by Reber, Tina
He leaned over to give me a kiss. Either he was a brilliant actor, or he was falling for me too. I hoped it was the latter.
I giggled lightly when he pulled my hand behind his back, causing me to get off balance and fall into him. He smiled at me and pressed his lips to mine. Ryan quickly let go of my hand and placed both of his hands on my neck – raising my face to his. His kiss was so passionate, I was totally lost in the feeling; so lost that I didn’t hear the roof door open.
I did, however, hear someone when they cleared their throat. Pete had escorted Cal and his wife to the roof. Suzanne and Francesca were directly behind them. The second we realized we weren’t alone, Ryan immediately let me go.
“My, aren’t you two cozy already,” Suzanne said in her British accent.
Ryan fired a dirty look in her direction. He ignored her and guided me over to Cal and his wife.
“Hey Cal!” Ryan shook his hand. “Taryn, I’d like to introduce you to Cal’s wife, Kelly. Kelly, this is Taryn - Taryn Mitchell. She is the owner of this beautiful establishment.”
I held out my hand to Kelly. I remembered seeing her many times on television, but she was even lovelier in person. She had straight blond hair, high cheekbones, and the type of smile that was infectious. I recalled she was only a year or two older than I was. We were about the same in height and close to the same size too.
“Hi Kelly, it’s very nice to meet you!”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Taryn!” She gave me a nice hug. “Oh wow! Cal, look at this view!” The sound of her voice was very familiar to me. I spent many years watching her show faithfully.
“Ryan and I were just appreciating the same thing before you arrived,” I said to her. I felt Ryan’s hand in the small of my back.
“This is magnificent, Taryn,” Cal agreed. I saw him look at Ryan and smile.
Kelly walked to the fireplace; I could see that she wanted a closer look. “Cal, this is what we should put in the corner of our patio. I want this!”
“It’s quite easy to build,” I explained. “I understand you have a young daughter? Something like this with the height would be safer for her. You can easily place a fire screen across the front.”
Kelly and I continued our discussion about the grill and bar area. She was very intrigued about the design.
“I actually sketched the design. I saw it in my head, the way I wanted it to be laid out, and then I had a local contractor build it all for me.”
“It’s beautiful! We’ll have to bring you to California and design one for us. We just built a new home in Malibu.”
It was very easy to talk to Kelly. She was very open and pleasant, and was the type of person I could see myself being good friends with.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Suzanne and Francesca slowly walking towards us. I didn’t want to be rude to the rest of our guests so I smiled in their general direction. Ryan and Cal were having a conversation about something that happened with one of the cameras on the set the other day, and I noticed that Ryan barely acknowledged the other girls’ presence.
I looked at the two actresses and gave them my best welcome smile.
“Hi!” I held out my hand to Suzanne. “I’m Taryn. Welcome to my home.” She barely took my fingers in hers and quickly shook my hand.
“I’m Suzanne,” she mumbled.
I got the distinct impression that I was supposed to acknowledge that she was famous and I was expected to already know who she was.
“It’s nice to meet you. And you must be Francesca,” I stated warmly, holding my hand out to her.
“Yes,” she said quickly, barely looking at me. Even though she only said one word I could still detect the French accent to her voice. She was as unpleasant to me as I had expected.
“I didn’t have an opportunity to meet you both when you were in my pub, but I’m glad that you came today.” There was no way I was going to be impolite, despite the less than warm reception I was getting in return.
I glanced over to Ryan, who gave me a smile and a nod. He was acknowledging my attempts at being cordial.
“Ladies, can I offer you a drink? We have a large variety of wines downstairs, or any other beverage you might prefer.” I was hoping they might follow me down to the bar. I did not want to be carrying drinks up and down the stairs all night.
Much to my dismay, Suzanne wrapped her coat across her chest and plopped her ass down in one of the chairs. “I’ll have a glass of white wine.”
Francesca sat down next to her. My wishes for them to return to the bar were in vain. While I was running downstairs I was going to make it worth the trip.
“Francesca, can I get you something to drink?” I asked nicely.
Before she responded, the rooftop door opened again and several new people joined us.
I recognized Shane Richards right away; he had come into the pub once before with Ryan and Cal. Next to him was a petite, twenty-something looking woman with short blond hair and another man who was lanky with too much gel in his brown hair.
Ryan came to my side and he was smiling at our new guests.
“Hey everyone!” the young woman said. “Hey Ryan!” She came right over to us.
I didn’t know who she was, but it didn’t matter. She was all aglow and looking like she wanted to have a good time, not like the other two who were glaring at me from their perches.
“Taryn, this is Kathleen Jarrett. She plays my wicked little assistant in our film.” He smiled and gave her a teasing arm hug around her neck. “Kat, this is Taryn.”
“Hey Taryn!” Kathleen greeted me. I held my hand out to her but instead she gave me a hug. “It’s nice to finally meet you!”
“It’s nice to meet you too!” I said while hugging her back. I was curious as to what she meant by ‘finally;’ I looked over at Ryan, slightly confused. He was just smiling.
“Ryan has told me a lot about you,” she whispered in my ear. “I’m just so glad to see him happy.”
“Taryn, this is Ben… Ben Harrison.” Kathleen motioned to the man next to her.
“Hi Ben. It’s nice to meet you.” I held out my hand, but the way Kathleen was bobbing around, I wondered if she would pull us all in for a group hug. I was relieved when Ben shook my hand instead.
Ryan leaned over and whispered in my ear. “I’m allowed to tell you that they are together, even though their characters are mortal enemies. I told Kat that you’re very trustworthy.”
His eyes flashed to look at Kat, but she was just smiling and bouncing with happiness.
“They’ve been seeing each other for a while, but it’s not public knowledge. They’d prefer if the public stays out of their private life.”
“I completely understand,” I replied. Apparently Ryan had been sharing his private life details with her. It didn’t matter; she looked like she was trustworthy too.
“Ryan, do you think we can get everyone back down into the pub for a minute? That way I can get everyone drinks and we can start eating soon.” I was also thinking about my friends, who were noticeably absent from the rooftop gathering.
Ryan made an announcement and ushered everyone towards the door. I was relieved that he took charge. I didn’t want to offend anyone, especially the two that were still glaring at me. The more they glared, the less I wanted to wait on them hand and foot.
Kelly and Kat stopped as we proceeded through my apartment.
“What do you guys think?” Ryan asked them, looking around at my apartment.
“This is a really cool apartment,” Kat said excitedly. “It’s huge!”
Ryan took them for a quick tour and stopped in my kitchen. I was surprised that it made such an impression on him.
“Taryn designed it,” he stated proudly.
I was glad that the rest of the group went downstairs. I could only imagine Suzanne rolling her eyes at Ryan’s comments.
“I love the stove,” Ryan added. “There are enough burners on this thing to make a meal for forty peop
le.”
“Maybe one day I’ll know forty people to cook for,” I joked. “Speaking of cooking… why don’t we all go downstairs for a drink, and then I can get the steaks on the grill.”
Suzanne and Francesca were sitting at the big, round table. I noticed that they were wearing almost the same look in clothing. Both had designer T-shirts on and their sneakers were the same, but in different colors. I wondered who was copying whom.
As I looked around at the cast, I could easily see whom Ryan got along with and who presented a challenge. I wondered, besides the obvious look of her, what attracted Ryan to Francesca. She looked like a model, but she seemed to have the personality of a rock. I didn’t get the appeal; unless at the time of his moment of weakness he was drunk or just so hard up that he wasn’t looking for a hole with a personality.
Suzanne looked bored. Francesca on the other hand was sitting there taking mental notes. I could sense her wheels were turning. When Suzanne got up to use the restroom, Francesca trailed behind her.
I set out two bottles of opened wine on the end of the buffet table when I heard the two girls coming out of the bathroom.
“Didn’t take him long to get some in this town,” Suzanne said coldly. “Guess this one is the new flavor of the month.” Her eyes looked me up and down when she noticed me standing there.
I didn’t move. I just stood there with my arms crossed. The battle lines were being drawn right before my eyes and the evening was still young.
“Don’t let them get to you,” Kelly said as she made a small platter of finger foods behind me. “They’re threatened by you,” she mentioned casually.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered to her. “I don’t even know them.”
“You’re taking Ryan off the eligible bachelors’ list and they’re jealous. Those two have had issues with every girl he speaks to. Ryan is a nice guy; he talks to everybody.”
Kelly took a moment to eat a seafood puff. “It’s weird; they act like they have some kind of ownership over him. I’ll be glad once this third movie is done; then we’ll be rid of them.” She smiled at me, like we were in on some secret joke together.
“I didn’t know what I had done to offend them,” I uttered.
“You captured Ryan’s attention. That was enough.” Kelly giggled.
After she sampled another bite of food, her facial expression turned serious. “So, how did you and Ryan meet?”
I wasn’t prepared to answer that question to anyone. I didn’t know what to say.
“I would prefer if you asked Ryan that question,” I politely requested.
“Very good,” she replied. “You’re a quick learner!” Kelly fired another question at me. “Are you dating him?”
“No. I’m not dating anyone,” I responded. My answer wasn’t altogether a lie. In reality, he had yet to take me on a date. Our relationship was anything but conventional.
“I like you! He made a good choice.” Kelly put her hand on my shoulder. “Being involved with a celebrity has its own set of challenges. He needs to know that you can stand on your own while standing by his side. You need to be strong and not let the gossip and trivial actress egos get to you.”
“Is this all a test?” I asked her point blank, my eyes looking around the room. I poured myself a glass of wine to calm my nerves.
“No, this is a party.” She laughed at my worried look. “But it is a good start. You could consider this to be more like dipping your toes in the water.”
We moved further away from the buffet table to continue our discussion in private.
“I’ve known Ryan for almost two years now.” Kelly smiled to herself, like something she thought of amused her. “Let’s just say he’s very taken with you. I’ve never seen him like this with anyone.”
I took a sip of wine and moved closer to her. I wanted to know what she knew.
“Taryn, he’s very worried about you and how you’ll cope with being in our world. Ryan is very sensitive. He’s having a hard time coping himself. He’s not comfortable with all the attention one garners as a celebrity.” She paused to let Francesca pass us.
“You can’t be the star of a major motion picture and not be in the spotlight, and this movie has surely thrown him into the spotlight! He’s learning how to handle being famous. If you want to be in a relationship with him, you’re going to have to learn with him.”
She nodded her chin in his direction. “That right there is who he really is. But outside that door,” her eyes flashed to my front door, “photographers are waiting on your sidewalk.”
“I know. I wish they would leave all of you alone, especially him.” Ryan and I were looking at each other from across the room. I wanted to run to him and wrap my arms around him in a protective embrace.
“I told him I would help.” She smiled, noticing his glance. “I want to see him happy, and you seem to make him very happy.” She patted me on the back.
Ryan made his way over to me; he was smiling that sexy grin the whole way.
“Hey,” he whispered out. “How are you ladies doing?”
“Oh, you know. We’re just standing here talking about you.” Kelly laughed lightly. She was fearless.
“I sort of figured!” Ryan retorted, running his free hand over my upper arm.
I looked at him, amused. I had been so paranoid, avoiding saying things about him to my friends, but here he’d been talking about me to his friends all along. I surmised that he had shared his thoughts about me with a few people in this room.
“You have anything good to say?” he asked me.
I just smiled and shook my head to indicate my answer. “I’m sorry. I don’t think we’ve ever met. Who are you?”
My words made Kelly laugh out loud. Ryan, on the other hand, pulled me in for a teasing headlock.
“I think I’ll have to refresh your memory later,” he growled in my ear.
“Promise?” I laughed.
“Cross my heart!” He grinned.
I heard his stomach groan while he was wrestling with me. “I think I need to get those steaks on the grill,” I said between laughing.
“Yes. I’m starving,” Ryan agreed.
“Kelly, would you excuse me please. I look forward to talking more with you, but…” I patted Ryan’s stomach. “Right now I need to prepare your meal.”
Ryan followed me to my kitchen and, as promised, he helped me carry all the steaks up to the patio. I opened one of the stainless steel drawers by the grill and retrieved my utensils and my large cast iron kettle.
“See the hook over there in the fireplace? Would you hang this kettle there for me, please?”
“Sure, but you have to kiss me first.” He smiled as he leaned over. His kiss was brief but persuasive.
When he stepped back to me, he wrapped his arms around my waist.
“What’s the timer for?” he whispered on my neck.
It was going to be difficult to grill fifteen steaks with his body pressed into my back like that. He swept my hair to one side, seductively kissing the nape of my neck.
“Grilling is a precision art,” I giggled. Ryan’s warm lips had found my earlobe.
“You know you’re driving me insane,” I whispered.
“No, I believe you are driving me insane,” he uttered seductively.
“Are you here to learn or to distract me?” I grumbled.
“Sorry, sorry. Here to help.” His hands let go of my hips.
I turned quickly to face him and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. He responded immediately, holding me tightly. Apparently he was hungrier for me more than the steak.
I had just slipped my hands into his back pockets when I heard the rooftop door slam and a female voice groan out loud. Ryan released me and I turned to see Suzanne and Francesca walking our way.
“Great,” I murmured, loud enough for only Ryan to hear.
“Are you rehearsing again, Ryan?” Suzanne chided as she slumped back down in one of the chai
rs at the table.
“I don’t think so,” he answered coldly. “But if you have a problem with it, you can go back downstairs.”
“Oh, don’t be so defensive. I just came up here to tell you that Cal is looking for you,” Suzanne huffed while looking at her fingernails.
“Cal can wait. If he needs me, he knows exactly where to find me.”
A smile broke on my lips. When the timer buzzed, I lifted the grill cover to flip the steaks.
“The trick is to grill the meat for three minutes on each side, then you let it rest for three minutes, and then you repeat the process.” I looked up into his eyes. “Would you please bring the cast iron pot over from the fire? It should be hot now. Here, take this heavy glove so you don’t burn yourself.”
“Sure! No problem!” he said cheerfully while sliding his hand across my rear.
I’m sure the sourpuss twins saw that gesture; I heard one of them scoff. I placed the first round of steaks in the hot iron pot and covered them with the lid. I had just set the second layer of steaks on the grill when Marie came through the door.
“Ryan, the guys are playing darts and they want you to even out the teams,” Marie stated. Her face was twisted in confusion as she looked at the two sitting at the table.
“Nah, I’m staying with Taryn,” he quickly replied.
I saw his eyes flicker over to Suzanne. I supposed he thought I needed his protection.
I touched his cheek. “It’s okay. I have this.” I smiled. “Go have fun with the boys. Marie will keep me company.” I gave him my devilish grin to let him know I wouldn’t be taking any of their crap.
“Are you sure?” he whispered. I knew he would stay if I asked him to.
“It’s okay,” I reassured him.
He leaned over to whisper in my ear. “Don’t take any of their shit.”
I smiled. He and I were on the same wavelength.
“I didn’t intend to.”
Marie was with me now; I had reason to just ignore them.
“That a girl! I’ll see you in a bit.” He gave me a quick kiss and a pat on the butt.
Ryan gave Marie a squeeze on her shoulder in passing. “Play nice ladies,” he said, looking back at the table.