“Francesca and Suzanne are planning on coming here tonight,” Cory quietly informed me. “I hope you don’t mind.”

I shrugged and shook my head. It didn’t bother me, as long as Fran wasn’t here to see Ryan. But I was wise enough to know things like this could have powerful ripple effects.

“Cory, I’m not going to tell you what you can and cannot do, but you do realize that Fran is a celebrity. I hope you keep your private activities with her private and discreet. Understand?”

“Yeah, I understand. I know what I’ve gotten myself into. Don’t worry, I’m not going to be like that guy and announce stuff to the world.” He nodded his head in Scott’s direction. “Francesca is sweet and I’d never do that to her. But I would like to see her again. And she wants to see me too, so…” Cory shrugged.

“Just keep it private. That’s all I ask. We’re all under the microscope now,” I stressed my point.

“I will. Hey, sorry I can’t stay to help clean up. I’ve got to get some sleep. I’ll see you at four,” Cory said, putting his sunglasses back on. “Oh, and before I forget, I already talked to my roommate. He’ll cover the door tonight.”

“Did Cory leave?” Ryan asked me a few moments later.

I nodded.

“Damn. I wanted to talk to him too.”

I whispered to Ryan. “I talked to him. I reminded him to keep his personal business private and discreet. You may want to talk with Matt and Laura about confidentiality as well.”

“I already did.” A tiny smile cracked on his lips.

The early afternoon flew by quickly. It took us several hours to clean up the mess and I mopped all the floors and even cleaned the bathrooms.

Ryan suggested several times that I hire a company to clean the bar every day but I was used to taking care of the grunt work on my own.

Scott passed out in the guestroom upstairs; guess he didn’t sleep much last night either. Ryan, Matt, and Laura were lounging in the living room, watching television. I logged on to the Internet.

“What are you doing, Honey?” Ryan’s tone indicated his disappointment.

“Checking up on things.”

“Why are you looking?” he groaned, concerned.

I flashed my eyes up to him and kept my reply quiet. “Because your public image is my concern too. Before I forget to tell you, Francesca and Suzanne are coming tonight. We’re going to need security in the bar. Do you want Mike here?”

Ryan didn’t answer. He just walked away.

I clicked a link and was directed to a gossip magazine’s website. The headline “Ryan Christensen’s Love Affairs” caught my attention. The site had side-by-side pictures of Ryan and Suzanne kissing, Ryan and I walking down the sidewalk, and the picture of him and that girl from the Manhattan dinner meeting. The story pretty much accused him of being a reckless playboy. The words “plays the field” were included in the article.

I clicked another link and was now viewing pictures of Ryan kissing, smiling, leaning on, and holding Suzanne. The caption stated that their love affair was still going strong.

I hit the back button and clicked on another link – this one described my new bodyguard, Kyle, being the new man in my life and how Ryan was furious and jealous. There was a picture of Kyle and me entering the back door of my pub together. The article posted a random picture of Ryan looking angry next to it. All meant to generate shock, I supposed. The story made it sound like I was cheating on Ryan.

The last click I made showed a picture of Ryan and Suzanne snuggling in a bed. It looked like they were both naked, although you could only see Suzanne’s bare shoulders. Most of Ryan’s naked torso was exposed.

I jumped when Ryan popped his head next to mine.

“Turn it off before I throw the damn laptop out the window,” he whispered his angry threat in my ear.

I quickly closed the Internet connection. Ryan grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me out of the chair. We hurried down the hallway to our bedroom.

He shoved the door closed behind him with extra force and glared at me.

“How long have you been surfing the web like that?” he growled between his gritted teeth.

I didn’t answer. His anger caught me off-guard.

“Why the hell are you looking up shit on the Internet? Do you need more reasons in your head not to trust me?”

“Please keep your voice down. We have guests, remember? I’m sorry,” I whispered. I felt terrible that I upset him.

“I am trying so damn hard to make sure our relationship stays on track, knowing full well that we have more obstacles than most. And then I see you doing that shit! What the fuck, Taryn?”