Love Unscripted (51 page)

“
Look in the pantry, too. I hope I got the right chocolate chip cookies. You weren’t specific.”

“
Ah, look at this!” he said excitedly. “Just like home!” Ryan ripped open the cookie bag, shoving one in his mouth and palming one for later. “Did you have enough money?”

“
Your contribution was about half,” I muttered. I started washing the dishes.

“
Liar!” he breathed in my ear. Ryan turned the sink water on for me so I could rinse a plate.

I smiled. He was right, I was fibbing. I spent almost four hundred today getting all this stuff.

“
Maybe we can
bang
out the finer details later? Come to some mutual agreement?” I wondered aloud.

“
You want to negotiate the terms of our contract?”

“
Contract?” I questioned. “I didn’t realize I was under contract.”

“
Well of course you are. I’ve already signed on the dotted line back here.” He brushed my rear with his long fingers. “I’m locked in. It’s an iron-clad contract, by the way.”

“
Question? Is there a no competition clause written in this contract?”

“
Absolutely! There is no competition either. None.” He took the wet plate from my hand to dry it.

“
I’m not sure. There was quite a line forming today. All of them
so willing
to negotiate.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed on me. “Honey, in all seriousness, tell me. Did that, what happened tonight, bother you? Tell me the truth!”

“
No,” I answered immediately. “The fan appreciation didn’t bother me at all. What bothered me was some of the comments that were made. I mean I think it’s public knowledge why you’re holding court in my pub and why they all knew they could find you here. But when these girls are sitting on the other side of
my
bar, talking about wanting to have sex with you
right
in front of me, it’s a little aggravating. It’s sort of like a slap in the face,” I admitted. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“
I understand. I’d feel the same way if a bunch of guys were talking about you that way. But since
Seaside
, I’ve come to realize that this world is full of cruel, ruthless people – all ready to knock you down the minute you show the slightest bit of weakness.”

Ryan rubbed my arms. “I at least have a few years under my belt dealing with it. I know it’s all new to you and it’s going to affect you in many ways, just like it’s affected me. We need to be strong together. It’s you and me against the world, Honey.”

“
That sounds like it’s from a movie!” I joked.

“
Probably. But it doesn’t mean we can’t use the same line in our story.” He softly kissed my lips.

“
Are you going back to work?” He started digging in his bag when he asked.

“
Yeah. I told Marie I was going to have dinner with you and that I’d be back. What’s that?” He had a few blue colored papers in his hand.

“
It’s tomorrow’s call sheet. It’s like an agenda. What scenes we’re going to shoot, times, my lines… all of that fun stuff. I was going to go…” he motioned over his shoulder, “read.” He smiled impishly.

“
Do you want your love letters too?” I teased, knowing where he was headed.

“
Don’t you have a pub to run?” he groaned. His phone started to play some really cool music again. I could make out the words ‘home, home.’

“
My dad,” he answered my look.

“
Hey Dad, what’s up?” His smile disappeared. “What do you mean they cancelled your flight? Oh, so when are you coming then? Wait, let me write that down.” He motioned for a pen. I introduced him to the junk drawer.

Ryan wrote down Flight 1560 Newark 10:30 a.m. “I won’t be able to make it ‘cause I’m scheduled to be on set. You don’t need a rental car, just take a shuttle over to the hotel. Well, I was going to come to the airport to get you but I can’t do ten thirty, Dad. No, I haven’t been staying at the hotel.” He took a deep breath and looked at me.

“
I’ve been staying with Taryn. She’s willing to put up with me.” He smiled as he spoke. “Yes, she is a wonderful woman! You’ll see.

“
Dad, you and mom only need to stay at the Lexington Thursday and Friday... because we’re taking you somewhere for the weekend.”

I flagged his attention. “I can pick them up at the airport,” I mouthed.

He held one finger up for me to wait. “Dad, hang on.”

“
I can pick them up if they need a ride to the hotel. I don’t think there’s a shuttle from Providence all the way to Seaport.”

He covered his phone with his hand. “I was going to see if I could get one of the limo drivers to go get them. Hang on,” he groaned.

“
What Dad? I was going to see if I could get one of the set drivers to come get you but Taryn just offered to pick you up. No, she owns her own business, remember?” He talked over his phone to me. “Do you
mind
getting my parents at the airport?”

“
No, I don’t mind,” I answered him.

“
Lexington Hotel, Dad. That’s where you’ll be staying,” Ryan informed his father.

“
Why don’t your parents just stay here?” I suggested.

“
Here?” He contemplated, a dent formed in his brow.

“
Guestroom?” I pointed towards the hallway.

Ryan couldn’t wait any longer; he hurried out of the kitchen and I headed for my pub.

Most of the fanatics had vacated the bar by the time I returned. The crowd was thin and very manageable for Marie and Cory. There were maybe twenty women still lingering in the bar.

“
That was a smart thing Ryan did,” Marie stated. “After you both went upstairs, most of the women left. Look out front.”

I walked closer to the windows and looked outside. The sidewalks were surprisingly empty. There were a few greasy paparazzi still loitering, but the horde of women was gone. Apparently it was known that Ryan Christensen was
in
for the evening.

“
So what are your thoughts about managing the bar in my absence?” I wanted to make sure Marie was okay with me taking off for a few days, especially considering what happened tonight with his fans.

“
Tar, you haven’t had a vacation in years. This is a huge step! Go, have fun with him and his parents. Who knows, maybe you’ll come back married or something wonderful like that.”

“
Yeah, like that will happen!” I kidded. “But in all honesty, I have been thinking about stuff like that. This place has been my whole life. Now - not so much, you know.”

“
Your priorities have changed,” she stated.

“
Yeah, I’ll say!” I nervously admitted.

Marie pointed to the ceiling. “His schedule is so different. He’s going to expect you to travel and be with him wherever he is. And I tell ya, if I was you, I’d follow him
anywhere
!”

I smirked at her.

“
That’s not what I mean! Well, it is what I mean, but that’s beside the point. Before I knew him, I had this mental picture of him as a celebrity. But he’s more than that, I know that now. That’s why you’re head over heels in love with him. He’s just a really great guy! And it seems like he is ready to settle down with someone. He’s not playing the field, that’s for sure!”

“
Yeah, I’d have to agree… considering he sort of moved in with me yesterday,” I muttered, bracing myself for her reaction.

“
What?” Marie gasped from the shock.

“
We had his clothes delivered so we could get his laundry done and well, he asked me if he could stay with me.” I took another deep breath, anticipating her elation. “All of his stuff is upstairs now. That’s why he’s up there. He wants to stay here.”

“
Are you freaking kidding me?” She beamed in amazement and then pulled me in for a congratulatory hug while jumping up and down.

“
No! I’d never kid about that!” I whispered as we hugged. “That’s why I have a lot to think about, because
this pub
is what
I
do for a living.”

“
It’s not all you do,” she reminded.

“
I know, but it’s
my
primary income. I don’t want to be solely dependent on my husband’s income, even if he isn’t the one I end up marrying. I want to have a strong, equal part in this relationship. And I’m not going to repeat my mistakes and give up who I am. ”

“
You’ve been a shrewd businesswoman so far. I’m sure you’ll make smart choices.”

My pocket started to play Ryan’s ringtone.

“
Hey, what’s up? No, I’m not knocking on the door. Let me check.” I held the phone to my ear and rushed over to my stairwell. I was instantly pissed when I saw two girls at the top of my steps giggling and knocking on my apartment door.

“
Whoa! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I shouted, surprised to see them up there. They both looked at me like I was disturbing them.

“
This is Ryan Christensen’s apartment, right?” One of the tramps sneered at me.

“
No, that’s
my
home and private property! Get the hell away from my door!”

“
Jeez, what’s your problem?” one of them snipped. I was so tempted to run up the steps and come back down dragging her by the hair. “He’s in there, isn’t he?” she giggled, like she was in on the secret.

“
It doesn’t matter who is on the other side of that door! What gives you the right to think you could just barge on up there?” I snapped my phone shut. I just hung up on Ryan, but it didn’t matter; I knew he could hear me screaming at them through the door.

“
Relax! We just wanted to meet him; party a little.” The other girl shook her boobs at me.

Marie was standing behind me with my baseball bat in hand. I flipped my phone open again.

“
You have two seconds to get down here before I call the police. ONE…” Fortunately I didn’t have to count to two. “Collect your things and leave, now!”

“
Bitch!” the one girl mumbled on her way past me. I could not believe she actually had the audacity to call me a name!

“
Excuse me?” I snapped. “Step foot in my bar again and I’ll have you arrested for trespassing.” I slammed the door behind them. I turned to walk back to the bar, still fueled by the encounter.

“
Who’s next?” I said to Marie, but loud enough for the rest of the lingering women to hear. I was so mad I could have thrown them all out.

“
I need to get a lock,” I muttered, standing in front of my stairwell door. But what good would that do? Just one more key and one more speed bump to getting Ryan upstairs unnoticed. I walked into the kitchen and stared at the wall behind the useless counter. I tapped on the drywall, thinking about how I could move the entrance to my apartment. I hoped to one day have a simple home in the woods with my prince; no longer did I think about living above the bar for the rest of my life. If I ever wanted to rent the apartment out, the tenant would be bound to enter and exit during bar business hours.

I flipped open my cell phone and called Pete. Home renovation was what he did for a living and I knew he would have some suggestions. I unlocked my apartment door just as Pete answered. Ryan was relaxing on the couch, blue papers in one hand, television remote in the other, stripped down to comfy sweats and a T-shirt.

I sat down next to him and he put his arm around my shoulders when I finished my phone call. I leaned my head on his chest.

“
Taryn, this obviously isn’t a good idea. Maybe I should just stay at the hotel.”

I felt my happiness drain right out of my heart. “NO. Absolutely unacceptable.”

“
I knew this was gonna happen but I let it happen anyway. Me being here is causing a lot of trouble for you and your pub.”

He was feeling remorseful. I could hear it.

“
Ryan, it doesn’t matter where you are. Like you said, this stuff follows.” I sat up and looked him in the eyes. “I want a life with you, if you truly want a life with me. Your fans caught me off-guard today, but I can tell you it won’t happen again. I’ll be better prepared next time. I want you here with me, where I can protect you from the nonsense.”

“
Who’s going to protect you? Isn’t that
my
job?” He glared at me.

“
And what? Your solution is to stay away from me to protect me?” It wasn’t meant to be a question.

“
I
brought all of this to your fucking doorstep, Taryn! I did this!” Ryan argued, stabbing himself in the chest with his finger.

“
So what? You think I didn’t know that stuff like this could happen? I’m not some naïve, little girl who’s star struck and oblivious, Ryan! There is no way I’m going to allow you to feel guilty about shit you have no control over! I have to learn how to deal with your fame too! And I will!”

Ryan slumped back, defeated.

“
Do
you
really love me, or was that something that accidentally slipped out?” I asked.