The next morning I wake up to the smell of French toast seeping into Ryan's bedroom. I fling my arm across the bed and find his spot empty. I quickly push myself off the bed and go primp a bit before heading downstairs.

Margot sleeps over here occasionally and she looks like such a baby angel when she wakes up that it makes me a bit self-conscious when I run into her in the mornings.  So after brushing my teeth, throwing my hair into a ponytail and washing my face I head downstairs. I catch Ryan standing at the stove and he smiles when he sees me, "Margot and Austin stayed at her house last night. You got all dolled up for nothing."

I frown, "What do you mean dolled up? This is how I normally look in the mornings." He smirks before flipping over the piece of toast in the sizzling pan.

"Do you have to go to work today?" I ask while I pour myself a cup of coffee.

"No. I told the boss that my girlfriend demanded I take her to Oxford to look at bar stools for her winery and if I bail on her again we may have another murder in Hollis," he jokes before placing my warm breakfast in front of me.

"If you don't take me I'll have to ask to borrow my mother's car and when she finds out it's to go pick out furniture there will be no gettin' rid of her," I say while snatching up the maple syrup.

"Where are you at in the countdown now?" He asks as he takes the seat next to me.

"New Year's Eve is only 19 days away now!" I say excitedly. Shortly after the reopening of the Wellington House, my father agreed to buy the winery from the Penderghasts. We decided that we should make some small renovations before reopening but we kept on all of the former staff. The only changes we're making are to the interior of the place but we are hoping to keep it a town treasure. Surprisingly, my mother has let me take charge of all of the design changes but demanded the new winery be called Sweeney's. She said the Penderghasts sold off their vineyards so there would no longer be any Penderghast wine to serve. I wanted to incorporate the old owners into it somehow but she was adamant to have our last name in bright white lights over the door. We thought it would be the perfect destination for people looking for something to do on New Year's Eve so we decided to have our grand opening that night. A big New Year's Eve party at Sweeney's!

"You got the light fixtures last weekend and we'll go pick out the bar stools today. What are you having to do this week?" He asks. His big green eyes flit to me before he takes a bite and I notice the stubble taking over his chin.

I swallow a large bite before replying, "Print the menus and pick out the shirts the sommeliers will wear. Tinsley is fine wearing all black so I only have to buy a couple shirts for the guys."

"When will the walls be finished being painted?"

"Next Thursday. So that weekend we'll be bringing in all the new furniture," I say. I push my plate back when I am finished and thank Ryan for breakfast. He spins his chair to face me and brushes a loose tendril of hair out of my face. I push my cheek into his hand and ask, "How was Theo's last night?"

He shrugs, "The usual. Except I think Theo sold Austin on Paris. They talked about nothing else all night."

"My mother is trying to steer Austin away from a destination wedding. She wants all of Hollis, and the neighboring states to attend her prince's wedding. She can't have all the members of the club fly to France for a weekend," I say as he grabs my hand.

"Well, Theo certainly talked it up. He said he even has connections at Versailles if they wanted to have the wedding there."

I roll my eyes so hard I catch a glimpse of my brain, "Oh Lord, please don't tell Margot. Or hell, for that matter don't tell Annabeth. She'd never be able to complete with Margot for the biggest most ridiculous wedding of the year if Margot gets Versailles."

"So Annabeth is still out of control then?" Ryan asks me.

"She swiped Gus's card yesterday when she bought her seven thousand dollar dress. Didn't even bat an eye," I reply. I wanted to cringe at the total but Annabeth just beamed as she signed on the receipt.

"I wonder how Gus feels about all this?"

"According to Annabeth, she can do whatever she wants because he only cares about having a happy wife. But I wouldn't know. He's still not speaking to me," I answer. I think back to our conversation on my porch two months ago and my heart sinks. He has said maybe a handful of words to me since he proposed to A.B so I have no idea how he feels about Annabeth taking over his life. She makes it seem like he is ecstatic to be looking for a new house for the two of them to live in once the baby is here and even more thrilled to give her a lavish wedding.

"Maybe you should try going over there again? Or get him something small for Christmas so you have a reason to stop by," Ryan suggests. I like how Ryan is trying to mend my relationship with a guy who confessed his love to me. He knows Gus is a good friend and Christmas is only two weeks away where we normally exchange gifts.

I nod, "Yeah maybe I'll get him something small this year. Nothing that Annabeth would be bothered by."

"I think you're still walking on eggshells around her for no reason," he murmurs.

I shake my head, "I think she'd have my head on a platter if she found out Gus only proposed to her after he made sure I was committed to you. I don't need her to read into anything that's not there."

"You know Gus didn't come to Theo's last night. I had wondered if it was because he thought I might be there," Ryan says.

"You know Annabeth asked me if you were going when she stopped by the winery last week. I told her you were going with Austin so it's a possibility that's why Gus ditched out. That or we are giving ourselves too much credit and Gus didn't think twice about your attendance he just had another holiday get-together to go to," I reply. I do know Gus usually loves going to Theo's secret club during the holidays because Theo usually has some fancy lobster shipped in from Maine that Gus boasts about for weeks after.

"Well, either way, he missed out. This time Theo had all this rib-eye flown in from New York that Gus would have killed for."

"I thought the details of what goes on at Theo's were supposed to stay top secret?" I say with a smile. Ryan dishes the dirt about what goes on every month and I laugh because Annabeth can never get a word out of Gus.

"Oh yes, sitting in a Rolls Royce in Theo's garage while Austin panics about spilling whiskey on the leather should all stay very hush hush," he says with a smirk. I let out a laugh and Ryan finishes putting all of the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. I find the view of his backside popped out while loading dishes quite enjoyable. I sip my coffee with my eyes glued. After he snaps the door up he turns to face me.

"Shall we get ready to go furniture shopping darlin'?" I ask him while hopping off the stool. He reluctantly nods and I follow him back upstairs.