit for each of the ten weddings.

Some of the dresses were too big, others were too small, and most were too long on her petite frame, but several were nice, and only worn once or twice before. Still, Frankie didn't want to offend any of her cousins, so she packed all of them.

Then there were the shoes, a matching pair of heels for every dress, and those were all her own.

Frankie had a weakness for high-heeled, fancy-looking shoes, but since she'd gotten them all on sale, she had zero guilt about splurging on her one obsession.

Thankfully, the bikinis took up only a little space. She had two of her own and three more on loan from Angelica.

Frankie hadn't taken Tom up on his offer to store her things and had brought everything she wanted to keep to her parents' house.

Surprisingly, it was very little.

Moving was an excellent opportunity to get rid of old stuff, and she had donated at least half of her wardrobe and all the furniture, keeping only a few pictures, pillows, and throws.

Taking a deep breath, Frankie squared her shoulders and trudged toward the dock number indicated on her invitation, pulling the suitcase behind her.

It was easy to find a ship named the Silver Swan, and as she got closer, the two men standing at the entrance looked at her as if she was a lost tourist and there was no way she was getting onboard.

Did she look so out of place that they immediately knew that she was an outsider?

Nah, that was a stupid thought. The two probably worked for Perfect Match and knew all the employees. They simply didn't know who she was and that she would soon join their ranks.

Or so she hoped.

"Hi, I'm Frankie Canal." She pulled out her phone with the invitation. "Tom and Mia invited me."

One of the men said something very quietly into his earpiece while the other checked her invitation.

They were both very handsome and tall, making her feel tiny by comparison.

She was petite, only five feet two inches tall, but she was wearing four-inch shoes, and five feet six inches was a decent height for a woman.

"Welcome aboard, Ms. Canal. Can I see your passport?"