Nayan smiled at that. “Well then that makes a pair of greenies both, Miss Ashby.” (No wedding band.) He shook her hand carefully. She moved slightly closer to the railing, a measured move that made him think she was very much aware of doing so. He gestured to the waters, brilliantly blue and stretched out to the hazy curve of the planet. “It’s beautiful,” he remarked sincerely. “I’ve never seen the ocean like this, from the centre, I mean. Most of my work tends to keep me securely grounded between long flights and I didn’t quite anticipate the…umm, extent of it, I suppose.”
He paused a moment, dark eyes cast out over the railing into that vast blue. He reassumed his smile when he turned to look at Kate again. “This isn’t where I expected to be either,” he said with a tone of playful confession. “Prior to winning the contest I was supposed to be undergoing a very unpleasant series of mandatory ‘therapeutic sessions’ meant to bring up morale. Suffice to say, they were stressing me out.” He tilted his head, expression thoughtful. “I’d like to think this is a preferable alternative. What do you think?”