Love Unscripted

  “What?” Ryan looked totally confused. “So all that crap about the wardrobe and then you sent me to the makeup trailer – that was all bullshit?”

  Kenneth grinned and nodded.

  “I spent two hours sitting in that chair! Two hours while Mia painted me!” Ryan yelled in jest.

  I started laughing and pointed over to the poolroom where Mia, the makeup artist who stalled him, was standing.

  “Hey, I had to get you off the set somehow!” Kenneth laughed.

  “Were you in on this too?” Ryan looked at me. His eyes questioned my participation.

  “In on it?” Kenneth chortled. “She orchestrated it!”

  “Hey I’m not taking all the credit!” I defended. “I had a lot of willing accomplices. Everyone standing in this room was in on it.”

  Cory and I handed out champagne glasses to everyone.

  Pete tapped a spoon on his glass to get everyone’s attention. He raised his glass in the air to make a toast.

  “Here’s to Ryan… A great man and a great friend! May you be blessed with great health! No, wait,” he paused. “I don’t think you need that. You are pretty healthy.” He squeezed Ryan’s biceps. His eyes scrunched together to ponder his next statement.

  “Well then, how about… To Ryan, may you be blessed with great wealth! No, come to think of it, you are pretty filthy-stinkin’ rich too!”

  Ryan started to chuckle. He looked slightly embarrassed.

  “I’ve got it…I’ve got it. Ryan, for your birthday, may you be blessed with the love of a great woman! Wait! Shit! You already have that too!” Pete pointed a finger at me.

  “Well, what the hell?” Pete whined, faking his disgust.

  Everyone laughed at Pete’s toast.

  Pete looked at the many faces in the pub, waived his glass in the air and said, “to Ryan, may you get so drunk tonight that you puke all over yourself, you lucky bastard!”

  “Here, here!” Our friends raised their glasses.

  Ryan took me by the hand and we mingled with our guests. He was anxious to talk with Matt and Scott since he rarely got to see them.

  “Ryan, this is my girlfriend, Laura,” Matt said.

  Laura reached out and shook Ryan’s hand. I was curious to see how she would react and I was so relieved when she maintained her composure. The last thing I wanted was a giggling fan sleeping in the room next to ours tonight.

  “Man, where are all the single women?” Scott was looking around the pub. “You call this a party?” he teased Ryan.

  “Laura, why don’t you come with me. We’ll let the boys catch up.” I patted Ryan on his back and headed over towards my friends.

  “So, you’re really dating Ryan Christensen, huh?” Laura asked. I misjudged… maybe she was a fan after all?

  “So, you’re really dating his best friend, huh?” I smiled at her.

  “Yeah, I guess I am!” Laura realized aloud.

  “Did you see his movie?” I asked, half expecting her answer.

  “Yep,” she nodded and continued quietly, “but between you and me, I don’t get what all the excitement is about.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” Kelly asked.

  I kept Laura’s comment to myself and introduced her to everyone instead.

  “Ryan said you’re coming out to L.A. with him in December,” Kelly stated happily. “We’ll have so much fun!”

  “Kelly…” I motioned with my head so I could speak to her privately. “I need to get a dress for the party. Do you think you can help me find something appropriate before you leave for California?” I thought about the one and only formal wear shop that I knew of, which was halfway between Seaport and Providence. That would be my hunting grounds.

  “Why don’t we shop for a dress when you come out to L.A.? What better place to find a designer dress,” Kelly retorted.

  “I don’t need a designer dress, I just want to look nice.”

  “You’ll be photographed on the arm of Ryan Christensen. You need a designer dress,” she insisted. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you look absolutely gorgeous!”

  I glanced over towards the bar and noticed a pack of guys around Ryan. They were all doing shots again.

  “Ben, Kenneth… get over here!” Ryan yelled exuberantly.

  “He is going to puke tonight if he keeps that up!” Marie laughed.

  “He won’t be alone.” I raised my eyebrows, nodding my head in Ryan’s direction. “All of our men are over there doing shots. Good thing none of them are driving tonight.”

  “Where did you get the cute bartender, Taryn?” Kat asked.

  My eyes flashed back over to the bar. “That’s Cory. I hired him to work weekends, although it’s turning out to be almost a full time job for him now. Marie and I thought Ryan’s fans would appreciate looking at something other than us. And to tell you the truth, it’s comforting to have a man working here. The scary fan adoration hasn’t stopped.”

  “Speaking of scary, where are the psycho twins?” Marie asked, noting that Suzanne and Francesca were absent.

  “Don’t know, don’t really care!” I admitted.

  “We should get everyone eating,” Tammy advised. I helped her uncover all of the hot chaffing dishes. Soon a long line formed for hot food.

  Ryan butted in line behind me. He wrapped one arm across my chest and whispered in my ear, “Thank you for my party! You really got me good!” His free hand patted my rear.

  Mike, Ryan’s personal guard walked up to us while we were in line.

  “Guess you’re not driving us to dinner tonight, you lying S.O.B.!” Ryan teased.

  “Not tonight. I’m just a guest. But I do need to talk to you.” His tone became serious. “I just got a call from Suzanne’s driver; she and Francesca are on their way. And just so you know, they spent some quality time in the hotel bar before requesting to be driven here.”

  Ryan dropped his forehead onto my shoulder. I knew he was stuck in a no-win situation.

  I tenderly patted his hand that rested on my chest. “That’s all right. They can come – after all they were invited. Things are different now.”

  Ryan breathed out hard on my neck. I could smell the whiskey and beer mixed in with his anxiety.

  While Ryan and I made our plates of food, thoughts of Mike’s dedicated service to Ryan filled my mind. “Ryan, who does Mike work for?”

  Ryan piled some shrimp on his plate. “He works for a company called PSG. I think it stands for Protection Services Group or something like that. The studio hired them. Why do you ask?”

  “Is this the first time he’s working for you?”

  “Yeah. He was assigned to me when we got here. It’s the same company Kyle works for. I guess they are global or something.”

  We sat down at the table to eat. He looked at me, waiting for me to continue.

  “He is just really dedicated to you. And you seem to have a great relationship with him. I was just wondering how long he’s been protecting you.”

  “It’s funny you mention that. I’ve already talked to Mike about working for me.” Ryan patted me on my thigh and shrugged. “Everywhere I go I get new people hovering around me. It’s hard to feel safe when you don’t know or trust the people who are supposed to protect you. I wish I didn’t need it.” He rubbed his forehead.

  “Well, I like the way Mike takes care of you. It would make me feel better to know someone like that was guarding you full time.”

  “Yeah, I agree.” Ryan stroked my hair. “I’ll see what I can do about it.”

  Frank and the rest of the “Being Frank” band started their first set on the stage. I had the volume on the sound system turned down so the music would still rock but we wouldn’t need to yell at each other to hold a conversation.

  “You even hired a band?” Ryan asked in between taking bites of food. He kept shaking his head.

  I smiled at him while I was still chewing. “Happy Birthday, Honey!”

&nb
sp; “And you gave me shit when I bought you earrings.” He pursed his lips. “And then you go and do something like this.” He looked at me with a serious expression, even though I knew he was teasing. “I’m gonna buy you really big freaking diamonds now, just to piss you off.”

  His absurd comment made me roll my eyes. I placed my hand on his cheek and gave him a quick kiss. “Don’t you dare! I don’t want big freaking diamonds. I just want you.”

  Ryan abruptly pulled my chair closer and straddled his legs around it. He was gazing at me intently, so I put my fork down and gave him my full attention. He slid his hand across my back and took my chin in his fingers. His eyes flashed to look at my lips before he kissed me.

  “I love you,” he murmured. “Never doubt that.”

  “Happy Birthday, Ryan,” Suzanne shouted, rudely interrupting our moment. She was slurring her words while she tried to awkwardly hug him. “We weren’t sure if we were going to make it here tonight.”

  Ryan barely turned around to thank them for coming. He nicely suggested they get some food instead of drinking.

  “Hey, who’s the hot blonde?” Scott asked Ryan in passing.

  “You like that?” Ryan teased him. “Go, have at it. Best of luck to ya.” Scott eagerly ran off in Suzanne’s direction.

  I laughed, watching Scott follow Suzanne like a desperate dog. I was still mulling over Scott’s reaction towards Suzanne when I noticed Kyle standing by the door. He was talking to Mike and he already had a beer in his hand. I was surprised that I missed his arrival. I hadn’t expected him to show up.

  Ryan did a double take when he turned to see what I was looking at.

  “What’s Kyle doing here?” The way Ryan said it, I knew he was irritated by Kyle’s presence.

  “I invited him,” I informed. My words sounded more like a confession.

  Ryan glared at me.

  “I’ve been planning your party for a few weeks, hun,” I admitted. “I invited him when he was still working for us.”

  “Hey Ryan, Happy Birthday!” Kyle held out his hand. I could see the hint of a challenge by his gesture.

  “Kyle,” Ryan said flatly and shook his hand. I watched as both of them put extra effort into how hard they squeezed each other’s hand.

  “Taryn, do you think I could talk to you for a sec?” Kyle motioned for me to follow.

  “Where are you going?” Ryan asked, glowering at me.

  “I don’t know. He wants to talk to me. I’m going over there,” I replied, wondering what his new biting tone was all about.

  “Hey!” Kyle breathed out. “So, how are you?”

  “I’m good, thanks!” I tried to be friendly without appearing overly excited to see him. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine. I’ve just been thinking about you. I’ve been a little worried about you, actually. We really didn’t get to talk much after the court hearing.” Kyle’s eyes flashed over to Ryan, who was leaning on the bar staring at us.

  “I was hoping that the incident and the court proceedings didn’t shake you up too much. So, you’ve been doing all right since then?” he asked, focusing all of his attention back to me.

  Kyle was ignoring Ryan’s glare. I, however, could feel Ryan’s eyes burning holes in my back. I knew Ryan was a little intimidated by Kyle, but still he had no reason to be so jealous.

  “I’m fine,” I said casually. “It was quite a traumatic experience, but I’m glad to say that I haven’t had any nightmares from it. Thanks again for being there. I felt very safe when you were around,” I said, trying to give him a compliment. “I appreciate you protecting Ryan and me.”

  “Yeah, sure. It’s my job,” he said with a dismissive tone. “Any other fans causing problems for you?”

  “No, but the bar business has surely picked up,” I willingly admitted. “I have a doorman on post every night now.”

  Kyle laughed. “Yeah, the sidewalk out there is filled with disappointment. The fans are heartbroken that you’re closed to the public tonight.”

  “Are there a lot out there?” I craned my neck to see if bodies were visible on the other side of my front window.

  “Pretty many. They’re holding their Obsession Club group meeting,” he snorted.

  “Great! Next thing you know they’ll be organizing fund raisers and selling raffle tickets.”

  “I wonder if they’ll be selling cookies?” Kyle joked. “I really like those chocolate mint ones. They’re good to dip in milk.”

  “I guess they can count on your support then, huh?” I teased. “You’re probably good for two or three boxes, right?”

  “Sure! Why not? I mean it seems like a worthwhile cause.” He grinned.

  I smirked at his tiny dig on Ryan.

  “That band up there is really rocking!” Kyle stated enthusiastically. He was tapping his fingers on his beer bottle. “This is a really nice party you put together.”

  “Thanks! It was a little tricky, but I guess I pulled it off.” I glanced around at the large gathering. My pub was packed; everyone seemed to be having a good time.

  “You know, my birthday is in April. Feel free to throw me a party like this.” Kyle bumped me with his elbow as he took a sip of his beer.

  “So are you here with a date?” I asked, looking around for a stray woman.

  “No,” he stated uncomfortably. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I was just wondering why someone, like you, doesn’t have a girlfriend, that’s all.”

  He looked at me like my question was ridiculous.

  “Don’t make that face at me!” I teased. “So?”

  “I don’t know,” Kyle groaned. “Maybe I’m too shy?”

  I scoffed. “Yeah right! I don’t think that’s a problem for you.”

  “Maybe I’m too picky,” he added, taking another sip of his beer. “It’s hard to find the complete package these days.”

  “Well, write down your list of requirements; I’m sure there is a girl or two out there on the sidewalk that comes close,” I jeered.

  “Nah. I don’t have to walk that far to find what I’ve been looking for,” he stated directly as he looked me in the eyes.

  I was just about to make a witty comeback when Kyle’s smile vanished.

  I felt a hand slip around my elbow; Ryan was reclaiming me.

  “Taryn… Honey, there are some people I want to introduce you to, if you’re finished with your conversation here?” Ryan inquired. The tone of his comment clearly indicated I was to end my conversation - now.

  I was enjoying talking to Kyle, but apparently Ryan’s tolerance had reached its limit.

  “I guess I’ll talk to you later,” Kyle said, slightly irritated. He tried to appear unaffected by Ryan’s attitude, but the anger and resentment was evident.

  “Excuse me, Kyle. Please, enjoy the party.” I gently smiled, trying to hide my embarrassment.

  Ryan took my hand and pulled me along through the crowd. He was towing me towards the poolroom, but I yanked him towards the empty space by the kitchen door instead.

  “What?” Ryan’s tone was curt.

  “What’s the problem, Honey?” I asked sweetly, curbing the anger that was starting to swell. It was time for us to have this discussion. I let it go when he first dismissed Kyle from our security detail but this jealous attitude needed to stop.

  “What do you mean?” His eyes scrunched together, looking at me like he didn’t understand my question.

  “I was just talking to him. I don’t understand why you’re being like this,” I whispered, thinking he didn’t trust me.

  “I don’t like the way he looks at you, all right?” he growled.

  “I don’t get it. How does he look at me, Ryan?” He was being ridiculous.

  He scoffed at me, like I was missing the point. “What? You don’t see it? I’m pretty sure you know when you’re getting hit on, Taryn.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Please,” I chided.

  “I just don’t want you to ac
cidentally give him the wrong impression, that’s all,” he said calmly.

  I sighed heavily. “Ryan, I love you. There is no reason for you to distrust me.”

  “I trust you, but I don’t trust him.” Ryan nodded his chin in Kyle’s direction.

  When I looked over my shoulder, Kyle had a cocky smile on his face and he raised his beer bottle in the air to acknowledge us.

  “You worry over nothing,” I groaned. “Now can we go back to having a good time?”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Ryan muttered. “I’m sorry.”

  “Just shut up and kiss me, you fool!” I teased, slipping my fingers over the edge of the front pockets of his jeans.

  “There he is!” Tammy shouted. She hurried over to where we stood. She grabbed one of Ryan’s arms; Marie forcefully removed his other arm from around my waist.

  “Time to blow out your candles, Birthday Boy!” Marie announced as they hauled him off to the food table. Tammy had baked an enormous birthday cake and we all sang to Ryan before he blew the candles out.

  Everyone was having a great time; people were dancing, shooting pool, and playing darts. Ryan’s friends were attempting to get him wasted but he reached a point where he refused to do any more shots.

  I did the proper girlfriend thing and stayed away from Kyle as much as possible, even though he did try to talk to me several times.

  I noticed that Suzanne and Francesca sat at the bar all night. Cory was leaning across the bar, flirting tough with Francesca. He even got away with touching her hair a few times. She was smiling and pretending to be shy, but she was definitely engaging Cory’s advances.

  Scott and Suzanne were hitting it off tremendously. She was touching him, squeezing his arm muscles, and laughing at everything he said. Despite outward appearances, she still knew where Ryan was at all times.

  It was getting late and many of our guests had already left.

  “Do you mind if I take off?” Cory asked, his eyes slid over in Francesca’s direction. Suzanne and Scott were practically wrestling with each other; they couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. Francesca stood by the door, waiting impatiently and staring at Cory while he talked to me.