The next few months were very average at work and in my personal life. I never ended up telling Eric about Ryan kissing me. I pretty much swept it under the rug of my mind too. Luckily, work was keeping me busy with new projects popping up, and Ryan traveling more to the various company project sites around the country.

When I wasn't at work, I was busy planning for my wedding. Eric and I had a date set for a May wedding in the city, and it was January now. With only four months left, the little details needed to be hashed out. As my matron-of-honor, Sasha went along with me when I went to book the flowers and musicians. Eric's mother and my mother also came into town on and off, to go on a few bridal errand outings. Both of them, Sasha, and Eric all wanted to come along with me during the food tastings appointments for the reception and wedding cake.

We were going to have our wedding in a beautiful Gothic-style church, and then two blocks away sat one of our favorite restaurants in town, Old Asia New Asia. Both Eric and I loved their Asian fusion dishes, and we were such regular customers that they were happy to host our reception. Plus, when Eric said that money wasn't an issue, they jumped at the chance even more.

It was a quiet Monday afternoon when we went between the lunch and dinner crowd to the restaurant. I had requested the whole week off from work to spend time with my mom and attend to wedding planning events like this one.

We were seated in a big round booth, and the owner, along with their best servers brought out an array of samples for everyone to taste. The owner, who was also the head chef, created dishes you couldn't find anywhere on the usual menu or in the entire city, just for us. He even created some custom sushi rolls for us to choose from to include during our cocktail hour. Once we finalized the menu, the head chef brought us the breakdown of the prices.

While Eric and his family were well-off socialites and politicians, I came from a more humble upbringing. While my family was by no means poor, we were not as rich as Eric's. My mother picked up the cost breakdown before anyone else could, and I could see the physical color drain from her face. I leaned over to look at the price tag. The quote showed that for a reception of 150 guests, it was going to cost $190 per head! The food alone was going to cost the same amount as the first car I got when I was sixteen. Eric's mother insisted on seeing the breakdown.

My mother didn't resist and handed the paper to her. Eric's mother placed her reading glasses on the end of her nose, looked at the paper, and looked up at the owner. "You can place the deposit on my credit card," she said, handing him her American Express Black credit card without blinking an eyelash.

"Donna, we can split the cost with you," my mother said to her.

"Betty, please. You're already paying for so much. It's the 21st century, and we wouldn't expect you to pay for everything. The least we can do is pay for the food."

"Well, thank you. Larry will be very thankful too," my mom said, referring to my dad, who grumbled every time we spoke about the wedding plans.

Just then, my phone started ringing. It was Ryan.

I excused myself from the table and answered, "Hello?"

"I'm sorry to be calling you during your time off," Ryan started. "But there's been some last-minute changes on the Los Angeles trip."

"Okay, what's up?" I asked, walking up to the fish tank and looking at the colorful tropical fish that swam back and forth in the aquarium.

"Peggy has the flu. So she won't be able to go with us as our on-site assistant this time. We need you to take her spot."

"But aren't you leaving in a few hours?" I asked, trying to recall the itinerary from memory.

"Yes. Mrs. Turner is changing Peggy's ticket to your name as we speak."

"I'm not even home to pack right now. What about asking Ashlee?" I suggested, glancing back at my table. Sasha was flailing her arms as she was probably telling one of her crazy stories.

"Ms. Ashcroft." Ryan was still refusing to call me by my first name. "We don't have time for all this. Don't worry about packing. We will call ahead to the hotel to ensure that they get enough clothes for you to have for the week. Where are you?"

"I'm at Old Asia New Asia."

"I'm sending my driver to collect you and take you straight to the airport. He'll be there in thirty minutes. Thank you for doing this, Ms. Ashcroft," Ryan said and hung up before I could respond.

I walked back over to the table. "Well, it looks like I'm going to L.A," I said, sitting back down at the edge of the booth with a defeated slouch.

"What?" They all responded in chorus.

"Why?" Eric asked.

"Peggy's come down with the flu and can't travel. So they said I have to go," I said sadly.

"But aren't they leaving tonight?" Eric asked, looking at the time on his watch.

I explained to them what Ryan said to me and that the driver was on the way to get me.

"Well, at least this will look good on your resume, dear," my mom added. She was always the type to try to see the positive out of any situation.

"I know, but that means I'm going to be in L.A. until Friday, and we had so much planned to do here," I complained.

"Don't worry, dear. Sasha and Eric can help Donna and me. What else do we still need to do?"

I went over the remaining tasks on the checklist I created. I was supposed to have an initial dress fitting while they were all there, so they could see me in it, but Sasha said she would call to reschedule it for when I got back to the city next week. I was so grateful to have Sasha there to help. I hugged her and couldn't stop thanking her for being better than any best friend a girl could have.

Before I knew it, my phone rang again. It was the driver. He was outside, ready to take me to the airport. I hugged and said goodbye to everyone at the table. Eric took me by the hand and walked me out to the car. He hugged and kissed me and assured me everything would be okay. I felt terrible that Eric had to entertain both my mom and his mom by himself while they were still going to be in the city for another two days. He shrugged it off and insisted it wasn't a big deal. 

That's when I knew that I was marrying a man that was going to be a great husband and one day, father.

How did I get so lucky?

*****

I arrived at the airport and went straight to the security line. I already checked in on my phone while I was in the car and didn't have any luggage. It was to my advantage that I had only my purse with me, because the T.S.A. agents ushered me through without much delay. I wished I had my toiletry bag at that moment. I really wanted to brush my teeth as my mouth still had the lingering ginger taste from some of the food samples.

Walking through the terminal, I stopped at a kiosk and bought a pack of gum, a magazine, and a cheesy romance novel to read on the flight. My plane was in the middle of boarding Group 2, by the time I got to the gate. I glanced at my ticket on my phone and saw that I was in first class. I got in line, though I was in no rush to board the plane. Part of me considered missing the flight, but the thought passed as the ticket agent scanned my electronic boarding pass and waved me through.

I walked down the tunnel and boarded the plane. The smell of recycled air instantly greeted me. I wasn't a huge fan of flying, and the smell of the air made me feel nervous. I spotted Ryan and his brother, Adam, already seated and drinking what appeared to be soda, but was probably something stronger.

"There she is," Adam said, spotting me first. "Glad you could make it, Vicky."

"Thanks," I responded, taking my seat next to Ryan and smiling at Adam, who was seated across the aisle.

"I hope Eric wasn't too upset that we were stealing you away from him," Adam stated.

"No. He's very understanding. But I was sad to leave my mother so quickly. She was visiting me this week."

"Oh, I had no idea that you had family visiting. Ryan, why didn't you tell me? Had I known, I would have asked Ashlee to come."

I turned and glared at Ryan with a 'WHAT THE HELL?' stare.

"Don't give me that look, Ms. Ashcroft," Ryan warned, as he looked at me emotionless, and took another sip of his drink.

I was suddenly so irritated at the situation that I yanked the small, plastic cup out of Ryan's hand. For a moment, I considered throwing its contents in his face, but luckily I knew better. Instead, I took a big gulp of it and practically finished all but a drop, then placed it down on his armrest table. It was definitely not soda.

"Thirsty?" Adam asked, chuckling at me.

"Just annoyed. Plus, I hate flying," I responded honestly.

"Well, let's get you another drink. A full one this time," he suggested, waving down the flight attendant.

After I finished my second drink, I felt better. The plane taxied to the runway, and the flight attendant was giving the safety demonstration. I flipped through the magazine I bought while he spoke and only looked up at certain points. I had flown several times before in my life, so I pretty much knew all the lines. After the presentation, the pilot announced through the intercom to prepare for takeoff.

I put the magazine in the backseat pocket in front of me and turned my attention to looking out the window. I gripped the armrest as I watched the plane pick up speed on the tarmac, then soared effortlessly into the air. I only relaxed at the point when the plane reached it's designated altitude and leveled out. Ryan turned back to me, saw my tensed expression, and grinned. I think he enjoyed seeing me so vulnerable. Ryan patted my hand with pity.

"That's not helping me," I said, looking back at him, still feeling annoyed that I had to spend my week with him, instead of my mother.

"Would you like a sleep aid to help you get through the flight?"

"Sure, why not?"

Ryan reached under his seat and pulled out his briefcase. He opened it, and along the top pocket, he pulled out a bottle of Melatonin gummies. He placed two in my open palm, and I popped them in my mouth. They had a grape flavor. I gave a slight chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Ryan asked.

"Nothing really. I just haven't had any kind of gummies since I was a kid."

Ryan chuckled too. "I hate taking sleeping pills, and these work great." 

"Are you going to take any?"

"I'm not much of a sleeper. Plus, I've got work to do and movies to watch."

"Makes sense why you have the gummies. Have you always had trouble sleeping?"

"What's with all the questions?"

"Sorry. I'm just trying to kill time until these take effect," I explained, blushing with slight embarrassment.

"He's been an insomniac since puberty," Adam interjected himself into the conversation.

I smiled politely at Adam and was thankful for his added commentary.

Adam, Ryan, and I made small talk for about fifteen minutes. Then I started feeling the effects of the gummies. They let me rest and Adam went back to his book, while Ryan put his headphones on and scrolled through the list of in-flight movies to watch. Before I knew it, I was out.