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.