CHAPTER FOURTEEN“I’m meeting some people for dinner, so you’ll be on your own for the next few hours,” Yakov told her. They had only just checked into their rooms at the resort where they would be spending the next few days. “Feel free to charge whatever you want on the room. It’s on me. Go to the spa, have some drinks, shop.”
“Thanks,” she replied, “but I’m happy enough to pay for those things myself.”
“I’m sure you are, but you shouldn’t have to. You are here as my guest. I insist.”
“Okay,” she replied still not certain if she intended to take him up on it.
In the end, she did, not because she felt he should pay for things, but because the resort didn’t seem keen to take her card. They were set up to charge to rooms and so it was just easier. She was able to get into the spa on short notice, thanks to a cancellation and spent the next two hours being pampered and petted before returning to her room to dress for a light dinner and drinks.
She obsessed about what to wear, putting on several things she had brought before deeming them too formal or too casual, too tight or too loose, too bright or too dull. After a lot of anguish, she finally went for simplicity, choosing a simple tank dress and sandals with her hair up in a loose ponytail.
Aileen pulled free a few tendrils of hair to frame her face a little more softly. Overall, she looked elegant but not overdressed. She still wasn’t one hundred percent certain about the look, but it would have to do. If nothing else, she had gotten tired of obsessing about it. Making her way out to the little tiki bar not far from her bungalow, she ordered a drink and took a seat on a chaise lounge in the area to one side.
It was so peaceful here, she thought. The sound of the water splashing up on the beach and seagulls squawking overhead created a lull that put her in almost a sort of a trance. She was completely lost in her own little world when she heard a voice from nearby.
“Ah, there you are,” Yakov said from behind her.
She turned to look at him and smiled. It was the first time she had seen him since they had checked into their rooms and she found that she had missed him. In fact, she had been kind of lonely without him, even in this paradise.
“Yes. All done with your work?” she replied.
“For today. You look lovely. What did you do while I suffered through business matters?”
She relayed her rather uneventful day to him and he smiled, nodding in agreement with her choices or so she presumed.
“Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“No, I was waiting on you. I thought we might eat together if you hadn’t already eaten with your clients.”
“I haven’t. There is a lovely little seafood place just down the beach on the water, if you want to go there.”
“Sounds perfect,” she told him, standing up to join him.
Slipping off her shoes, she held them in her hands and they moved down toward the water, letting the surf flow across their feet as it flowed in and off the beach. She was ashamed to say she had never been to a beach before. What sort of women her age has never been to a beach? Even in her home in Wyoming, people went on vacations to beaches, but not her. It had never been in her budget. The fact was that she had been almost nowhere in her life outside a hundred mile radius of her home. There had never been any need.
Even tracking her father hadn’t required she go any further than that, since his trail had dried up quickly. She had even attempted to hire a private investigator at one point, but he came up empty handed in short order and she hadn’t seen the need to pursue it further.
“You’ve gone quiet,” Yakov said.
“I’m sorry. I was just thinking about ancient history, is all.”
“Anything you want to share?”
“No. It’s nothing,” she told him.
“Okay, well, here we are. You’ll have to put those shoes back on to go inside though,” he laughed.
Aileen balanced herself on his arm, putting each sandal back on and locking down the straps.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Stepping inside, she was more than a bit disappointed in his choice of restaurants already. It was all bamboo and colorless décor, the stereotypical sea shells and mounted fish you’d expect to find in such places.
Her opinion quickly changed as she sat eating the food that Yakov selected for them. It was all cooked to perfection and seasoned in a Mediterranean style that she had never tasted, but was in love with completely. They took their time, enjoying each bite as if it might be their last.