Ryan dropped his keys off on the entry table by the door and he had a box under his arm when he came into the kitchen. He hugged his father

first since he was still standing. His mom stood up from the table and gave her son a big squeeze and a kiss.

“Oh, it’s so good to see you,” His mother gushed, rocking him back and forth where he stood. It was such a heart-warming reunion.

As soon as she released him, Ryan came over to me and pulled me in for a nice, respectful hello kiss.

“Hi Honey. How’s everyone doing?” He looked around at all of us to make sure we were getting along. His mother told him about the nice

restaurant where we had lunch and how she enjoyed the view of the ocean. I poured four glasses of wine and handed them out.

“Taryn, this is delicious,” his father commented, swirling the wine around in his glass.

“Here, check these out.” Ryan handed the box over to me. Inside were all different styles of sunglasses. “Some sunglass company wants me to

wear their shades. They sent a whole box for me and my lady.”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“For real! Look at the letter. See! ‘Mr. Christensen, we are honored to provide you with our Fall collection of Sun Jammer Eyewear. We have

provided you with styles to suit men as well as a selection of women’s eyewear for your favorite lady.’ See? Favorite lady right there in black type.”

He poked me in the belly on his way to the pantry. Ryan opened the door and removed the bag of chocolate chip cookies.

“Oh no, you have her feeding your fix now?” Ellen scolded.

We took his parents on a tour of the apartment and we put our coats back on to visit the roof patio. Bill and Ellen appeared speechless – up until

the point that Ellen stated she wanted to re-do their entire backyard to look like my roof.

I knew Ryan was starving; he was starting to pick at anything he could readily shove in his mouth when we returned to the kitchen. I turned the

oven on and pulled out the ingredients I had set aside to make Chicken Cordon Bleu. I pounded the chicken breasts flat while Ryan took down a

few layers of the sliced cheese. He was too hungry to be of any use.

“So what do you say, Son? Want to lose to your old man in a game of pool?” His father gave him a nudge.

While the men played downstairs, I prepared dinner. His mother watched over what I was doing.

“I never thought to put that in with the bread crumbs,” she stated. She helped coat the rolled chicken and was amazed by my deviations from the

normal recipe. I liked to be creative when I cooked.

Later that evening, we gathered at the oval wooden dining table that was off to the side of my main living room. I hadn’t sat at that table for a

meal in a very long time. It felt nice to eat as a family again.

“Taryn, this is fabulous,” Ellen complimented.

Ryan kicked his foot into mine under the table and winked at me. “I told you she was taking excellent care of me!” He grinned.

“So are you two going to tell us where we are going this weekend or are you going to keep your mother and me in suspense?”

Ryan looked at me and smirked. “Should we tell them or make them suffer like you made me suffer that day?”

I stabbed a few green beans on my plate. “I think we should tell them.”

“We are taking you to Taryn’s family cabin at the lake, where we are going fishing.” he motioned to his father with his fingers. “And you two

ladies can go shopping till your feet fall off.”

Our evening with his parents slowly came to a close. Ryan had to be back on set early in the morning and his parents were tired from their flight.

I quickly slipped into my bedroom to get my pillow and carried it out to the living room.

Ryan looked at me in utter confusion. He picked my pillow up and started to carry it away.

“Honey, I thought we were going to bed?” He yawned.

“No,” I whispered. “Please leave it here. I’m going to sleep out here on the couch.”

“Why?” he asked, completely perplexed.

“Your parents,” I whispered again.

“What about my parents?”

“Out of respect!” I quietly stated the obvious.

“What are you talking about?” I wished he would keep his voice down.

“Ryan, I’m not going to sleep with you in front of them,” I whispered.

“Are you kidding me?” Just as he spoke his mother stepped up behind him.

“What are you two whispering about?” she asked.

“I’m not quite sure, Mom. For some reason Taryn thinks she has to sleep on the couch.”

I was thoroughly embarrassed now and had to explain myself.

“I don’t want to disrespect you, that’s all. It’s fine,” I politely informed. “I don’t mind sleeping out here.” I tried to yank my pillow out of Ryan’s hand

but he wouldn’t let it go.

Ellen looked confused and then I saw the light of understanding turn on above her head.

“Oh, sweetie, that’s not necessary.” She walked over to me and gave me a big hug.

“I appreciate your consideration, but Bill and I are not that old-fashioned.” She gently laughed in my ear. “This is your home.”

Ellen touched Ryan’s cheek while she was rocking me. “You stay with Ryan in your room,” she said tenderly. “Oh how I would have loved to have

met your parents!” She kissed me on the cheek.

“Why did you think you had to sleep out on the couch?” Ryan asked privately in our bedroom. He pulled our comforter up over my shoulder.

I shrugged, slightly self-conscious. “I just don’t want your parents to have the wrong impression of me, that’s all. I wasn’t raised that way.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that! You’ve already made a good impression on my parents today,” Ryan whispered, inching his way down

the bed until our eyes were level.

“My dad talked my ear off when we played pool. He was rambling on about how intelligent you are and how I could learn a thing or two about

money management from you.”

“I’m glad they like me; relieved actually. It’s very important that they approve.” I shifted to be closer to him, gently rubbing his neck while we

talked.

“Oh, they approve all right! You’ve won them over, that’s for sure.” He brushed my hair back. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

“No,” I whispered, egging him on. “How much?”

“Let me show you,” he whispered. He softly kissed my lips, once, twice, before his wet mouth moved with mine.

I was up and out of bed before everyone else so I could spend some extra time showering and getting ready. I was already nervous and slightly

jittery thinking about going on my first major motion picture movie set. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think about doing what I would be doing

today.

“Are you excited?” Ryan asked, pulling my heart necklace out from behind my shirt while we waited by the back door.

“Nervous.” I half-smiled. My stomach was in knots.

It was still dark outside when our car arrived. It was too early for the paparazzi to be up. Ryan’s day usually started before the sun came up. I was

relieved knowing that his parents would be with me throughout this experience.

We briefly paused at the security gate and then proceeded to drive further onto the lot. The limo wove through several rows of trailers and other

trucks before stopping by a long, white trailer.

“Here, you’ll need these.” Ryan handed us badges on long cotton cords to identify that we were permitted on set.

He had his blue papers rolled up in his hand.

“I have to go to makeup and get my face done. Tar, come with me.” Ryan took me by the hand. “Mom, Dad… I’ll see you over there.” He pointed

to the direction of where he’d be filming.

His bodyguard Mike and another man escorted us to a long trailer. Inside were several beautician chairs and a complete makeup counter with