Saving Simon (Tarnished Saints Series Book 5) (4 page)

“Sorry again. I’m . . . I wasn’t thinking.” He gave her the napkin and she wiped the spill herself. Then he picked up the tongs again and dropped two sugar cubes into his cup. “I like two lumps.” She didn’t miss the way his eyes shot over to her chest when he said it. He quickly looked away and picked up the creamer and poured some into his coffee next. “I like cream too. Lots of cream.”

He must of realized how it sounded because once again he was apologizing. “I’m sorry. Maybe I should leave.” He got up to go, but she didn’t want to be alone. She rather enjoyed his company.

“No, stay. Please.”

Simon looked at the woman sitting there in nothing but a robe, begging him to stay, and found himself wondering what she looked like underneath it. He could have kicked himself for touching her chest, and then saying those stupid things about liking two lumps and lots of cream. Still, he couldn’t help it. Ever since she opened the door he couldn’t stop thinking about his mouth on hers when he saved her from the sea. Her lips were soft and so was her skin, and he liked that.

Still, the woman was sure to hate him now, and she had good reason. He didn’t mean to come across as a boor. She probably thought he was coming on to her or something.

“If you insist, Ms. Westbrook.” He sat back down.

“Piper,” she said.

“Pardon me?” He picked up his coffee and took a sip and almost gagged it was so hot, but swallowed it anyway, not wanting to look like a fool spitting it back into the cup.

“My name is Piper. You can call me by my first name, Safety Officer . . . Taylor,” she said, reading his name tag on his shirt.

“Simon. Just call me Simon.”

“Is that allowed?” she asked innocently, looking up with big emerald eyes as she pursed her lips and blew on her coffee to cool it. Simon’s eyes focused on her lips again and he could still taste her essence on his tongue.

“It’s fine.”

There was an awkward silence between them except for the sound of both of them stirring their coffees, the clinking of the spoons against the glass sounding extra loud to him. There were so many things he wanted to ask her. Like how old she was, and if she was married, or had a boyfriend. Or where she came from and why she was on the cruise. And if he could have a date with her.

“So what did you want to ask me?” she said, and he looked up so fast he almost spilled his coffee.

“Ask you?” Their eyes met and their gazes held.

“You said you had safety questions to ask for your report.”

“Oh. Of course.” He put down his cup and reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small notebook and a gold metal pen with a cap on it. He took the cap off the pen and flipped open to a page in the notebook and leaned back on the couch, trying to get comfortable. “First, I need your full name.”

“Piper Erlina Westwood.”

“Piper . . . Erlina . . . Westwood,” he repeated as he wrote it down. Then he looked at the page and squinted. So you have the initials of PEW. How funny.” He couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

“Next question,” she said with a stiff upper lip and he knew he wasn’t being his usual charming self around a woman. For some reason, this woman made him nervous, and he found himself saying stupid things.

“Are you married?” he blurted out and then closed his eyes slightly, realizing he’d voiced his thoughts out loud.

“Officer Taylor, is this a safety question or a personal one?”

“It’s for the report, nothing else, ma’am. I just need to know if your husband is aboard the ship because that needs to go into the report as well.”

Piper knew damned well that was a lie and he was asking for personal reasons. She’d seen him glance at her left hand several times looking for a ring since he’d entered the room. Well, this could work both ways.

“You called me ma’am,” she said. “I’m not sure I consider myself old enough to be called that. Do you call your wife ma’am too?”

“I don’t have a wife,” he said, scribbling something on the paper.

“Well, I’m not married either.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

His eyes shot up to hers. “I mean, it’s good because if you had a husband he could have fallen overboard too. So tell me . . .  Piper . . . what were you doing on deck in the storm in the first place? Didn’t you hear the alert to stay in your cabin until you received the word that it was clear? Don’t you realize you were also in the restricted area only meant for the crew, not passengers?”

“I was on my way to my room,” she lied, “but I really wanted to get a photo of one of those big waves, so I stayed on deck a little longer.”

“Really.” He looked up, still holding his pen on the notebook page, and by the way his eyes scrutinized her she knew he didn’t believe a word she said. “You know it’s dangerous to be on deck in a storm in the middle of the sea with strong winds and high swells. You weren’t even wearing a life jacket. Didn’t you come to the safety talk I gave on the first day of the cruise?”

“Of course I did,” she said, feeling a little disappointed that he didn’t remember that. After all, she was in the front row and he had even demonstrated how to put the life vest on her. He’d smiled and looked at her intensely and she thought they’d made some kind of connection. Well, now she could see he probably just smiled like that at all the girls.

“I had a report that you were arguing with someone on deck right before this all happened. So why don’t you tell me the truth now, Ms. Westbrook?”

He was calling her Ms. Westbrook again so she knew he wasn’t happy with her. She didn’t need anyone else angry with her besides her father, so she decided to come clean.

“All right. I had an argument with my father and I also had too much to drink and wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Now, that sounds a little more like it. You’re not the first passenger in the world who has fallen overboard from a cruise ship from being drunk.”

“I wasn’t drunk! I just meant I wasn’t walking as straight in my heels, that’s all.”

“Why did you drink so much?” he asked. “Did it have anything to do with the argument you had with your father?”

“Officer Taylor,” she said, going back to being formal as well. “Isn’t it obvious that my father can be overbearing at times?”

“Not for me to judge,” he mumbled, but she could see by the look on his face that he agreed.

“I was upset with him for not spending time with me on this trip and that’s why I drank so much and why I was arguing with him in the first place. He told me to go inside and thought I had, but instead I was being stubborn and hid on the restricted area until he’d walked away. That’s when the storm picked up and I dropped the camera, so I tried to save it.”

“Well, didn’t you hear me shout out to let go of the camera and hold on to the rail with both hands?”

“Of course I did. That’s what distracted me and made me fall into the water in the first place. That camera was my father’s and very expensive. It also had some important photos on it he needed for his business. I hope the ship is going to pay for a new one.”

“Well, that depends. Did you buy the insurance package when you booked your trip? If so, the Seduction of the Sea will be happy to replace it. Our insurance company will compensate for your loss, so don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it? Even if the cruise line buys me a new camera, the photos can never be replaced.”

“You seem to value this camera more than your own life.”

“Not true.”

“Then maybe it’s your need of approval or attention from your father that made you do such a . . . mindless thing like risking your life to save it in the first place?”

She didn’t answer that, and neither did she want to. The last thing she wanted to do right now was to agree that he was right. This man had an uncanny way of knowing things about her.

“So,” he continued, “can you tell me if there were any kind of problems with the ship? Like a wobbly railing or a slippery deck?”

“Well, of course the deck was slippery, it was raining. Besides that, no, everything seemed fine.”

“Where do you live?” he asked, not looking at her any more, just scribbling down the information.

“I’m from Chicago, but I’m sure you have all that information in your records from when I booked my trip.”

“Are you here on business or pleasure?”

“I’m here with my father. He’s here on business and I’m here on pleasure, tho I can’t say it’s been a very pleasurable trip.”

“Why not?” He stopped writing and looked up to her in question. “Is your father treating you poorly? Is he one of those demanding parents who only thinks about himself and nothing you do can please him?”

“Mr. Taylor, I think you should leave now!” She put down her cup and stood up quickly. He followed suit, but before he could respond, the door opened and her father walked in.

“Piper? What’s going on here?” Howard Westbrook was a demanding father, just like Simon had guessed. And Piper knew better than anyone that he always thought about himself and the family business before anything. He was a tall man with graying hair and a mustache. Image was important to him and he never went anywhere without wearing a tie and at least a sports jacket. She was sure if he ever went to the pool he’d wear a tie with his bathing suit as well.

“This is Safety Officer Taylor,” she told her father. “He is filling out the accident report, and was kind enough to bring me coffee and pastries.”

“You’re in your bathrobe,” he spat, then looked over to Simon. “Mr. Taylor, this is very inappropriate for you to be alone in the room with my daughter. Officers are not supposed to fraternize with the passengers. I’ll see to it you are written up.”

“I was just leaving,” said Simon, looking very perturbed.

“I invited him in, Daddy,” she said. “It’s not his fault.”

“Hmph,” he answered, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well, boy, did you bring me my brandy like I told you?”

Piper could feel the anger seeping from Simon’s pores. He continued walking to the door, stopping for a moment to look her father right in the eye. Their gazes interlocked and their faces were closer than was normally comfortable. It was an obvious act of challenge on both their parts and she was sure there was going to be trouble.

“It’s on the table, Mr. Westbrook,” Simon said in a low voice and Piper saw a muscle twitch in his jaw.

“Good job, boy,” said her father, breaking the awkward connection between them and hurrying over to get his coveted brandy. “Now hurry up and get dressed, Piper, we’re going to dinner. I’ve managed to get us invited to sit at the captain’s table.”

Piper’s heart went out to Simon as she saw him clenching not only his jaw but also his fists. Then he turned slowly, and stiffly walked out the door, shutting it quickly behind him.

Chapter 4

“This was so nice of you to invite us to sit at the captain’s table for the last dinner of our cruise,” said Cat who was Simon’s new sister-in-law. Her long, dark hair was pulled back into a French knot and she wore an expensive shiny knee-length dress and silver spiked heels. Her makeup was impeccable and her nails were done in pearl-white with silver tips. She wore a ruby and diamond necklace and long dangling earrings as well. Cat enjoyed the finer things in life, and her husband Zeb was always very willing to give them to her.

“Well, I hope you’re enjoying your honeymoon,” mumbled Simon, pacing back and forth at the table, nervously watching the door.

“Simon, what’s the matter with you?” asked Zeb, pouring wine that the captain had ordered for the table earlier into his glass. He wore an Armani suit and a Rolex. “Sit down already. You’re prancing around like a caged lion.” He put the bottle down and his wife gave him a playful pout. “None for you, sweetheart. Now that you’re pregnant you’ll have to wait a while before you can have wine again.”

“Well, at least I’m no longer having morning sickness,” she said with a smile. “It’s crazy, but I think the swaying of the ship is actually relaxing little Zeb by rocking him to sleep.” She smiled and rubbed her belly in small circles.

“Little Zeb?” asked Simon with a chuckle. “Cat, you just found out you’re pregnant a week ago. There’s no way you even know the baby is going to be a boy. That’s ridiculous.”

“My, you are grouchy today,” said Cat. “Is something bothering you?”

“He’s nervous that the old bastard and the hot babe are going to be sitting with us for dinner,” Thad broke in, grabbing for the wine bottle. “That’s why he invited us to sit here. So he’d have someone to talk to rather than have to talk to them.”

“Quit telling lies,” said Simon, snatching the bottle of wine from his little brother. “And I’m not even sure you should be drinking this.”

“I’m twenty-four, not twelve,” Thad said with a scowl. “Simon, one of these days you’re going to have to stop acting like my mother. Now give it back.” He grabbed the bottle again and poured himself some wine.

Simon somehow knew Piper had entered the room just then, and his eyes darted toward the door.