“More!” Cami shouted at me, snapping my attention back to the table. Her little mouth was opened wide, just like a baby bird. I shoveled
another pile into her mouth.
After that comment, I couldn’t eat anymore. I was in a freaking daze thinking about us… East Coast… children… rites of passages… little blueeyed
babies…
Once we were all finished eating, I helped Kelly clear the table while the men took Cami into the family room to keep her busy. I was scraping a
plate into the garbage can when Kelly asked me, “Are you okay?”
I blinked a few times, wrapping my thoughts around her words. “Yeah, why?”
“You just got real quiet. I was wondering if it was because of what Ryan said?”
I smiled. “Kelly, every time he says we…” I took a deep breath.
She smiled back at me and whispered, “feels good to be in love, doesn’t it!”
“Yes, it does!”
We all sat back at the dinner table and talked; Cami was sitting on my lap and we were both coloring in a book with crayons. I was having a
blast, trying to get the different shades of purple to blend on the petals of the flower I was coloring.
“Is that your masterpiece?” Ryan teased Cami.
“Whyin, don’t touch!” she scolded him.
“Another good thing about Pennsylvania – that’s where they make crayons,” Ryan stated.
“And Yuengling Lager too,” I added.
“Philly cheesesteaks,” Ryan continued.
“Will Smith is from Philadelphia,” Cal contributed.
“Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pens,” Ryan and I added together. We held our fists up and tapped our knuckles together.
“I’m taking you to a hockey game. I’ll check to see when the Pens are playing at home and we are going,” he said to me.
“Won’t have to twist my arm to get me to go!” I smiled at him.
“Hey.” Cami patted me on the cheek to get my attention.
“Taryn,” I said my name.
“Tawyn,” she repeated. “You color the gwass too. Use dis gween.”
“Can I color too?” Ryan asked.
“No,” Cami fired quickly. “Me and Tawyn coloring. You wait your turn.”
I started to laugh. Kids are so brutally honest.
Ryan pretended to sniff and he acted like he was starting to cry.
“I think you hurt Ryan’s feelings,” I whispered in her ear.
Cami looked up at Ryan and pouted. “Whyin, don’t cwy.” She set her crayon down. “I hold you.” She leaned over to him and he pulled her out of
my arms.
My heart melted watching him hug her, while my thoughts wandered to picture him holding our child one day. He would make a great father.
I slid the coloring book and crayons in front of him so he could have his turn. She plopped down on his lap and picked her red crayon back up in
her little hand. I couldn’t stop smiling.
It was almost nine o’clock and way past Cami’s bedtime when Kelly announced that she had to say goodnight to everyone. She was so quiet
sitting on Ryan’s lap, minding her own business and just coloring that you barely realized she was there.
She started to cry when Kelly picked her up. Ryan gave her a little kiss on the cheek. I had to give her a hug; she demanded it.
“Goodnight, sweet Princess. I’ll see you soon, I promise,” I whispered to her. She kissed me on my cheek.
“I think I’m going to have to call Mike tonight before we leave,” Ryan said to Cal. He rubbed his forehead. I knew it bothered him to think about
calling for personal security.
I placed my hand on his arm. “Why don’t we just do a drive-by to see how bad it is first? If the crowd is too large I’m calling the police. We have
laws about loitering and I’m far from happy that my place was vandalized.”
“I heard about that,” Cal said. “Sorry to hear your window was broken.”
“Thanks. Fortunately I was able to get the window replaced immediately. The logo will be added back on the glass this week. One thing is for
sure, no matter where I live my house is going to have a security system. Just knowing I have that makes it easier to sleep at night.”
“Oh, yes, it’s a must,” Cal stated. “We have an intricate system wired in our new place in Malibu. Motion sensors and yard sensors; we have so
many sensors that I don’t even know what half of them do. Ryan, you’re going to need that and a bunch of mean rottweilers around your house.”
“I have to get the house first,” Ryan admitted. “I’ve been living out of a suitcase for so long now, I don’t know what it’s like to be home.”
“You should think about getting a place. You’re not going to be on the go forever,” Cal advised.
I noticed Ryan’s eyes flicker up to me and then he looked back at the coloring book, spinning it under his fingers. “I’ve been thinking about it a
lot, but I’m not sure where I want to settle just yet.”
“By a lake,” I murmured, putting the crayons back into the box.
“With a boat dock.” He smiled to himself.
“Surrounded by woods,” I added.
“Maybe grow some grapes.” I felt his foot tap mine under the table.
“Watch the leaves change colors from the deck.” I tapped him back.
“Big farm house… or maybe a really cool log home?” he mused, raising an eyebrow at me.
I shrugged. Either style suited me. “Stone fireplace in the living room.” I slid the coloring book out from under his fingers and paged through it
like a magazine.
“Maybe one in the master bedroom too?” he questioned, chewing on his thumb. “By the enormous tiled shower?”
“With the non-slip bathroom countertop?” I couldn’t hide my smile any longer.
Ryan grinned from ear to ear. “Big glass doors that open to the patio.”
“With another fireplace?”
“Right next to the gas grill outdoor kitchen,” he affirmed.
Cal looked like he was watching a tennis match. “Sounds like you two have all the details worked out. Now you just need to pick the colors and
the location!” He laughed.
“Cami is in bed.” Kelly sat back down at the table; her eyes glanced over all our faces. “Why is everyone smiling?”
“Ryan and Taryn just designed their dream home, I think. And it sounds like they have most of the details covered, which is good.” He tapped
Ryan in the arm. “It will save you a lot of arguments down the line, believe me.”
“What was that supposed to mean? We didn’t argue that much when we built our house.”
Cal countered her comment with a few eye rolls.
As much as I wanted to fantasize about it, in reality Ryan and I didn’t know each other long enough to talk about this kind of stuff. The last thing I
wanted to do was get my hopes up. Protect self, my subconscious told me. Think about something else… but what? Need a new topic. Please
someone think of something else to say.
I started to count backwards from one hundred in my mind, hoping that would help. Visions of waking up in Ryan’s arms every morning in our
beautiful lakeside home broke right through my number counting.
I felt the chain of my new necklace catch on my hair, sending a pinch of pain down my neck. I adjusted the chain to untangle it, ripping a few hairs
from my head in the process. I picked the pendant up in my hand and looked at it again; two beautiful hearts twined into one.
“That’s a very beautiful necklace you’re wearing,” Kelly stated.
“Thank you!” My smile quickly flashed over to Ryan.
“Are those real diamonds?” she asked upon closer inspection.
I looked at Ryan, perplexed. I never asked if they were diamonds; I just assumed.
Kelly noticed my gaze over at Ryan. A smile cracked on her face. “A gift?”
Ryan’s lips twitched and he nodded in confirmation.
“You have very good taste, Ryan!”
“Thank you. I was glad she liked it.”
“I love it!” I corrected.
“I got her diamond earrings too, but she won’t wear them.”