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

“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.”