“How about this one?” I played a few notes.
It was karaoke night in Mitchell’s Pub.
“Play that song you played that night,” Ryan requested coyly. “Please?”
At his urging, I played “You’ve got a Friend” again. This time I wasn’t nervous.
Cal took Kelly in his arms and started to dance with her. It was such a beautiful sight. Pete twirled Tammy under his arm, and Ryan leaned across the top of my piano, smiling at me.
I sang to him and him alone.
We were all having a good time singing and laughing, that was until the police sirens sounded and the red and blue lights flashed in front of my pub. I immediately hopped up off my piano bench.
“Pete!” I yelled.
“I’m on it,” Pete answered as he trotted out the front door.
I stood near the door waiting for Pete to return. It seemed to take him forever. I wanted to look out the window to see what was going on, but Ryan stopped me. Eventually Pete came back in but he wasn’t alone; two police officers were with him.
“Pete, what’s going on?” I asked, nervous that I had police in my pub. It had been a long time since I had cops show up. Usually they came after someone started a fight outside, but I had no idea why they were here now.
“Good Evening, Miss,” One of the policemen addressed me as he looked around at my guests.
“Good Evening, Officer,” I replied. “I’m Taryn Mitchell. I’m the owner here. What is going on?” Ryan stood dutifully behind me.
“We received a complaint about a crowd blocking the street traffic,” the policeman replied.
“As you can see, we are holding a private affair for our visiting guests.” I looked at Ryan and Cal. Seaport was not a large community; I presumed that the dozen or so police officers we had on staff all knew that celebrities were in town.
The policeman looked at Ryan and nodded his greeting. “Mr. Christensen.”
“Good Evening, Officer,” Ryan replied. He was standing with his arms folded across his chest. “My apologies for the crowd. Unfortunately there isn’t much we can do about it.”“We will make sure that the street is clear. There are too many pedestrians on the sidewalk. We'll request that they disband, but they will surely regroup once we leave,” the officer informed.
“We appreciate your help,” Ryan replied.
“Yes, thank you,” Cal added.
“Would you like me to call in a request for a police escort when you leave?” the officer asked.
“I’m not sure. We have private security with us this evening,” Ryan answered.
“Yes, we spoke to them outside,” the officer said. “They are trying their best to keep it orderly, but we understand there is only so much they can do.”
“We should be fine. Thanks for the offer.” Ryan reached out to shake the officer's hand.
My heart rate was accelerated from the nervousness that always accompanied police presence, but Ryan seemed to maintain his cool. Pete escorted the police out the door; hundreds of camera flashes lit up the darkness the moment the door opened.
I noticed Ryan turned to walk away; I presumed he didn’t want to be seen when the front door opened. He sat down in his seat in front of the television and started rubbing his forehead. His body language confirmed my suspicions.
I stood behind him and started rubbing his shoulders. I knew he was bothered by the mayhem outside and I wanted to take his mind off of it.
How much pressure could one man take before he would crack?
Ryan leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “That feels good,” he murmured.
I was trying not to get angry with the crowd outside for ruining our evening. I kissed his forehead, trying to soothe him. I didn’t need to be able to read his mind to know the exact thoughts that tormented him.
Our guests stayed until the football game was over, but soon after that everyone proceeded to gather their things. Gary reluctantly handed over twenty dollars to Ryan, and Ryan graciously accepted it.
“I’m going to go back to the hotel with the rest of them,” Ryan informed. The sadness was evident in his eyes. “I really want to stay with you, but I think it’s best if I go.” His eyes flickered to my windows. “I have to be on set anyway early in the morning.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist as he hugged me. “I don’t want you to go. But I understand why you feel you must.”
“Tar, they know I’m in here. Suzanne told the crowd on her way out,” he whispered in my ear. “I want to make sure that all of our friends get out of here safely, and I’m not ready for the paparazzi to start stalking you too.”