“Excuse me, ladies. I have to see this.” I sat back down next to Ryan.

The quarterback had just thrown the ball for twenty yards and the Steelers’ receiver was on his way to the goal. I stood up to cheer; Ryan stood

up right behind me.

“Touchdown!” we both yelled. Ryan held his hands up in the air; I clapped my hands into his for a mutual high-five. The place kicker got the ball

between the uprights for the extra point. Ryan gave me another high-five and a quick kiss. He was so happy, and seeing him happy made me even

happier.

I noticed I was the only female even remotely interested in the game, but it didn’t matter. I had everything my heart desired; great friends, new

soon-to-be great friends, and the best man I could have ever wished for.

I stayed with Ryan until half time. The Steelers were winning, 21 to 7, Ryan was having a blast with the guys, and I was secretly entertaining

thoughts of straddling him where he sat. The several drinks I had consumed further enhanced my naughty thoughts. I was feeling buzzed and

completely aroused.

“Play me a song,” Ryan whispered in my ear.

I looked at him like he was crazy.

“What do mean, play you a song?” I grinned and looked him in the eyes.

“On your piano. Play something.”

“Why don’t you play me a song?” I challenged. “My guitar is just up those steps.” I pointed to the door.

“Oh no! I asked you first! Come on, just one.” He stood up and pulled me off of my chair, practically carrying me like I was a football over to my

piano.

I lifted the cover off of the keys and stared at them. I had no idea what to play. I played a few notes, hoping that a song would come to me while

remembering all the songbooks I used to have.

I started to play a few chords and Ryan’s face lit up.

“Journey?” he asked.

I nodded and began to sing.

Soon I had a gathering around my piano, all of us trying to remember the words. It was amusing to hear them all sing off-key. Our rendition of

that wonderful song ended horribly, since I couldn’t remember all of the lyrics.

“How about this one?” I played a few notes.

It was karaoke night in Mitchell’s Pub.

“Play that song you played that night,” Ryan requested coyly. “Please?”

At his urging, I played “You’ve got a Friend” again. This time I wasn’t nervous.

Cal took Kelly in his arms and started to dance with her. It was such a beautiful sight. Pete twirled Tammy under his arm, and Ryan leaned

across the top of my piano, smiling at me.

I sang to him and him alone.

We were all having a good time singing and laughing, that was until the police sirens sounded and the red and blue lights flashed in front of my

pub. I immediately hopped up off my piano bench.

“Pete!” I yelled.

“I’m on it,” Pete answered as he trotted out the front door.

I stood near the door waiting for Pete to return. It seemed to take him forever. I wanted to look out the window to see what was going on, but

Ryan stopped me. Eventually Pete came back in but he wasn’t alone; two police officers were with him.

“Pete, what’s going on?” I asked, nervous that I had police in my pub. It had been a long time since I had cops show up. Usually they came after

someone started a fight outside, but I had no idea why they were here now.

“Good Evening, Miss,” One of the policemen addressed me as he looked around at my guests.

“Good Evening, Officer,” I replied. “I’m Taryn Mitchell. I’m the owner here. What is going on?” Ryan stood dutifully behind me.

“We received a complaint about a crowd blocking the street traffic,” the policeman replied.

“As you can see, we are holding a private affair for our visiting guests.” I looked at Ryan and Cal. Seaport was not a large community; I

presumed that the dozen or so police officers we had on staff all knew that celebrities were in town.

The policeman looked at Ryan and nodded his greeting. “Mr. Christensen.”

“Good Evening, Officer,” Ryan replied. He was standing with his arms folded across his chest. “My apologies for the crowd. Unfortunately there

isn’t much we can do about it.”

“We will make sure that the street is clear. There are too many pedestrians on the sidewalk. We'll request that they disband, but they will surely

regroup once we leave,” the officer informed.

“We appreciate your help,” Ryan replied.

“Yes, thank you,” Cal added.

“Would you like me to call in a request for a police escort when you leave?” the officer asked.

“I’m not sure. We have private security with us this evening,” Ryan answered.

“Yes, we spoke to them outside,” the officer said. “They are trying their best to keep it orderly, but we understand there is only so much they can

do.”

“We should be fine. Thanks for the offer.” Ryan reached out to shake the officer's hand.

My heart rate was accelerated from the nervousness that always accompanied police presence, but Ryan seemed to maintain his cool. Pete

escorted the police out the door; hundreds of camera flashes lit up the darkness the moment the door opened.

I noticed Ryan turned to walk away; I presumed he didn’t want to be seen when the front door opened. He sat down in his seat in front of the

television and started rubbing his forehead. His body language confirmed my suspicions.

I stood behind him and started rubbing his shoulders. I knew he was bothered by the mayhem outside and I wanted to take his mind off of it.

How much pressure could one man take before he would crack?

Ryan leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “That feels good,” he murmured.

I was trying not to get angry with the crowd outside for ruining our evening. I kissed his forehead, trying to soothe him. I didn’t need to be able to

read his mind to know the exact thoughts that tormented him.

Our guests stayed until the football game was over, but soon after that everyone proceeded to gather their things. Gary reluctantly handed over

twenty dollars to Ryan, and Ryan graciously accepted it.

“I’m going to go back to the hotel with the rest of them,” Ryan informed. The sadness was evident in his eyes. “I really want to stay with you, but I

think it’s best if I go.” His eyes flickered to my windows. “I have to be on set anyway early in the morning.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist as he hugged me. “I don’t want you to go. But I understand why you feel you must.”

“Tar, they know I’m in here. Suzanne told the crowd on her way out,” he whispered in my ear. “I want to make sure that all of our friends get out of

here safely, and I’m not ready for the paparazzi to start stalking you too.”

Ryan turned to Pete. “Pete, Tammy, what do I owe you? Do you have a bill for the catering?”

Tammy looked sideways at Pete; she didn’t know what to say.

“Ah, Ryan, Taryn paid us already,” Pete replied.

“How much was the bill?” Ryan asked me.

“It wasn’t that much. Don’t worry about it.” I couldn’t help but feel a little sad that he wasn’t staying.

“That’s not what I asked.” He sort of laughed, but I could tell he was annoyed. “How much was it?”

I just ignored him and started cleaning up.

“Why won’t you tell me?”

“You know, Ryan, I thought you were smarter than that,” Marie commented while piling up dirty glasses on the bar. “Taryn doesn’t want you for

your money.”

I turned to her and grimaced.

“Besides…” she continued with a laugh, “she’s not hurting for cash, that’s for sure.”

I knew she was trying to make a point to Ryan, but I still gave her a displeased look. My wealth was something I didn’t like to flaunt.

Ryan pressed his body into my back. “Sooner or later you’re going to have to get used to letting me pay for things, you know that?” he