Dedication:
How did I know that a day back at the end of August would inspire me so! It was a day when I popped out a children's video and before my eyes there appeared on the TV screen a romance so enchanting it took my breath away. So much has transpired between Simon and Lily since then and yet many fans do not want to see that romance end. I am writing to give them a "happily ever after." So I wish to dedicate this to Kathy, my twinkie sis and friend, who encouraged me to write; to Paul, who impressed me with his charm, friendliness and talent. (I cannot say enough about him!); and to all my "Simon's Sheilas" who still dream that the Sily magic won't end.

Lily gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles as she peered through the windshield into the blinding snow. Her progress seemed painstakingly slow as she inched the car forward. She wanted to speed as fast she could down the snow packed dirt road the locals called Shady Lane but common sense kept her from it. She could not chance a mishap when she was so close to her destination, that being a small cabin nestled among the Norway pines near Taylor Falls.

As she drove, her mind was spinning in remembrance of all that had transpired since she had left Oakdale nearly a year before. She thought of how she had walked away from the man no one could measure up to. Simon. It had been a lie when she had told herself that she was walking away. No, she had RUN away because she hadn't trusted herself and that had terrified her! The whole time away from him had seemed endless. At first she had tried desperately to anesthetize herself with the children, sightseeing, schooling and such but as time wore on she knew it was no use. This man was burned into her heart and soul.

She had made the decision after only a month to send the children back to Holden. They had missed their father and they'd sensed her unhappiness even when she'd tried to put on a brave front. Luc didn't smile much anymore and Faith had cried over everything. When she had spoken to Holden about it he had agreed to come and pick them up. When he arrived at the airport she'd had the sad realization that her feelings had truly changed toward her husband. He was so different to her. More like a fond friend than a husband and former lover. Simon had a totally different effect on her than Holden and she'd felt she had to exorcise this man from her memory or go mad. Again she tried to explain that she just needed more time alone to think, but Holden was just as bewildered and angry as he had been when he had found out that she'd wanted to explore her feelings for Simon in the first place. In the end, she kissed her children gently, hugged them fiercely, placed them into the arms of their daddy and sent them all on their way.

As the days wore into weeks and months, the sights and sounds of the island retreat had only continued to keep the memories of her and Simon's bittersweet time together alive. But it was the nights that left her in torment. She would dream and those torturous dreams were of a tall, dark Australian with a charming accent. She would dream of Simon's voice whispering words of love to her, of his hands caressing her face, of his lips enveloping hers, of his arms holding her protectively to him. And his eyes. It was his eyes that were always her undoing. They would capture her in their green-eyed gaze, like those of a jungle cat that hypnotized it's prey before the leap. She would always awaken then in a drenching sweat, her breath coming in short, gulping gasps and an aching need churning deep down inside her. After that she would lay awake for hours fighting sleep for fear that the dream would come again. She was fighting a losing battle and she knew it.

The realization of what she had thrown away came stabbing her in the heart the night that she had dreamed the dream again, only this time the difference was when as she looked into his dangerous stare she heard through clenched teeth his agonizing whisper, "How Lily? How could you do this to me? Didn't I tell you that you are the woman that owns my soul?"

This time, when she awoke the tears she had fought so hard to keep at bay came rushing in like a dam that had burst. The pain was so strong it felt like someone had reached into her chest and literally squeezed her heart with their bare hands! God! What had she done! What a fool she had been! She knew then that the battle she had been fighting was finally lost!