Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

***SIMON***

S imon led Kira around the cabin to the table he'd set up on the deck overlooking the ocean, as nervous as he'd ever been in his life, not sure why the dinner was so important to him, only that he wanted it to go perfectly. It was the only way he could think of to show Kira just how sorry he was, and he'd put everything he had into making the food and setting the table, hoping to give her an experience that she'd never forget.

When Kira saw the table draped with a white tablecloth, a hurricane lamp burning in the middle, another huge bouquet of flowers next to it, she paused for a second, then looked over at him, her face full of surprise. She took a few more steps toward the table, then looked out at the view of the ocean before letting out a long sigh at the beauty of the waves crashing on the shore in the moonlight.

When Kira turned back to him, she had a smile on her face, "This is beautiful, Simon," she said. "You went to a lot of trouble to set all of this up, thank you."

"It wasn't really that much work," he said, shrugging his shoulders, but deep inside he was pleased with her praise. "Dinner is ready if you want to sit down."

He helped her into a chair, then poured her a glass of the sparkling juice he'd made, "Try this, I created it myself," he said. "I'll be right back with our dinner."

Kira was sipping the juice and watching the ocean when he slipped away, and he let out a sigh of relief that she'd not only come, but stayed. "Well, how is it going?" Max asked when he stepped into the kitchen. "Did she stay?"

"So far so good," he said, a big smile on his face. "I didn't realize how good it would feel to make someone else happy."

Max shook his head, "It took you long enough," he said. "Since everything is going so well, I'm going to head out and meet Mary Beth for a moonlight swim."

He quickly filled two plates with the food he'd spent most of the afternoon cooking, then carried them back out to the porch and set one down in front of Kira. "Oh, this smells wonderful, Simon," she said. "I can't believe you really made it yourself."

"I do have a few hidden talents," he said, sitting down across from her. "Go on, try it, I think it tastes as good as it looks."

Kira picked up her fork and took a bite of the flaky fish, then let out a little moan, "Simon, this is delicious," she said, then took another bite. "As good as anything I've had since I got here. I'm impressed."

"I'm glad you like it," he said, taking a bite of his own dinner. "I got the recipe from one of the chefs in the village, and I can't take credit for how fresh the fish is, but I'm happy with the way it turned out."

"Well, it's wonderful," Kira said, taking another bite. "And I'm going to enjoy every morsel. I can't get fish like this at home."

He was tempted to ask her where home was, but didn't want to make their dinner seem like a date, so they ate in silence for a while, the sound of the ocean in the background. When her plate was empty, Kira sat back with a contented sigh, looked over at him, and then shook her head.

"I didn't think you were capable of this," she said. "I didn't think you could even make your bed, let alone cook a gourmet meal."

"I'm not completely helpless," he said, stung by her words. "I have picked up a few things over the years."

"I didn't mean to insult you, Simon, but you have to admit with the way you've been acting……" Kira said, shrugging her shoulders. "And it's pretty clear you come from money, I'm sure you live in a huge house with a full staff of servants, but I'm always happy to admit when I'm wrong."

"You're not completely wrong. My parents do have a huge mansion and a full staff, but I don't live there, I never really did," he said. "I have my own place, and although I do have someone come in to clean and do my shopping for me, I cook for myself and keep the place tidy. I'm not completely useless, Kira. Sometimes it just looks that way, I guess."

She studied him for a second, "You act that way on purpose," she finally said. "Why?"

Surprised by the turn in the conversation, he opened his mouth to give her the same answer he always gave his father when he asked the same thing. But nothing came out of his mouth. For the first time in years, the lies wouldn't come, and he closed his mouth, a bit shocked. He'd never had a problem lying to a woman before, never been at a loss of words when it came to protecting himself, but with Kira, he couldn't do it, couldn't push her off with one of his usual speeches.

"That's not an easy question to answer," he finally said, getting to his feet. "Maybe I should clean all this up so we can have dessert."

"I'll help you, and you can give it a try," she said, getting to her feet. "You're like a different person tonight, Simon, a much better person, and I want to know why you're hiding under that playboy persona."

He studied her across the table for a second, then let out a sigh, "You might not believe this, but I fell in love once," he said. "I was just a kid, but I still remember that feeling, the heady joy of loving someone and them loving you back."

"There's nothing like first love," Kira said, remembering her own first love. "How old were you?"

"Not quite eighteen," he said, picking up his plate with a shake of his head. "It was a long time ago. I'm sure you don't want to hear about it, and you'll probably just say I should have gotten over it a long time ago."

***Kira***

"Don't put words in my mouth," Kira said, thinking she was getting another glimpse of the real man lurking under the playboy fa?ade. "You can tell me about it while we do the dishes."

She followed him into the cabin and over to the sink, not sure what his silence meant, handed him her dirty plate, then looked around. "I clean as I go, so there isn't that much to do," he said. "I can handle the dishes. Maybe you could make us a pot of coffee. Everything is over there on the counter."

After glancing over at the counter, then back at him, she realized that this was the point when she could end the night and go home. She'd done what Max had asked, she could leave with a clear conscience. In the end, her curiosity, not her attraction to him, she told herself, got the better of her and she let the moment pass.

"Are you sure you don't want help?" she asked. "You did all the cooking; I really don't mind cleaning up. "

"I'm good. It will only take a couple of minutes," he said. "I made a fruit tart for dessert. It will go great with a cup of coffee."

They worked in silence, and soon the tantalizing scent of coffee filled the room, "There, all done," Simon said, hanging the dish towel on a hook. "That coffee smells wonderful. I hope Max will let me take some beans home when I leave."

"I was thinking the same thing," she said, smiling at him. "I think it's ready if you want me to pour us both a cup."

"Sounds great, you get the coffee, I'll get the tart, and we'll meet back out on the deck," he said. "The moon should be up by now. The view should be even better."

She was a little disappointed that Simon had let the subject of his first love drop, but knew she had no right to hear the story. It was his private business, none of her concern. He was waiting for her at the table when she carried the tray of cups, sugar, and cream out of the cabin and jumped up to take it from her hands. After setting it down, he helped her into her chair again, making a little thrill shoot through her, and she had to remind herself it was just physical attraction.

Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly, then watched as Simon cut the tart and put a huge piece on her plate before sliding it over to her. "It's mostly fruit," he said. "So don't say that you can't eat it all."

"Actually, I was thinking about asking you for a bigger piece," she said, grinning at him. "That looks delicious, I can't wait to try it."

Simon laughed, "If you want seconds all you have to do is ask," he said, grinning at her, then his face became serious. "I've never really talked about what happened with Emma, no one has ever heard the entire story, but there are some other things I need to tell you if it's going to make any sense."

She looked into his eyes and for the first time saw the pain and sadness in them, "Your secrets are safe with me, Simon," she said. "I would never repeat anything you tell me; friends don't do that."

"Is that what we are?" he asked. "Friends?"

She shrugged, "I guess so. I don't hate you anymore," she said. "So, I guess that makes us friends."

Simon studied her for a second, then let out a long sigh, "The first thing you have to know is that my family is majorly screwed up," he said. "My parents' marriage is more like a business contract than a relationship; they've slept in separate bedrooms for as long as I can remember. They both had affairs the whole time I was growing, probably still do, and they never even tried to hide it from me the few times they let me come home."

"What do you mean, let you come home?" she asked, another side of him slowly opening up to her. "Where did you live?"

"Mostly boarding schools, a few summers I got to stay with my grandparents, but I spent most of my childhood living in a dorm room," he said. "My parents didn't really have time for me. Between their affairs and doting on my older brother, there wasn't much left for me. I was the backup baby, the one they had just in case, so my brother got all the attention, went to the better school, got to come home every break, you get the idea."

"I think so," she said. "But I've never heard of a backup baby."

"It's pretty common in my world," he said, with a shrug of his shoulders. "The first-born male is always the heir, but just in case something happens to the older child, they have a second one. That's me, and let me tell you, it's not a very fun place to be. It may not be this way in all families, but in mine, I'm expected to stay back in the shadows and let my brother have all of that attention. "

"That's not right," she said. "No wonder you're angry, I would be hurt and furious at the same time."

"I am, now, but for most of the time I was growing up, I bought into their way of thinking and went along with all of it," he said. "I was prepared to do my duty, get a good education, take a job with my father's company, marry the right woman, and have a couple of kids. I'd bought into all of it, and then I met Emma and everything changed. She opened my eyes, made me see that the life they were forcing me to lead wasn't the one I wanted and never would be."

Simon paused, and she wanted to push him. She wanted to demand to know what happened, and she was both angry and saddened by what his parents had done to him. "She must have been a very special person," she finally said instead. "You must have cared about her deeply."