The rest of dinner was fairly uneventful. My grandmother finally stopped calling Celia "the colored woman" after Austin strongly corrected her and Margot nearly choked on her wine. My mother insisted she didn't need Celia's help for a successful dinner but my grandmother thought otherwise. Tilly then noticed the brass Siamese cats she had given my mother were no longer displayed on the hutch in the dining room. My mother insisted the cats were just moved to the lounge but after Tilly went searching for them my mother confessed they were in the basement. I was pleased however when my grandmother gave Austin and me a check for a couple thousand dollars for Christmas and I told Ryan the check was going toward redoing the house. Austin and Ryan were thrilled with the skydiving package Margot and I gave them and we made a plan to go sometime next month.

My mother was thrilled that I managed to hold my liquor but I can't say she didn't get a bit tipsy herself. After my mother practically shoved Tilly out the door, Ryan and I said our goodbyes as well.

As we were driving back to Ryan's I felt my purse vibrate and I realize I had neglected my phone all day. I pull it out and see several Merry Christmas texts that I quickly reply back to. I then look to Ryan and say, "I never gave Gus or Annabeth their gifts."

"Well, you'll see A.B tomorrow won't you?" Ryan asks and I nod. The last few years I had always managed to sneak over to Gus's house after we opened gifts at mine to polish off a bottle of bubbly together.

"Yeah, I want to be at the winery by noon tomorrow." I am about to ask if he's coming with me when I see a text from Rory. He sent it to me this afternoon and I read it out loud, "Merry Christmas Sawyer. I have plans to be near your winery tomorrow night and if you're free I'd love to take you to dinner before I head back to Oxford. Rory."

"By yourself?" Ryan asks and I shrug, "Doesn't say. What should I do?" He sits quietly while staring out at the road ahead of him. I catch his brow furrow before he says, "If you go alone I'd like to have eyes on you. Just in case."

"Like you'd be inside the restaurant this time?" I ask him. I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse. Before he could just hear the sleazy things Rory would tell me but now he could watch the hand gestures that go with them. Ryan could blow his cover by walking up to Rory and punching his lights out.

"I think someone should be near. Aurora would be too obvious and Austin's hair is so bright he could hardly sit by unnoticed. I think I could figure somethin' out," Ryan says optimistically. I nod to him and then reply to Rory telling him I would be free. After I send the text I slump back into my seat, disappointed that we couldn't go the entire holiday without mentioning Aurora or Rory.

*****

The next day Annabeth showed up on time to the winery. I did hear her murmur that she thought my mother would be joining us but I just rolled my eyes at her and told her to get to work. Margot kept her promise by coming and helping as well but Austin conveniently had work to catch up on.

The three of us moved around the open space, first putting the new chairs and bar stools under the new tables followed by sticking all the wine for the bar into the proper place. We moved stacks of wine glass racks where the Sommeliers suggested they should go and then I had Annabeth sweep the stage off so we could set up the photo booth for the party. We then got a bit distracted by said photo booth but we justified our photoshoot by determining that the camera did in fact work.

By five o'clock, Annabeth and I had made a plan to meet back up tomorrow to decorate and I told her that I was going to have Tinsely, the former Penderghast hostess, stop by to set up the hostess area as well. Margot skippered off right as I shut the lights off, waving to us on the way to her car. Annabeth and I walk out to the parking lot together and I hand her the gift I got her and Gus for Christmas. Her eyes light up when she sees the tickets to the country concert I had given her but seconds later her smile turns into a frown, "Thanks Sawyer, I'm excited to go but I didn't think we were exchanging gifts this year...I feel bad Gus and I have nothing for you."

She must not know about the wine stopper so I reply, "No, that's fine Annabeth. I just thought you and Gus could have a fun night out."

She gives me a weak smile and then sticks the tickets into her purse, "Thanks again. I know Gus will be so excited. I'll see you tomorrow." I watch her drop into her car before heading over to mine. I quickly reapply my makeup in the visor mirror and change into a new top before pulling out of the parking lot.

I suggested I meet Rory at the restaurant as I didn't want to be stuck in the confines of his car with him. I pull up to the spot Ryan asked to meet me to get wired up again and I'm quickly sliding the earpiece into my ear. Before I drop out of his truck he says, "I'm gonna be at the bar. So if they give you the bar as an option to sit say you want the dining room." I nod to him and then push his truck door closed.

When I make it to the brewery I am much more relaxed than I felt at the swanky place we went to last time. I find Rory wearing a steel gray suit standing outside on the phone when I arrive but he immediately ends his call when he sees me.

"Beautiful as always," he says with a quick kiss to my cheek and he rests his palm on the small of my back to lead me inside. The hostess does in fact give us the option to sit at the bar but I immediately decline and say dining room.

She sits us at a table where we are angled towards the bar so wherever Ryan sits he should have a clear view of us. Once we are seated and wine is ordered Rory asks, "How was your holiday?"

I smile as I think of getting a house and reply, "Perfect. How was yours?"

He smirks while he thinks over his Christmas memories and then says, "A bit exciting but overall it was nice to see the family." I think back to all of his loud Irish relatives and can only imagine how boisterous their holiday could be. The waitress drops the wine down and Rory orders some calamari for the table- another food I'm not particularly fond of. I notice her blush at his accent and the way he eyes her back has her giggling like a schoolgirl. If I had actually been into Rory the interaction between them would make me want to claw his eyes out.

"So are you all ready for opening the winery?" Rory asks after the flirtatious waitress walks away. I nod back to him, "Almost. We are doing the final touches this week."

"Well, Theo and I are anxious to see it. Should be a good party," he says with a smirk and I wonder if drugs will play a part in that. Maybe he sees my party as an opportunity to find some new customers. I decide to get to know Rory a bit better.

"So what exactly do you do Rory? I've heard of your travels I just wonder what it is you do that allows you to live so extravagantly," I ask him with a seductive smirk.

I can tell he likes this question. He grins and says, "I own things. Lots of things. In many countries."

"Hmm, a bit vague Mr. Cunningham...what is your favorite country that you own something in then?" I ask him.

He leans forward so he's closer to me and says, "My home country of course." Damn, I was hoping it would be somewhere in Russia. So instead I switch courses and ask, "How often do you go to Ireland?"

He shakes his head, "Not as often as I'd like. Work has me going to the other side of the world more frequently." The waitress drops the plate of calamari between us, forcing our heads to come away from each other. Rory thanks her with a devilish grin and I want to drench her with cold water before she walks away. When Rory's attention is back to me he moves the conversation off him and on to me.

"Have you ever been to Ireland?" He asks while dropping a fried piece of squid into his mouth.

I shake my head, "I've never been outside the country." His hand freezes with his next piece of calamari in his fingers and he says, "How is that so?"

"My mother hates flying. We couldn't even convince her to charter a private plane she hates flying so much," I confess and Rory's face looks like I just told him I don't understand how two plus two equals four.

"This is a travesty my darling Sawyer. I can't believe you've never been outside of the U.S. Never to Rome to see the Colosseum or seen the Egyptian pyramids. The Eiffel tower in France or had a drink in a bar that Shakespeare used to frequent? I can't believe this is so with such an influential family like yours," Rory says incredulously.

I just shrug, "Someday I'll see all those things. I mean I'd like to, I just haven't found the opportunity yet."

He grabs onto my hand, "Well let's go. I have a plane always waiting, I could have you drinking a pint in London by the morning."

I laugh at his ludicrous idea, "Rory, I have a winery opening in four days. I can't just up and go to Europe."

"Okay, how about a quick stopover to Canada? Or we can fly over to the Bahamas to have breakfast on the beach and I'll fly you right back to the winery by tomorrow afternoon," Rory says excitedly.

"Or how about we go grab a quick nightcap in Russia and call it an evening," I joke back but I see Rory's eyes light up.

"We could you know, I have a trip scheduled for Moscow next week I can just push it up a few days," he replies eagerly. He grabs onto my hand in complete seriousness and suddenly I hear Ryan in my ear, "Abort. Go to the bathroom."

I let out a light laugh again and say, "I appreciate the enthusiasm but I think my mother would kill me if I left Hollis right now." I remove my hand from his and add "I need to use the restroom I'll be right back."

As I walk toward the ladies room I scan the bar area but don't see Ryan. I round the corner into the hallway and see four private washrooms. Is Ryan waiting for me behind one of them? I knock on the first one and I find him behind the wooden door. He pulls me inside and then locks the door behind me. He's wearing a black baseball hat to cover his golden hair and a navy zip-up I've never seen before.

"Is the date over? Am I dining and dashing?" I ask him eagerly and shakes his head.

"No, just don't mention Russia again. I don't want him thinkin' you are at all on to him," Ryan warns and I roll my eyes, "It came up playfully. I don't think he'll read into it."

"I just don't want him thinking you'd actually go with him on his next trip, especially if he has one scheduled in a few days," he says clearly agitated. I think seeing Rory and I together has him in a tizzy. Before he was away in a van, now he's up close and can see everything.

"Okay, I'll drop all subjects that have to do with traveling," I tell him. He nods but I can't tell if this conversation is finished yet. He is still standing, blocking the door but he's not saying anything else.

"Should I get back out there?" I ask and I pull him away from whatever deep thought he was having.

"Uh, yeah...I'll be close by," he says as he steps to the left of the door handle. As I reach out to grab it I look to him and give him a kiss of reassurance. Unexpectedly, he kisses me passionately back and I am unprepared for his lips to start moving down my neck. He knows once he starts down this road it has a certain effect on me and I never usually stop him from exploring. His hand is under my shirt when I say, "Um, Ryan...Rory is going to think I fell in if I am not back out there soon."

He lifts me onto the countertop and between breaths he says, "Tell him there was a line."

And with that, my restaurant bathroom virginity was taken.