I watch as Mrs. Samuels waves us both over and she grabs my hand when I make it over to her.

"Sawyer, my dear girl," she kisses each of my cheeks faintly and says, "Are you ready to cut the ribbon?" I nod to her and drop my champagne glass on a pub table. She leads me over to the beautiful iron awning that marks the entrance to the botanical gardens. Everyone has gathered round and is waiting patiently for everyone to take their place at the front.

I spot a beautiful large stone fountain shooting sparkling blue water on the other side of the awning and the smell of sweet roses fills the entrance. The sun is sitting at the perfect angle so the rays make the water shimmer. A wide red satin ribbon is tied across the awning and I turn to take a picture with the Samuels for the paper. I feel Tate's chest behind me and his hand finds my waist. Multiple bright flashes pop in my face and I smile while holding the large golden scissors, trying to ignore Tate's warm touch on my skin.

I use both hands to grip the heavy scissors and continue to smile as I excitedly cut the ribbon in half. For my first ribbon ceremony, I think I executed the slice perfectly. Everyone in attendance claps lightly as the ribbon falls to the pathway and I hand the scissors back to the groundskeeper. I move out of the way so everyone can pass through the awning and several people grab my hands fondly as they move through the path. Annabeth and Gus are the last to pass through and when I see them, I ask, "Any sign of Austin or Ryan?" They both shake their head and I'm surprised not to have heard from either of them. I pull my clutch open and check both my personal and burner phone but I don't have any messages on either.

"Come on Sawyer, there's free wine and spring rolls waiting for us on the other side," Annabeth says as she tugs me through the opening. We both get rather large portions of white wine and we giggle as we mingle around the party.

A very drunk Rosalind Atwater, from mine and Annabeth's debutante class, finds us and babbles on and on about how sorry she was to hear about Whitney and Jackson. I smile at her sympathies while Annabeth rolls her eyes every time Rosalind looks away from us. I decide to change the subject from my humiliation and ask, "How have you been?" She drunkenly smiles while her eyes droop and replies, "Fabulous. I just got engaged to Tom Galloway, 'member him? He was Bridgett Prescott's date for the debutante ball." She hiccups and then continues, "Anyway, we're gettin' married in a few months. Watch your mailboxes for invitations. Of course, you'll be invited!" She claps her hands and in a slightly quieter tone says, "Who da thunk I'd end up with Tom? I mean, he's not a founding family or nothin' but he's still a rich man. I suppose we'll be seeing a lot of each other at society functions Sawyer." I falsely smile as I nod to her but before I can cut her rambling off, she adds, "Annabeth, you're hardly riff-raff but they probably wouldn't let a Matthews in the club would they? You're so fun that they should make an exception until you marry someone! I'll talk to someone on your behalf." She burps loudly and Annabeth's glare turns into absolute horror. 

Tom finally finds his belching fiancée and hauls her loose lips away from Annabeth and me. When she's out of earshot, Annabeth looks to me and says, "That girl is crazy! I didn't like her in debutante and nothing's changed!" I can't help but laugh from deep within my chest and then grab another glass of wine from a tray. I quickly check my phones again to see if Ryan's tried to get in touch with me but the screens are still empty. Annabeth catches my frown and says, "Let's not worry about the boys! Let's celebrate that you're in Hollis because they might whisk you again after this party." I nod to her knowing she's right and I raise my wine glass to her in a toast. We clink glasses and after taking long swigs, I look to her, "Hey Annabeth, I have to ask you a question."

She swallows her large swig and says, "Shoot."

I narrow my eyes and blurt out, "Have you ever thought about dating Gus?" She looks to me like I just asked her to date Luke Bryan. Like it's completely implausible.

"Gus? Our Gus? As in Augustus Blackwood?" I laugh and nod my head. Still looking flummoxed, she says, "Never really thought about it. Gus is just...well he's Gus." I bite my lip and decide to probe.

"Hmm, I had just wondered. You're both single but you've never gone for each other. I just didn't know if anything was there." Annabeth shakes her head before taking another drink from her wine glass. I watch as she stares into space before she quickly says, "I've never really thought about it, Sawyer."

I shrug, "Like I said, I was just asking. He's not a bad-looking guy and he is from a founding family. He's also one of the few good ones."

Annabeth's questioning hazel eyes narrow at me as she asks, "Are you trying to tell me you are into Gus or something?" I look to her and know how she is. If I say I might be interested in Gus, he'll automatically become more appealing to her. If I can like Gus, that means she can like Gus.

I decide to fib.

"He's always been there for me ya know? And seeing him all dressed up in a suit shows me another side of him. I dunno, I think he's a really good guy and maybe I'm just now noticing that." We both look over to Gus who is laughing about something with Tate. I watch as she tilts her head while studying him and then she looks back to me.

"You know, when Gus doesn't have his floppy curls in his face, he actually is kind of cute."

"He has that boyish charm. The dimples and the giggle." I can't help but smirk and my manipulation has worked. I don't say anything else, not wanting to give my scheming away. I feel like Annabeth could be the perfect housewife to Gus and Gus would love Annabeth regardless of where her family sits on the social hierarchy. We continue to drink and mingle long after the sun sets and I try not to think about where I could be heading next in the morning. My mother warns me to keep my drinking to a minimum but I just nodded to her as I snagged a Bellini off a tray. I noticed while stuffing steak tartare into my mouth, that not all social events my mother attends are boring. Not when I have Gus, Tate and Annabeth to keep me company. I tried to ignore the fact that Jackson and Poppy were openly groping each other all over the garden (I noticed Mrs. Hemming was a no-show or that behavior would have ceased immediately) and shove the nagging of my own missing boyfriend from my mind. I wonder if this would be the norm in our relationship? Me living my life and Ryan flitting in and out of it when his job allows. He warned me that relationships are tough to make work as an agent.

As I make the rounds, I continue to glance to the awning but I never see Ryan or Austin come through it. I keep my clutch tightly under my arm but unfortunately, neither of my phones ring once.