I went into the kitchen and pulled a bottle out of the wine fridge; a two-year-old bottle of ice wine - my favorite. I poured two glasses; I figured he

could use a nightcap and I wanted him to try one of the wines from our vineyards. He was sitting in the single chair in the living room; his head was

in his hands.

I crouched down in front of him, drawing his eyes to look at me. “Hey, are you okay?” I handed the glass to him.

“I guess I’m just tired,” he murmured. I didn’t buy it. He was troubled again, and I was wise enough now to know why. Several ideas of how to

distract him danced through my mind.

I hurried down the hallway with my newly formed plan. I would need a few things and a few minutes alone. After taking a thorough moment to

freshen up in the bathroom, I locked my bedroom door and changed my clothes.

This will take his mind off his worries, I thought to myself as a buckled the dainty leather strap attached to my shoes around my ankle. Once I

was complete, I made my approach down the dark hallway, stopping just where the light met the darkness. Ryan looked up and gasped.

“You like?” I asked, turning slightly for him to get a new view of the alluring black undergarments I was barely wearing.

He sprang out of the chair like someone set him on fire and crossed the distance between us in three strides. I combed his hair back with my

fingers and softly bit his earlobe in my teeth.

“Want to go violate me on a pool table?” I whispered in his ear before pulling his lips to mine.

The sound of people yelling at each other startled me from my sleep. My head jumped off my pillow as my eyes tried to focus in the morning light.

“Huh, what’s wrong?” Ryan mumbled, still mostly asleep.

I suppose I woke him when I flinched. I heard truck brakes squeal and doors slam; the noises were coming from the alley.

I crept over to the window on my tippy-toes; the wood floor was cold. Outside, there were several men with cameras arguing with the driver of

one of the delivery trucks, but I couldn’t see the entire alley from this angle as part of the fire escape was in the way. I pulled the blind back another

half inch to get a better view.

“Honey, put some clothes on first if you’re going to peek out the windows,” Ryan muttered. He was rubbing his eyes with his fingers.

I grabbed one of his T-shirts from his open bag that was on the floor and slipped it over my head. The cotton held his scent, and although I liked

his manly smell, this shirt desperately needed to be washed.

“What’s happening out there?” he asked. I was still trying to figure it out.

“There are a few photographers arguing with a delivery truck driver.” I observed arms being raised over heads; it seemed that the alleyway

discussion was getting heated. “There are cars parked in the alley; I guess the truck can’t get through. They can’t park there.”

It was apparent that the paparazzi were camping out by my doors, waiting for any sign of Ryan Christensen. I thought about calling the police but

I didn’t need to; a cruiser just turned down the alley.

“The cops are here,” I muttered. Two police officers exited the car and I noticed that they both had their hands hovering over their guns. Arms

continued to wave in the air as both parties argued their sides to the cops. “I guess the paparazzi can’t read the ‘No Parking’ signs.”

“Arrest them all!” Ryan boomed, curling his hand underneath his face on the pillow.

His comment made me smile.

“Baby, come back to bed,” he whined.

I looked at him then looked at the doorway; might as well hit the bathroom while I’m up. He saw my hesitation and decided to race me. If he

hadn’t bumped me into the hallway wall I would have won, but he let me go ahead of him anyway. While I made a pot of coffee, I heard the shower

turn on.

I pulled the shower curtain back far enough to get a view. We had no boundaries anymore. I watched the water and soap bubbles glide down his

body. Damn, he was hot.

“You want to join me?” he asked, scrubbing the shampoo in his hair.

I thought about it for a minute. Even though we both fit in the tub, one person was always left in the cold end of the shower and I wanted to spend

some extra time primping.

“I’ll wait until you’re finished.”

He held out his hand. “I can’t wait that long. Get in here.”

I stepped over the edge of the tub.

“It would probably be better if there were two shower heads in here, huh?” he asked as if he could read my mind. I nodded in agreement.

“When were you planning on starting the bathroom remodel?”

I hadn’t really thought about it until he asked. “I don’t know. I need to finish the design first. I only have rough sketches.”

“The hotel I stayed in when I was out in L.A had a huge tiled shower. It even had a power console for all the features.” He motioned down the wall

with his hand. “I’ve never seen a shower so complicated. There were jets in the walls, removable shower wands, and a big shower head in the

center.”

“It probably had a steam setting too,” I added.

“So what do you think of that idea though?”

“Sounds expensive. I don’t think I could afford that,” I muttered, rubbing my hands across his soapy chest. “Besides, there’s not enough square

footage in this bathroom to hold that large of a shower.”

“I wish you would stop worrying about stuff like that.” His warm eyes glistened as he looked at me. “And I’m not talking about putting something

like that in this bathroom.”

His hand reached out and grabbed my butt, pulling me towards him. He slipped his fingers over my neck and placed a lingering, persuasive

kiss on my lips. I think I got the message he tried to convey, but I still was not going to make any assumptions.

“Do you have any idea how incredibly sexy you are?” he asked me. I groaned softly at his flattering remark.

“That’s funny… I was thinking the same exact thing about you.”

His lips frowned down and he rolled his eyes.

“See, you feel the same way about those kinds of compliments.” I poured shampoo in my hand.

“By the way, thank you for last night.” He smirked. “I guess I need to apologize for tearing your panties to shreds. I don’t know what came over

me.”

I smiled, remembering fondly his exuberance when he ripped the small seam on my sheer underwear and ran his palm up my spine to bend me

over the pool table.

“I’ll give you my card so you can replace them,” he murmured.

“That’s okay. You don’t have to do that; I have more. Don’t worry about it.” I was concentrating extra hard on not cutting my leg with the razor.

“Why are you so damn opposed to letting me buy you things?”

I shrugged, wishing he’d drop it.

“I’m not used to having someone want to buy me things, Ryan. I never really had that in other relationships. I always had to take care of myself.”

In actuality it was always me who was the one who gave things to the boy instead of the other way around. All of the boyfriends I had in the past

were barely getting by on their own let alone have enough money to buy gifts for me.

“Well, I’m not like that, Taryn!” I knew he was generous and meant well.

“Ryan, I have never been nor will I ever be the type of woman who expects things or takes advantage of people. If you want to buy me

something, I can’t stop you. But I don’t expect you to either. And I’m certainly not going to take your credit card and go on a shopping spree.”

“Then answer this; why did you pay Tammy and Pete for the catering? Do you think I’m the type of person who wants to take advantage of you?”

His tone was definitely leaning towards anger.

I was starting to wonder if this was our first argument… over money of all things. I found myself becoming frustrated with the whole topic.