Page 26 of Indescribable Love
When he sat, he knew he had to say something to break the tension. There was nothing worse than forced small talk and stilted conversation. With a small sigh, he looked at her. “Okay, we need to discuss the elephant in the room so we can relax and enjoy our dinner,” he began. “We both said things yesterday that we probably shouldn’t have, but I hope we can agree that it’s over and we don’t need to rehash it.”
“Oh thank God,” she said, her shoulders sagging with relief. “That definitely wasn’t me at my best, so I’m just going to apologize and promise it won’t happen again.”
“And I’m going to apologize too, because that was completely out of character for me. So…I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted,” she told him, picking up her fork. “Now we can eat!”
Simon breathed his own sigh of relief before twirling the pasta onto his fork and taking a bite. Flavor exploded on his tongue and the moan of pure pleasure was out before he could stop it.
The smile she gave him this time was one of absolute delight. “That’s the highest compliment a chef can hear!”
All he could do was nod because he wanted to take another bite. The pasta was done perfectly, the sauce was better than any other he’d ever tasted, the meatballs were delicious, and so was the rest of the meat. “Damn, Juliette, I don’t even know what to say. I don’t think I have the words to do this meal justice.”
“That’s okay, the sounds you made after that first bite said it all.”
After that, the ice was officially broken and the elephant had left the room.
“I heard you playing,” she said. “And you’ll have to forgive me because I’m not familiar with all your stuff, but was that new music or were you just jamming?”
“New music.” As soon as he said it, he regretted it because now she was going to ask how it was coming and what inspired it and what was he supposed to say to that?
Beside him, Juliette nodded. “You don’t have to go into any details with me, but as your publicist, it would be cool if we could share something about your creative process on social media. You know, maybe a video clip of you playing the guitar, or even one of you singing a verse from one of the new songs? It’s totally fine if you don’t want to. I just thought…”
“We usually only do that sort of thing when I’m in the studio recording, but…I guess some casual stuff would be fine,” he said. “And since this isn’t my home, I don’t mind pictures or videos. I’m a fairly private person and don’t share a lot of personal stuff on social media.”
“That’s totally understandable. And smart,” she added. “We don’t have to do this tonight. I just wanted to throw that out there.”
She was totally back in publicist mode, and he already missed the more relaxed version of Juliette. After finishing another bite of his dinner, inspiration hit. “How about after we’re done eating, we go downstairs and I’ll play some of it for you? Not for work purposes or anything, just…Nikki heard some of it and she always gushes to encourage me. I’d really like your opinion—as a friend, not a publicist. Plus, sometimes I think she just likes to compliment the song even when it’s not that good. I know you’ll be honest with me and not just say what you think I want to hear.”
For a moment, she simply blinked at him as if she couldn’t quite comprehend what he was saying.
“We don’t have to,” he quickly amended. “I just thought…”
“No, I’d like to!” she blurted out. “After everything yesterday, I just thought?—”
“That we weren’t going to talk about yesterday?” he teased, and thankfully, she laughed.
“Right.”
Still looking uncertain, Juliette took a sip of her wine, and Simon knew it was a stalling tactic. He could wait. There was still food on his plate that he was thoroughly enjoying, so she could take all the time she needed. They ate in companionable silence, and it wasn’t until he took his last forkful that she finally responded.
“I would really like to hear what you’re working on, Simon. Actually, I’m honored that you want me to hear it. From the little bit that I heard earlier, I was just…it sounded amazing. I can’t believe that was all new and just came to you.”
“Now that’s a great compliment. Thank you.”
Juliette stood and picked up her plate. “Why don’t you go downstairs and get set up or do whatever you need to do while I clean everything up?”
“Nuh-uh. There’s no way I’m making you do all the work. Technically, since you cooked, you shouldn’t have to clean—at least, I’ve always been told that’s the rule—so I’m more than willing to help.”
She didn’t argue, and they worked together to get the kitchen cleaned up and everything put away, all the while talking about food and about how they hoped Alex was feeling better.
“The kid normally has an iron stomach,” he told her. “But I think with all the sweets Celia’s been making, it all may be a little too much for him.”
“He just looked so pitiful. I felt so bad! Poor little guy.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine in the morning, and maybe he even learned a lesson about moderation.”
Juliette chuckled. “Simon, he’s just a little boy. By tomorrow, he will have forgotten all about this, I’m sure.”