On Sunday morning, Erik awoke with the idea of taking out Rosaline for a sail. He remembered seeing her fascinated expression the day before, when she discovered that Erik and his family had enjoyed weekend sailing adventures. He assumed she had never been on a yacht therefore and thus felt inclined to indulge her by taking her out onto the open water. With this thought in mind, he grabbed his mobile off his bedside table and dialled Rosaline's number.

"Good morning handsome." Rosaline greets.

"It certainly is a fine morning sweetheart, how did you sleep?" Erik warmly asks her.

"Very well thank you and yourself?" She easily replies.

"Like a baby, so much so in fact that I woke up with an intriguing idea." Erik suggests.

"And what might this idea entail?" Rosaline curiously inquires.

"Be ready in half an hour and you'll find out." Erik tells Rosaline instead.

"That's not a lot of time for a girl to get ready, you know? She cheekily retorts.

"Lucky for me, I know my girlfriend isn't the kind of woman who is afraid of a challenge." Erik proudly explains.

"Is that so? She sounds like a keeper Mr Silverstein." Rosaline boldly exclaims over the phone.

"She certainly is Miss Covault." Erik sincerely admits.

After chatting with Rosaline for a little while longer from the comfort of his snug bed, Erik reluctantly ended their phone call and jumped straight into the shower. Once he had scrubbed his body clean, Erik stepped inside his spacious wardrobe and selected a pair of maroon pants and a striped shirt to wear. Throwing a simple black sweater over the top, Erik finished in the bathroom by sprucing up his hair. With his car keys in one hand and a pair of sunglasses in the other, Erik left his house and drove towards Rosaline's family home.

Whilst driving, Erik inevitably began to reflect on the events that took place only the day before. Apart from declaring his love for Rosaline, Erik was in complete awe of how welcoming and accepting his family were of Rose. Although Erik never had any real concerns as to how they would react towards her, it comforted him to know his family were genuinely impressed by her maturity, grace and by the amount of respect, care and love she held for Erik. The only bit of distress that was currently affecting Erik was in waiting around to meet Rosaline's parents and her brothers. Based on the few conversations Erik had previously had with Rosaline, he was well aware of the fact that her family were not his biggest fans. Although they were yet to officially meet him, it was obvious that her family had made assumptions and judgements based on what they found out about him in the media. Coupled with the fact that Erik was significantly older than sweet, innocent Rosaline, it wasn't hard to see why they weren't overly excited by their relationship. Nevertheless, Erik was hopeful that soon enough he would receive the opportunity to remove any of their anxieties and set the record straight on his feelings for their daughter. Erik knew that if he was successful in doing so, it would undoubtedly bring him immeasurable happiness and joy. All Erik wanted was to be able to prove his worthiness for Rosaline and her affections.

Soon enough, Erik found himself parking along the curb of the street where Rosaline lived. After sending her a quick message to let her know of his arrival, he smiled when he spotted her in the short distance, leaving the house. Opening the passenger door and taking a seat against the leather, Erik couldn't help himself from leaning over the centre console and planting a loving kiss against Rose's lips.

"Erik, my parents are at home. They could have seen us." Rosaline nervously whispers, once they've pulled away from each other.

"Don't you think it's a good idea that they get use to seeing us together though? After all, I plan on sticking around for a long time sweetheart." Erik tells her in a promising voice.

"Of course I want to be seen with you, I just don't think they're on board with the idea yet of their only daughter falling madly in love. The last thing I want is to scare them off with how invested I am in this relationship." Rosaline explains in an uncertain and soft spoken tone.

"Believe me, I'm trying to understand your perspective on this Rose, but I just don't see why anyone wouldn't want their family to see how happy they are, especially if it means they've been lucky enough to fall in love?" Erik retorts, whilst beginning to drive towards the marina.

"Erik, I'm sorry. You know I don't mean to hurt you or anyone in my family, I'm just doing the best I can given the situation we're in. Can we please just put it behind us for now and talk about it another day, I don't want to ruin our morning." Rosaline sombrely suggests.

Erik diverts his attention from the road for a quick moment and stares at Rosaline. He instantly feels guilty for making her feel accountable for the actions of her family, but at the same time he can't help but think there might be a part of her that actually is ashamed to be seen with him. Erik was never the kind of man who felt he had to question his own worth, but what he was quickly realising was that when in the company of Rosaline he sometimes wasn't sure if what he stood for would ever be enough for Rose and her family.

"You're right, I'm sorry sweetheart. I didn't mean to upset you." Erik apologies.

Sadly, the remainder of the journey was spent in despairing silence. Erik never quite imagined that the morning would have taken such a drastic turn, but as it were, it seemed that some conversations needed to happen, no matter how strained they were or what consequences they caused. Eventually, Erik and Rosaline arrived at their destination. After parking the car, Erik stepped outside and was prepared to walk around to the other side and open the passenger door, when Rosaline beat him to it and met him halfway.

"I'm sorry Erik, please forgive me. I love you so much and I don't want things to be tense between us. I hate it." Rosaline confesses with a teary expression.

Without a second thought, Erik slides his arms around Rosaline's waist and pulls her lean body towards his own. He softly inhales the scent of her hair and feels a sense of relief at her words. Erik and Rosaline had never had an argument before and he certainly didn't want to start now.

"I love you too Rose and I'm sorry for bringing up the conversation. We can talk about it another time, whenever you're ready." Erik assures her.

"You're right though, we should talk about it and I promise you we will, after today. But for now I just want to enjoy this day with you. So tell me, what are we doing here?" Rosaline asks, whilst allowing her gaze to shift across the water where a number of pleasure yachts are lined up along.

For the duration of the morning, Erik and Rosaline enjoy the refreshing ocean air as the yacht they're occupying sails against the curling waves and salty water. Erik marvels at the sight of Rose with her childish grin and adorable giggles. She looks positively breathtaking in the foreground of the warm sunshine and revels in the spray of the ocean as it occasionally touches her blushed cheeks.

"Erik, this is incredible!" She cries out in pure elation.

"It's my absolute pleasure Rose." Erik responds, sounding equally as radiant.

As the afternoon soon approaches, Erik and Rosaline enjoy a gourmet lunch prepared for them by the few staff members who are also aboard and who helped accomodate their pleasurable journey. After finishing off their meals, Erik and Rosaline found themselves snuggled along one of the inbuilt lounges that were lined up against the far end of the yacht. Having shared some wine and listened to Erik retell some childhood stories, Rosaline convinced herself that there was no better time than the current one to reassure Erik of her feelings.

"This day couldn't have been more perfect Erik, thank you." She smiles, while placing a delicate kiss against his throat.

"Anything for you sweetheart." Erik answers, before caressing her cheek softly and sealing their lips together in a sweet embrace.

"I also just wanted to tell you that I have decided to speak to my parents sometime this week about meeting you. It's only fair that after being welcomed into your family and their home that you finally meet my family as well. I wish I could promise you that they will love you as much as I do, but I don't want to lie to you either. I'm sorry that it has to be like this..." Rosaline despondently says sometime later.

Erik was partly surprised that Rosaline was willing to have him meet her family so soon, especially given the disagreement they had earlier that morning. He was relieved however by the fact that she seemed to want to move forward, no matter what the future held for them. Despite his uncertainties about meeting her family, he knew it was best to take whatever small amount of hope Rosaline was offering him.

"Sweetheart, I love that you feel the need to protect me but I don't think anyone, not even your family will be able to keep me away from you. I am that in love with you Rosaline." Erik sincerely admits.

Despite the confidence behind his words, Erik wasn't a fool. He knew very well that when the time came for him to meet Rosaline's parents and her brothers that he would in fact be scrutinised from all angles, which was why he found it so important to remain calm and focus solely on his and Rose's imminent future and to not let the words of outsiders influence his feelings for her. Erik only hoped that Rosaline felt strongly enough for him to not let the words of her family affect her in the same way.