Bahamas Time, 5:30 in the evening
"Looks like you had a good afternoon." Mike stood up, extinguished his cigar on the railing, and said calmly, with no trace of emotion.
Crown Princess Mette's face was beaming with genuine joy, so real that it made her look several years younger.
"Of course! I didn't know that my daughter is not only an outstanding captain but also a top shopping guide."
"She took me to a craft shop south of Bay Street run by an old lady, and the straw bags there were just works of art. We also ate conch salad at the foot of Queen's Steps."
She released Riven's arm and first handed a beautifully packaged gift bag to Mike, with the logo of a top local liquor store in Nassau printed on it.
"Here's for you, an eighteen-year-old Glenfiddich. I know you still like this flavor, spicy and stubborn, like an old reef soaked by seawater for decades."
