After Simone's comment about her cooking killing Zach, Kendall began to worry and decided not to take any chances and ordered their dinner instead. On her way home from the office she stopped at her favorite Italian place and picked it up. Which turned out to be a good thing since she didn't get out of the office until 5:20

When she got home she went in the kitchen and put their dinner in some serving dishes, then

turned the oven on warm and placed their dinner inside while she went and got ready.

Forty minutes later Kendall emerged from her bedroom wearing a dark burgundy dress. It had spaghetti straps, dipped just enough around the bust line and had a long slit up the side .

She went over to the stereo and put a few soft jazz CD's in the CD player and turned it on. As she walked around the living room she lit a few candles here and there . After Kendall had just the right amount of candles lit she proceeded to go set the table.

' I don't know why I am going to all this trouble, it isn't like Zach asked me out on a date or anything, he just said he wanted to talk.. God Kendall , what are you thinking ? That's the problem, I'm not thinking. If I was using my head instead of my heart I would be in a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt and wouldn't be trying to set up a scene to seduce my husband. I need to fix this before he gets here . The last thing he wants is me , when he is still in love with Maria. That's the one thing we agreed to about this marriage, we were both in it to keep from falling in love again. The last thing I need, is to let him know my feelings have changed. Let me get these candles out and go change before he gets here.'

Just as Kendall blew out the last candle there was a knock on her door

'Damn' she said to herself as she glanced at the clock in the kitchen 'of all the men in Pine Valley, I have to marry one who is punctual. Well to late to change now' she thought as she opened the door.

"Don't you look lovely tonight" Zach said as he came in "I brought us a bottle of wine. "

Zach headed to the kitchen to pour them each a glass.

"Why don't you put the glasses on the table. Dinner is done, I have it in the oven keeping it warm" she replied "It will only take me a minute to put it on the table"

"Kendall, do you smell smoke ? " he asked as he walked into the living room.

"Oh no, my dinner" she said as she ran over to the oven. "Hmm, well it isn't dinner, nothing is smoking in here "

"It smells like something was burning in here" Zach said as he started checking the living room.

Suddenly Kendall remembered the candles she had just blown out.

"Oh, I had some candles lit, but I blew them out a little while ago. I guess the smell is still lingering" she said quietly

"Mind if I relight a few ?" Zach asked

"Umm, no go right ahead" she answered "Matches are on the mantle"

Just as Zach lit the last candle, Kendall let out a little yell from the kitchen

"Ouch" she yelled

"What's wrong ? " he asked as he came into the kitchen

"I burnt my fingers on the baking dish" she replied as she rubbed her fingers

Zach went over to her and took her hand in his and brought it up to his lips. He slowly kissed each finger

"Better?" he asked looking into her eyes

"uh huh " was all she could manage to get out as she looked up at him and into his eyes.

Zach slowly started to lean into Kendall, just as she started to lean into him. Just as their lips were about to meet the phone rang.

' I am so going to kill who ever this is" Kendall thought to herself

'Somebody had better be dead' Zach said to himself

Kendall took a step back and walked over to the phone

"Hello " she said in a rather annoyed voice " Yes Simone, I signed off on those , they are on my desk in the folder for the launch.. Yes Simone, uh huh, "

Zach figured he would make himself useful while Kendall was on the phone and began putting dinner on the table.

"Simone, look I need to go, we can discuss it in the morning. Good night" Kendall said before she hung up

"I am so sorry about that, but with the launch in a few days, things have been a little crazy" she said as she took the salad out of the refrigerator

"Don't worry about it." Zach said as he helped Kendall with her chair "Dinner smells wonderful. So what are we having ?"

" Nothing real fancy I'm afraid. It's just some Shrimp Scampi , a salad and some French bread " she answered as she removed the lid from the serving dish " I didn't get out of the office until late so I didn't have time to make much."

Zach tried to keep a straight face and stifle a laugh but was doing a terrible job of it

"And just what is so funny" Kendall asked

"Well I have a confession to make. It is actually one of the things I wanted to discuss with you tonight" Zach began " I have some of my men keeping an eye on you and Greenlee, its just until this mess with Julia is resolved. I hope you don't mind . I'm not trying to keep tabs on you, I just want to make sure you are safe."

Kendall looked a bit shocked then said "Ok, but I still don't see what is so funny"

"Well." he said " from time to time the guys call me and let me know how things are going. They also let me know when you leave work or home and let me know where you have been. My man has been following you all day."

"Oh" Kendall replied rather embarrassed "So you know about the Italian restaurant ? "

"Afraid so " he answered

The two of them busted out laughing

"Look Zach" she started to explain " I am not a great cook, but I can cook some things. Simone got going on at work today about how my cooking just might kill you . After thinking about it for a while I figured I would play it safe and order something."

"Kendall," he said as he took her hand " I didn't marry you for your cooking skills. In fact I am flattered that you went to all of this trouble. It makes what I have to talk to you about that much harder"

"And just what is it that you wanted to talk about " she asked trying to swallow the lump in her throat

"How about we enjoy this wonderful dinner that you went to all this trouble for, then after dinner, we can sit in the living room and talk " he suggested

"Ok" she replied trying not to let her voice crack

' Damn it, I knew I was coming on to strong, he is going to tell me he wants a divorce' Kendall said to herself

' You coward, you need to come out with it and tell her about Ryan. Instead you are being selfish and trying to enjoy as much time as you can get with her before you let her know what an ass you are and she kicks you out of her life for good'

During dinner they had idle chat about the casino and Fusion. Once dinner was done Zach helped Kendall clear the table and load the dishwasher. He then took her hand and led her into the living room and asked her to have a seat on the couch.

"Kendall, I want to ask you something" Zach said

"Sure, what is it " she asked

"Do you have any idea why I denied Ethan as my son when he first came to town ?" he asked

"At first I didn't " she admitted "However after he took control of Cambias I started to see the changes in him. I think it was then I started to realize what you were afraid of. When he came forward and accused you of killing Edmund , I asked him if he was telling the truth. He told me he was. Zach as ashamed as I am to admit this, I told Ethan I didn't care if he was setting you up, I would even help him, just don't lie to me about it. He swore on our love that he was telling the truth. When I found out other wise I realized he wasn't the same man I met. Cambias had changed him, and I began questioning myself as to if I ever loved him at all " she said quietly as she looked down

"Don't be ashamed of anything Kendall" he said taking her hand in his "Cambias did change Ethan. All he saw was the money and the power that it gave him. After he got it, all he wanted was revenge on me for denying him and he thought he could take me down with all that, but he was wrong. Understand something, I never knew I had a child until he walked into town and started making claims that he was my son"

"I know that Zach" she said

" I grew up seeing how that company changed my father. He tried to mold me in his image so one day I could run Cambias. My father was obsessed with it and he became a cruel, hateful man. Something I would never want to be. That is why I faked my death, I had to get away from him before he destroyed both of us. After coming to Pine Valley I learned that Cambias had also destroyed my brother Michael. So when Ethan came to town claiming to be my son , I didn't know what to think. I took his glass the night of the casino opening and had some DNA tests run to find out for sure. When they showed that he was my son , the only thing I could think of was that I had to keep him from becoming like my Father and Michael"

"But I know this already Zach" Kendall said "You don't need to explain any of that to me"

"Yes I do" he protested " I am hoping by explaining to you why I did what I did to Ethan, it might help you understand something else "

"Zach you are scaring me " she said as a tear rolled down her cheek " Are you trying to tell me you want a divorce as a way to protect me ?"

He pulled her into his arms and held her for a few minutes before releasing her and taking his hand and lifting her head up so he could look her in the face.

"I told you the other day my feelings for you have changed. The last thing I want Kendall is a divorce " he said as he wiped her tears away " I can only hope that you can say the same thing after I tell you what I am about to tell you"

"what is it ?" she whispered

Zach kissed Kendall on the forehead then took a deep breath and began "Do you remember how worried you were about Greenlee when she was trying to get pregnant with Ryan's baby ? "

"Yes" she answered a bit puzzled

"Do you remember how crazy Ryan was acting ? How I found Ryan choking David in his apartment, how he was in the fight club and how he acted the night Greenlee told him she was having his baby ? " he said

"Yes "

"Do you remember after Ryan drove the motorcycle off the cliff, when I came into the hotel room and asked you if you thought Ryan could have been saved ?" he asked

"Yes" she answered giving Zach a strange look

"The reason I asked you that was because, was because I found Ryan." he finally said

Kendall's eyes just got big as saucers and her mouth fell open.

"Was he … was he … dead ?" she asked in horror

"No Kendall, he was very much alive " he answered

Kendall sat there for a minute trying to take in what her husband was telling her before finally speaking again. "He was hurt right, and you didn't think he was going to make it, and you didn't want to give Greenlee false hope. So you had your men take him to a hospital some where so he could be taken care of right ? "

Zach just looked down and continued to explain

"No he wasn't hurt" he started "He didn't even have a scratch on him. He was hiding in some rocks watching the rescuers search for him. When I found him he threatened to kill me if I told anyone he was alive."

"You don't expect me to believe you were afraid of Ryan do you ?" she demanded

"No" he continued " I wasn't afraid of what Ryan would do to me, but I was afraid of what he might do to you or Greenlee or her baby. I tried talking him into coming back to the hotel with me but he refused. He said that he had to let Greenlee believe he was dead that way she could go on with her life and be happy, and he wouldn't be a threat to her anymore. I lied to him and told him I would help him get away, but we had to wait until it was safe for him to get away. So I locked him in one of the out buildings behind the casino. I had no intention of helping him, I just wanted him somewhere safe so I could come talk to you and find out if you thought he could be saved."

"But I told you no" Kendall whispered

"But you told me no" he went on " I figured if anyone knew Ryan it was you, and you would know if he could of been helped. When you said No, I realized that if I wanted to keep you , Greenlee and the baby safe I had no other choice but to help him get away. Please understand , I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. But watching all the things that Ryan had done over the past few months, he had become unstable and dangerous. I was afraid he was going to end up killing someone."

Kendall sat there for a few minutes in silence, unable to say anything

"Kendall, say something please " he begged

Kendall looked up at Zach and said "Why come tell me this now ?"

"I cant and wont lie to you. " he said as he stood up and began walking the room " I know what you are doing for Greenlee, by offering to have her baby for her. I know how much courage it is taking you to do that, and I respect that. The secret about Ryan was eating me alive and I just couldn't let you go through with this baby thing with out knowing everything. Like I said a little while ago, my feelings for you have changed. I know we agreed to stay in this marriage to keep from falling in love and getting hurt. But I can't do it anymore Kendall, I just can't "

"But you said a little while ago that you didn't want a divorce " she said as tears started to stream down her cheeks

"I don't Kendall" he took a deep breath " I'm trying to tell you I have fallen in love with you. I think about you all of the time. You are the one good thing in my life. I lay awake in bed at night because it kills me that you are here and I am over there. All I want to do is be with you. I want to hold you and kiss you. I want to make love to you. I want a real marriage ."

Kendall was speechless. Here was this man pouring his heart out to her, telling her everything she had been longing to hear him say.

"This can't be real" she said

"I'll go" Zach said as he started to head for the door "I'll sign any divorce papers you want me to sign. You can have it all, I don't care. Without you in my life, I have no life at all"

"Zach" Kendall said as she touched his arm. He turned around to face her. She still had tears streaming down her cheeks "I have a confession to make of my own. I am in love with you too. I was to afraid to admit it because I was afraid I would run you off. You have no idea how long I have wanted to hear you say those things to me. I love you Zach"

"But what about Ryan?" he asked " I kept that from you

"I admit I am mad that you didn't tell me before now, but I also understand why you did what you did. And to be honest, if the shoe was on the other foot, I don't think I would of handled things any differently then you did. You were trying to keep me and Greenlee and her baby safe. What matters is, is that you did tell me, I didn't have to find out on my own before you admitted it."

Zach pulled Kendall into his arms and held her close

" I was so afraid I was going to lose you" he whispered in her ear

"You cant get rid of me that easy " she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her for their first kiss.

Just as their lips touched, glass started to shatter and bullets filled the air. Kendall and Zach fell to the ground, still in each others arms.

The rain of bullets finally stopped, then there were a few stray shots of gunfire. Kendall's door was broken down by one of Zach's men. He looked around the room until he saw Zach and Kendall on the floor in a pool of blood

"Mike, call 911, Mr. & Mrs. Slater have been hit, we need an ambulance here now" the man yelled