Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

***SIMON***

S imon wasn't sure how he'd ended up tangling with Kira again. It had already been a bad morning, but when he'd seen her sitting shoulder to shoulder, laughing and talking with Mongomery, something strange had happened to him. His stomach had started churning, a feeling of discomfort washed over him, and his only thought had become finding a way to separate them. Standing there watching Kira's eyes sparkling with anger, he knew that he should back off, should leave the woman alone, but his feet stayed firmly planted in the sand.

"It's my business if I'm supposed to be taking sailing lessons too," he said. "I spoke to Max this morning about joining you, and he said that it wouldn't be a problem, but that's not what it looks like to me."

He told himself that he wasn't lying as the words came out of his mouth. He had talked to Max about the sailing lessons, but not because he wanted to join them. Max had not taken kindly to his suggestion that any man who had dreadlocks and couldn't bother to dress like a professional had no business giving sailing lessons, had, in fact, called him a snob.

But they didn't need to know that, and he was sure that he would never be caught in the lie, so it didn't hurt anyone. "You're late," Montgomery said. "You missed the first half of the lesson. I'm not taking you out until we've gone over at least the safety part of the lesson, and it's not fair to Kira to make her listen to all of it again. You'll just have to reschedule. I'm available every morning at nine."

He shook his head, "That won't work for me," he said. "I'm sure I didn't miss anything important. I grew up on boats, I know the aft from the stern. I would hate to have to go back and tell Max that you refused to give me a lesson. From what I understand, you're already on thin ice with him."

Montgomery let out a long sigh, "You just won't go away, will you?" he asked. "We're losing the tide, and if I go all the way back up to the village to prove that you're lying, we won't be able to go out at all, so I'm going to leave it up to Kira."

"Gee, thanks. I don't want you to get in trouble, Montgomery. We might as well let him come with us," she said, then looked over at Simon. "But I'm warning you right now, if you ruin this for me, I'm going to shove you overboard and leave you out there."

Pleased with himself, he held his hand out to Kira to help her up from the sand, but she ignored it and got to her feet, giving him a dirty look. "I can manage on my own, thanks," she said, then strode off toward the boat.

Montgomery looked over at him and shook his head, "I don't what you think you're doing, but we both know that you were lying about Max," he said. "Forcing yourself onto the boat isn't going to help, you know. You already blew it and blew it big. Women like Kira aren't into men like you."

"I don't remember asking for your advice, captain," he said, using the tone he always used with the help. "Now do your job and teach us to sail."

Montgomery rolled his eyes at him, "Yes, sir, right away sir," he said, bowing to him. "I just hope you know as much as you said you do about sailing. It would be pretty embarrassing if Kira finds out all you've ever done is sit and watch while other people do all the work. Just knowing the name of things doesn't make you a sailor."

He hesitated for a second, then looked over at the little sailboat, "That thing looks like a toy. I'll be just fine," he said, then started walking toward the shore, telling himself that he wasn't making a mistake. "I'm not an idiot, I can sail that boat just as well as you can."

Montgomery followed him down to the shore, shaking his head. When they got to the boat, Montgomery reached inside and pulled out three lifejackets. "Lucky for you, I always keep a couple of extra lifejackets on board," he said, holding one out for him. "Try this one on and see if it fits."

He looked at the bright orange and green life vest and made a face, "I'm not wearing that thing," he said, shaking his head. "Look at it, it's hideous."

Kira had already slipped into a sleek black vest that only made her look more attractive, "Safety first, Simon, you have to wear it," she said with a big smile. "We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt while we're out there."

"You're not getting on the boat without one, and this is all I've got," Montgomery said, shaking it at him. "It's your choice, Simon."

"It's probably filthy," he said, taking it and holding it out in front of him. "How many other people have worn this thing?"

"It's brand new," Montgomery said with a sigh. "Now stop acting like a baby and put the dang thing on so we can go. We're going to miss the tide if you don't stop screwing around."

"Fine," he said, jamming his arms into the jacket then zipping it up. "But if I catch a disease from this thing, I'm going to personally sue you."

"Give us a break, Simon, I already want to push you into the water," Kira said impatiently. "You aren't going to catch a disease from a lifejacket. Do you have a brain in that pretty head of yours or is it all just air?"

"Hey, that wasn't nice," he said. "I'm just trying to be cautious. You never know what kind of weird things you'll find on an island like this."

"No, you're just being a snob," she said, then turned away from him. "A rich spoiled snob."

***Kira***

The last person that Kira wanted to go sailing with was Simon, the man drove her crazy in so many ways, but she didn't know Max well enough to be sure that he wouldn't listen to his friend. So, she steeled herself to put up with not only his terrible attitude but the attraction that just wouldn't go away, telling herself that it was only for an hour. When she looked over at Montgomery, she could tell that he was thinking the same thing, and when he looked over at her, she gave him a hopeful smile.

"It won't be that bad," Montgomery whispered. "We'll be too busy sailing for him to run his mouth. I still can't believe Max is friends with him. I'm going to make him pay me double for this lesson."

She laughed, "Sounds fair to me," she said, then looked over at the boat and let out a little groan. "Don't look now, but his highness has taken his place in the boat."

Montgomery sighed, "I'll handle this one," he said, then walked over to the boat and stared at Simon. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

Simon looked surprised by the question, "I'm going sailing," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Last time I checked, you have to be in a boat to do that."

"And that boat has to be in the water," Montgomery said, using the same tone of voice. "Do you really expect Kira and I to shove not only the boat but your big butt into the water while you sit there and watch?"

The man actually had to think about it for a second, "Oh, well……I guess not," he said. "But I was hoping I wouldn't have to get wet. This is a very expensive suit. I don't want to ruin it."

"You can't really be this stupid," Montgomery said, shaking his head. "Get out and help push the boat into the water, or go back to the village where you belong."

"I'm just saying……" Simon tried to protest, then got out of the boat. "Okay, okay, tell me what to do."

"Weaponized incompetence isn't very sexy, not to a real woman," she said, unable to keep her mouth shut. "Push the boat into the water, then jump in, genius."

When they were finally underway, Simon let out a big sigh, "There's nothing like being on the water," he said. "Let's really get this thing moving, I want to feel the wind whipping through my hair."

"We've got to get the sails up first," Montgomery said, then looked over at her. "Are you ready? Do you remember what I taught you to do this morning?"

She took a second to review the steps in her mind, then flashed him a big smile, "Aye, aye, captain," she said, giving him a salute. "Let's get this rusty bucket moving."

Half an hour later, the sails were stiff in the wind, and the little boat was flying over the water. Kira was sitting at the tiller, listening to Montgomery explain how to steer the boat. Simon was lounging in the bow, stretched out with his feet up on the bench, his eyes closed, completely ignoring both of them, but she didn't care. In fact, she was relieved he was out of the way and his mouth was shut.

"Okay, I'm going to turn her over to you," Montgomery said, taking his hand off the tiller. "All you have to do is follow the course I've plotted. We shouldn't have much company out here. A few fishing boats maybe, but you shouldn't have to worry about running into them, they'll be farther out to sea."

Hand on the tiller, she felt the power of the water and the wind instantly, and looked over at Montgomery, "Oh, what an incredible feeling," she said, a smile slowly spreading across her face. "It's like we've harnessed the power of the Earth or something."

He laughed, "That's a good way to explain it. There's nothing like the feeling when the wind takes the sails," he said. "The first time I sailed a boat, I was hooked, and I haven't been far from the water since then."

The next hour flew by, and she was disappointed when Montgomery came to take the tiller again, "Your turn to man the sails," he said, sitting down next to her. "If you're up for it, that is."

"You bet," she said, getting to her feet. "Just tell me what to do. I've been watching you, so I think I got the idea."

The boat rocked a little as she moved into position and Simon picked up his head, "What's going on?" he asked, his voice husky with sleep, making her heart skip a beat. "Who's rocking the boat? I was trying to sleep."

"Sorry to disturb you, your highness," she said, sitting down in the seat Montgomery had just vacated. "We're out here to learn to sail, or did you forget that while you were sleeping?"

"I wasn't sleeping, I was just resting my eyes," he said, sitting up and stretching, making a thrill rush through her and she forced herself to look away. "I was just letting you go first, I heard everything that went on. Can I have a turn at the tiller?"

She looked back at Montgomery, who didn't look pleased with the idea, "I guess it wouldn't hurt," he said with a sigh. "But you listen to me, and you do what I say when I say it."

"Aye, aye, captain," Simon said, a grin on his face. "See, I was listening."

But that didn't last long. As soon as he was in control, he started complaining about the course Montgomery had planned. "Oh, come on, let's go sail around the island or something. All this water is so boring," he whined. "I don't see why we can't just change our direction and check out the island. I bet it looks really cool from the water."

"Neither of you is ready to sail around the island. The wind does strange things when you get closer to the island," Montgomery said. "We stay on the course we're on. If you want to sign up for another lesson, and you're on time, I might think about taking you around the island."