I sighed. “One very expensive present was more than enough.” My eyes locked on the coloring book; I wasn’t used to having a man buy me
jewelry, or anything else for that matter.
I heard Ryan scoff. “Get used to it,” he stated directly.
Kelly patted me on the arm. I think for a moment she understood.
“No, I’ll never get used to it,” I whispered out. “I will always appreciate your kindness and generosity, and never take it for granted.” I hoped he
could see the truth of my words in my eyes.
“Do you have a sister, Taryn? Because I have a brother that’s single,” Cal joked.
“No, I’m sorry Cal, I don’t.” I didn’t understand why he said that. Were all women perceived as gold diggers?
I jumped slightly when I felt someone touch my rear. I looked behind me to see Cami in her pajamas with a stuffed bunny under her arm.
“I thought you were sleeping?” I said to her, pulling her onto my lap.
“Cami! It’s bedtime, young lady!” Kelly was upset.
“Tawyn, you weed to me?” She rubbed her eye with her little hand. Her soft plea warmed my heart.
“Sure.” I stood up but Kelly tried to relieve me of her. “It’s okay. Can I put her to bed?”
Although she was four, she was so light to carry - such a petite little thing. I could see why she had a hard time staying asleep; her bedroom was
obviously not her bedroom. There were nets, shells, and seahorses hanging from the corner. This was nothing more than a strange guest room in a
rental beach house, not a room for a little princess.
I read The Little Mermaid book under the soft light of her nightlight, using my best voices to pretend to be the different characters. She liked my
Ariel voice the best. I watched as her little mouth formed into gentle O’s when she yawned. Her big blue eyes were getting heavy. I closed the book
and softly stroked her long, blond ringlets while quietly singing a few lullabies.
Ryan popped his head around the door, watching me as I sat on the floor singing to the little girl. Her eyes closed, and in an instant she was
sound asleep. I stared at her for a few moments; she was absolutely adorable.
Ryan was blocking the space in the doorway; his body was backlit by the little nightlight in the wall outside Cami’s room. I looked at him and
smiled.
He stepped in front of me and slid his hand around my waist, drawing me into his chest. His other hand slowly slipped across my jaw and
stopped at the back of my neck; with the slightest bit of force he pulled me in to kiss me.
This kissing was different. Maybe it was my perception, but it wasn’t the ‘slide my tongue around in your mouth I’m so hot for you’ kind of kiss. It
was more tender, personal, and loving.
Kelly was leaning over the dining table, slicing some kind of chocolate dessert coated with a white whipped topping. “Is our daughter finally
sleeping?”
“Yes, she’s sound asleep.”
“Taryn sang to her.” Ryan took my hand in his under the table.
“Well, I think you two are going to make wonderful parents one day - when you’re ready. Cami really surprised me tonight. She never goes off
with people she’s unfamiliar with. But you,” Kelly mused and slid a piece of pie in front of me, “she loved you instantly.”
Her comment made me smile. I was quite taken with the little girl myself. I felt Ryan’s hand squeeze mine.
“She’s absolutely adorable, Kelly. One day, perhaps.” Change the subject, Taryn.
“Kelly, I’ve been meaning to ask you a question. When you were on Just Neighbors there was a character - his name was Kip?”
“Yes, Kip. That was Jesse Oberly who played him.”
“What ever happened to him? I was surprised when he was killed off. I’m sorry for bringing it up, but when I see you, I think of him and wonder
why he died on the show. Did he make someone angry and get fired?”
“No, Jesse left on his own. Actually I just spoke to him and his wife a couple of weeks ago. He has a ranch in Tennessee now where he breeds
and trains racehorses. He’s never been happier. One day he had a meeting with the producer and said he wanted out. He only signed on for one
season, and when his contract was fulfilled, the writers had his character die. More drama that way.”
“Why did he want to leave? His character was so popular,” I asked, sampling my slice of pie.
“He wasn’t happy. He was a brilliant actor; very natural in front of the cameras. But he didn’t like all the attention or the invasion of his privacy.
Kind of reminds me of someone else we know?” She looked at Ryan.
“Kelly, they post on the Internet where I’m having dinner for God’s sake. The attention I can handle; the obsessive crap is something altogether
different,” Ryan defended.
“No, I understand. When my show first aired, our cast went through something similar. We were followed and reported on, and of course we
were all sleeping with each other too! I think in one week it was reported that I slept with four different actors from the show. While I was in the
makeup trailer, supposedly I was getting lucky at the same time! One of the magazines reported that I had a weeklong affair with this one actor
when in reality I was at home with the flu. Cal knows. We had just started seeing each other.”
“So how do the magazines get away with printing all the lies? Can’t you sue or something?” I asked.
“I wish. It’s the lies that sell the magazines,” Kelly uttered sadly. “The bigger the lie, the more money they make. And if they get some racy
pictures too – that could turn a hefty profit for the photographer.”
“We had our picture taken a lot tonight,” I murmured. Ryan squeezed my hand again.
“Just be prepared, Sweetheart. Those pictures of us are going to be all over the tabloids, Internet, you name it. There’s going to be outlandish
captions under those pictures too, like when we both cleared off your windshield? If you moved your arm too fast to sweep one of the papers off,
they’ll print that you were having a jealous fit.” He rubbed his forehead. “Just don’t read them.”
He looked me in the eyes. “Remember what I told you when we were fishing? You can’t believe anything you hear, read, or see. If something
needs to be clarified for the public, I have a Publicist.”
“Can I ask a stupid question? Are you even allowed to have a girlfriend while doing these Seaside movies?” I felt dumb just for asking, but after
what Suzanne said I wanted to know.
Ryan looked at me like I was crazy. “What?” he asked.
“Are you under some contract or anything that says you’re not allowed to be seen in public with a girlfriend?”
“No.” He shook his head and squinted at me. “Where would you get an idea like that?”
“Something Suzanne said.” I shrugged.
“What did she say?”
“She said that the studio executives will be upset once they discover you’re seeing me - that they wouldn’t allow it.”
Ryan abruptly sat forward; the legs of his chair squeaked on the tiled floor. “She said what?” His eyes were wide.
“She said exactly what I just said, and also that if you stay single, your fan base will be higher and your movies will make more money. But if the
public knows you’re involved with someone, you may lose fans, your movies won’t make as much money, and the studio executives won’t allow that
to happen.”
“Is this another reason why you were so upset last Sunday? Because of these lies?” Ryan asked.
“Well, it was part of it. Suzanne made it seem like some studio executive was going to break us up first.”
Kelly gasped.
“That’s completely absurd!” he muttered. “They can’t do that.” He looked at Cal for reassurance. Cal didn’t say a word; his head was swaying
back and forth in disbelief.