FINDING THE RIGHT PRINCE

-2-

THE RESCUE

Ryan opened the front door and picked up the paper before making his way back into the kitchen, setting himself down on a stool by the counter, grabbing cereal, and beginning to eat the contents straight from the box. It was Saturday morning and he had a meeting to attend. He lived alone and didn't feel like dirtying dishes and then washing them due to the fact that he didn't have the time to wash them before he left and didn't want to bother with washing them when he got back since he was meeting a contact in Newport for brunch, promised the Cohen's he would come over for dinner, would probably end up getting late and staying the night in his old room, and wouldn't make it back until tomorrow afternoon.

He removed the rubber band from the paper and unrolled it. It was just his luck that she was on the front page. The picture was big and the full story was continued on another page. There was no way it wouldn't have caught his eye. Her picture had been splattered across the news for weeks, always smiling, always taunting, and always saying:

"Look at me Ryan! Look at where I've gotten without you. Look at how happy I am without you…This could have been you Ryan! I could've been hugging you, kissing you, and wrapping my arms around you – if you hadn't broken up with me, had fought harder for what we had, and hadn't given me your blessings to move on and find happiness with someone else like this thick blond haired, blue eyed, shit eating grin wearing, pampered little rich boy."

Ryan sighed and ran his hand over his face, through his hair, and down to rub the back of his neck. What the hell was wrong with him? He had to stop beating himself up over this. She was happy. He should be happy for her.

It wasn't that simple though. He still loved her. He never stopped. No one had ever measured up to her and he knew that no one ever would or could. How the hell were you supposed to find better once you've had the best? There had been plenty of randoms and girls he dated for a few weeks or months here and there but broke up with as soon as the Cohens started bugging him about bringing them home for dinner because even if he tried, he knew he wasn't serious about them. He just didn't care about them. He tried to, but just couldn't for some reason. He even made the mistake of referring to a few girls by her name. He couldn't get her out of his head. He wondered where she was, what she was doing, and if she thought about him at the oddest times. The fact that he still thought about her after so many years pissed him off.

It didn't matter though. She was marrying the son of the governor of California. He had been kidding himself when they were younger. She was out of his league – so beautiful, smart, funny, kind, caring… she was just so high above him and belonged to a class of her own. He was always just some thug from Chino. It made sense that she picked someone better than him to spend the rest of her life with. She deserved someone who belonged to the same league as her.

He studied the picture morosely – taking in her bright hazel eyes, smiling red lips, the way her chin rested on her fiancé's shoulder and her arms draped over the front his body, and her rich auburn hair cascading over their shoulders. It reminded him of the picture they had taken together – the one she placed in the scrapbook that still rested in a secure spot under his bed. She was happy. He could see it in her eyes.

They had been together for less than a year but he knew her like the back of his hand. She had opened herself up and exposed herself to him and he loved her for it. He never really understood what they meant when people said that the eyes were the windows to the soul until he met her. Her eyes told him everything. They told him when she was happy, sad, being mischievous, hurt, angry, amused, turned on, and in love.

Sometimes she would say something but her eyes would say another. He remembered the look in her eyes in the sleeper car when she propped her head up from his bare chest and looked at him. He remembered the intense love in those amazing hazel orbs. New York was less than half an hour away and he was supposed to have gotten off on the second stop in San Bernardino. He didn't get off because he didn't want to let her go. There was so much love in her eyes – but he could also see the pain that love caused. He kissed the top of her head and told her that they should get dressed. She half-heartedly agreed. They sat in silence for a few moments before he finally spoke. He told her that they couldn't do this, that they had different dreams and lives, that they had tried the long distance thing before and that it just hadn't worked out. He told her that they had saved each other, but that they needed to move on. He saw the mixture of hope and dread in her eyes when she finally looked up at him and asked if it was what he really wanted. He watched all of the hope drain from her eyes when he silently nodded. She immediately put on a smile and told him that she understood. According to her, college life beckoned both of them and neither one of them should be tied down while they were worlds apart. He watched as more pain crept into her eyes while her smile never faltered when he said that she was right. The train stopped and she stood up, smoothed down her blouse and skirt, and smiled up at him when he stood. Her eyes told him that he had let her down again and broken her heart while her voice told him that she wished him the best of luck and that they had fun while it lasted. She hastily gave him one last kiss on the lips before grabbing her luggage and practically running off the train. He followed her outside and watched as she quickly hauled a cab to take her to the ferry, had the driver place her luggage inside, got in, and made her way out of his life forever without glancing back even once.

Ryan looked at the picture in order to look at her eyes. Her eyes said that she was happy with her fiancé. Her eyes told him that she loved the man who she was wrapping her arms around. Her eyes said that he was the last thing on her mind.

He slammed his fist down on the newspaper before rolling it up and tossing it in the recycling bin. He didn't need to be reminded of what he had lost when there was so much out there that he could gain – like a deal with Ralph Jacobs that could put him on the map as an independent architect. It could be the first step in building a career of his own instead of having to work for some small low key company for the rest of his life. He shoved one last handful of cereal in his mouth before getting up to go take a shower and get ready for his meeting.

Ryan had to keep the radio off all the way to Newport. He was going to listen to some stupid countdown or the other in order to clear his mind of her, but it seemed that after every other song the host would start talking about California's wedding of the century, how hot the groom was, and how beautiful the bride would look in some expensive dress by a designer that he didn't remember the name of. He changed the station and tried to find something else to listen to but it was the same thing on each station.

He didn't get what the big deal was. People got married everyday. Just because the governor's womanizing, shit-eating, partying boozehound turned Prince Charming was getting married didn't mean there wasn't more important news to cover. Who the hell cared anyways? The dumbasses just didn't have lives and had to leech off those of other people.

Sure, the guy looked good – blond hair, blue eyes, muscular build, chiseled features – but seriously? There were tons of guys out there that looked like Bradley Carleton. Like him – only his nose was kind of big, his cheeks were a bit chubby, his eyes looked old, he was short, he had a really thick neck, and… fuck, he needed to stop. He sounded like a girl, or Seth.

But what the hell? What the fuck kind of a name was Bradley Carleton? The name alone made him want to beat the snot out of the guy.

"Duh. Hi. My name is Bradley Carleton."

Does that name really impress women? Queer. It was such a prissy name. At least his name had substance. Ryan Atwood. At least his name was manly.

Fuck.

He needed to stop.

"Atwood" he heard a man say as he approached the table he was sitting at. His entire trip here had been a blur except for the fact that she had been on his mind.

"Jacobs" he said as he stood, took the man's hand, and shook it firmly. He was thankful he finally arrived. He needed the distraction. He needed something other than her to focus on.

They talked. Ralph Jacobs was funny. He knew about a lot of the projects that Ryan had worked on. He liked his work and wanted Ryan to design and oversee the construction of the building for a new company he was setting up in Berkley. Not only was the man offering a reasonable deal, but this opportunity could further his career and the project was situated in familiar territory.

"I have quite a bit on my plate right now. I hope you don't mind but I'm going to have to think this over for a few days" Ryan said with his poker face on because he absolutely intended to take the deal.

"I understand" the man said with a smile. "Get back to me as soon as you can. I appreciate the fact that you drove all the way out here on such short notice."

"It wasn't a big deal. I used to live out here. I haven't been back here since I started college at UC Berkley so this was a great opportunity for me to come out and visit my old stomping grounds" he said.

"I'm glad you see it that way. I should get going though. I promised my wife that I'd pick some things up before we head to the Carleton wedding reception. It's supposed to be the event of the year or something like that. Personally, I hate the damn things, but the missus loves them" he said with a wink. "You've got to do what you've got to do" he said as he stood up.

And there it was again… a reminder of her.

"Alright. It was good talking business with you. Don't forget to get back to me. You're my top pick Atwood" Jacobs said as he held out his hand again while Ryan stood.

"I will. Bye" was all Ryan said as he shook the man's hand and sat down again.

Ryan remained seated for a few minutes. He looked at his watch. It was a few minutes past 11am. He wanted to punch something. She was probably married by now.

"Is there something else you need sir?" the waitress who had served him and Jacobs asked.

"No" he said morosely. "How much do I owe you?"

"$11.69" she said and he handed her his credit card. He didn't feel like dealing with change. He took out three dollars from his wallet to use as a tip and handed it to the girl when she came back with his card and the receipt.

"Thank you" she said with a smile and he smiled back at her. She was about to leave when he stopped her.

"Hey, is it okay if I leave my car parked out front and go take a walk on the pier?" he asked. "I know some places around here have some kind of policy. I just don't want to get ticketed" he explained.

"Oh, yeah, sure… it's no problem" she said with a smile.

"Alright. Thanks" he said with as much of a smile as he could muster before standing and making his way through the restaurant and towards the exit that led to the pier. He walked along the pier and sighed as the salty smelling air filled his lungs. His mind drifted back to all the time he had spent here when he was younger. Memories of time spent with Seth, Summer, Marissa, Sandy, Kirsten, and her on the pier wafted through his head as he rested his elbows on the railing and stared out at the endless ocean.

Thinking of her brought about other memories too. He remembered the Chrismukkah she called Summer to wish her a Merry Christmas. Apparently Summer had been trying to contact her for a while and was starting to worry about her. He remembered how Summer was relieved when she called but freaked out when she found out that she had gotten married again. Her screeching had attracted everyone's attention. She seemed to forget where she was because she kept talking to her friend freely, not caring about the fact that everyone was eavesdropping. His heart had wrenched at the thought that she had managed to fall in love with someone else and marry them but as he continued to listen in to Summer's side of the conversation he found out that she repeated the whole Henri Michel incident with another man and managed to get out of the marriage by herself. He wasn't sure how she managed to get out of it but Summer had started to laugh hysterically as the conversation progressed and warned her not to celebrate too much and end up in the same situation a third time. When she ended the conversation and found everyone staring at her she just shrugged, refused to answer anyone's (mainly Seth's) questions, and stated something about sisterly confidentiality. He had wondered how she got out of the marriage and worried that she found someone else to sign a document stating that she had sex with them thirty times and ended up falling in love with them. Although he would never admit it to anyone, especially to those who said he started to brood a lot after that phone call, the fact that she didn't need his help had upset him.

What upset him even more was that stupid New Year's Eve broadcast that Sophie insisted on watching because Sandy had told her about the ball drop. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him at first but everyone else had seen it too. She had been with that Carleton fucker and they kissed at the stroke of midnight. The guy told her he loved her and she smiled her signature smile at him, the one with the scrunched up nose, before telling him that she loved him too and kissing him again. While Sophie was amazed by the overabundance of snow and confetti on the screen, everyone else was shocked that she was in New York and that her profession of love for a man that wasn't him had been broadcasted on national television. He wasn't able to sleep than night. She had looked so happy and that smile of hers, the one he used to pride himself in being able to make her smile, haunted him.

He walked into the kitchen the next day to hear Summer on the phone with her. He wished he had chosen another time to feel thirsty because the whole "what the hell could you possibly be busy with at 2pm on New Year's Day?", the abnormally long pause, the loud "ewww", and the quick goodbye before shutting the phone thing had made him feel sick. Thinking about her with another guy had made him feel bad… but knowing what the guy looked like, that she was actually with him, and being able to picture it had made him feel absolutely sick. The look of shock and pity on Summer's face when she hung up and turned around to see him standing there had made him feel worse. He had tried to stay to himself for a while after that because everyone kept giving him these looks.

About a month later, Seth had let it slip that she had graduated from the Sorbonne a year early and was in New York working on her masters. He always knew she was smart and had no doubt that she'd be successful at whatever she chose to do. It just pinched at him that she didn't come back home, and that she didn't bother to try and contact him. A part of him had hoped that after college, she would come back and they'd just be able to pick up where they left off but she had moved on to bigger and better things.

A part of him had hoped that her relationship with the Carleton guy would end when she was finished her masters and that she would come home but he finished college and still hadn't heard anything from or about her. He got a job offer in San Francisco and ended up moving there because it was still close enough to the Cohen's that he could visit them often, but far enough that he could live his own life. He was shocked when he found out that they were living in San Francisco together after the news of their engagement hit the tabloids. She had come home to California, but she had brought a fiancé with her.

Everyone had been tiptoeing around him the last few weeks – unsure of what to say or do. In the last few days they had changed their technique and tried to distract him. Seth had come over for a videogame marathon, Kirsten dropped Sophie off for a night and apparently told her to keep him busy, Summer forced him to join her for some protest, and Sandy asked him to sit in on one of his lectures and provide him with honest feedback. They were trying to help but he really just wanted to be alone and drown himself in beer, memories, and regret. Sometimes that was just the best way… face the thing head on and get it out of your system before you pick yourself up and move on. They cared about him though – even if he was a stupid moron for letting the best thing that ever happened to him go. That's why they invited him and some other people over for dinner in order to distract him.

Ryan quickly glanced at his watch which read 11:42. She was definitely married by now. He turned and began to walk in the general direction of the restaurant at which he parked, not really paying attention to where he was actually walking. He knew there was no way he'd ever see her or be with her again, yet he still wished he could go back in time and do things differently. He wished that he could have another chance… that she would be in his life again.

Ryan was knocked back into the real world when someone crashed into him. The force wasn't nearly enough to make him fall over, but it startled him nonetheless. He looked down to see a woman in what appeared to be a wedding dress with her face buried in his chest and hands clutching onto his arms. He didn't move because despite the fact that he was okay, the woman holding onto him was clearly struggling to stay upright.

"I am so sorry" he heard the woman breathe once she was standing straight. Her voice was familiar. "I should have looked where I was going but I'm in a rush and the ocean just looked so beautiful" she rambled breathlessly. No. It couldn't be her! "Again… so sorry" she said as she backed away without looking up at him. "Thanks for letting me hold on to you so that I didn't fall" she said as she began to hike up the skirt of her dress. "I don't know how I would have managed to pull myself back up in this stupid thing if I had fallen" she said with frustration echoing in her voice as she continued to struggle with the fabric of her dress. He had watched her sleeping enough times to recognize the curve of those eyes. He had stared at that adorable button nose and tapped it many times all too long ago. He had kissed, tasted, and dreamt about those lips enough times to know who they belonged to.

"Taylor?" he asked because even though he knew it was her, he wondered if this was just another dream – she couldn't really be standing in front of him. He watched as she suddenly froze amidst her struggle with the white fabric of her dress before snapping her head up. He immediately found himself drowning in her beautiful hazel orbs. God, he hoped he wasn't dreaming. He hoped this was real. He hoped he was really staring into her eyes and that she was really standing in front of him. He wanted to touch her just to see if she was real.

He watched as she took a step back and let out a squeal as she began to fall backwards. Without thinking, he leaned forward, grabbed onto her arms securely and pulled her back upright before her descent to the hard wood of the pier could be completed. Her skin was soft under his fingers. He stared into her eyes as she blinked once before blinking again several times.

"Ryan?" he heard her question and he nodded. Of course she didn't remember him. She had moved on. She had forgotten him. He knew he shouldn't feel disappointed, but he still did. "Oh my gosh! Ryan!" she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her. It felt so right. He missed this. He missed holding her and feeling her body pressed against his own. When she pulled away from him he couldn't help but feel like the embrace ended all too soon and resisted the urge to pull her close to him again. She grabbed his hand and held onto it for support while she straightened out her dress before standing in front of him again.

The photographs of her that had been splayed across the media in the last few weeks couldn't do her justice. They failed miserably to capture her beauty. She was more beautiful now than she had been when they were younger, when he fell in love with her, and the last time he saw her. Most women seemed to grow less attractive with age, but not her. She had matured beautifully. He stood on the pier, awestruck as he took in the sight of her dark auburn silk, tanned soft skin, bright hazel eyes, adorable button nose, flushed cheeks, and supple pink lips. He would have thought he was dreaming if she hadn't touched him again.

"Ryan!" she panted as she grabbed hold of his arms and shook him with whatever strength she could muster. He watched her heaving chest and wondered how long she had been running and scanned his brain for the location of the nearest church and realized that it would be at least a forty minute run to where they were right now. He looked around and saw people staring at them and whispering. Some even went so far as to take pictures of them with their cellphones. "Please don't go all silent on me now! I need your help!"

"With what?" he asked stupidly. His brain wasn't functioning properly because he still couldn't get over the fact that she was standing in front of him.

"Is your car nearby?" she asked desperately.

"Yeah" he nodded, feeling dumber than before as she stared up at him expectantly. "Why?" he asked.

"I need to get out of here!" she exclaimed with panic as she looked around the pier and motioned to her dress. God, she looked beautiful. He would marry her right now if she was willing. Wait… What? Whoa! He couldn't think like that. She was already freaked out. "Ryan?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Oh. Uh… yeah" he nodded. "Follow me" he told her, trying not to laugh at the sight of her struggling to hike up the skirt of her dress once again. She looked up at him once she was ready and he began to walk back to the restaurant where he had his appointment this morning briskly, putting on his sunglasses along the way. She was right behind him when they reached the building. He held the door open for her and she looked at him with questioning eyes. "I'm parked on the other side, it's faster than going all the way around" he explained. She went in and he followed behind her, lowering his sunglasses a little and smiling at the waitress who had served him earlier. The last thing he needed was them getting more attention drawn to them when someone yelled about having not purchased something. The waitress smiled back despite her obvious confusion about his company and told the others that he was okay. He quickly continued to follow Taylor through the restaurant, ignoring the gazes of people who were staring at them, and passed her so that he could hold the door open for her once again.

He made his way over to his jeep, trying not to remember the time they spent together in it because that wasn't what she needed right now. He opened the passenger door and helped her get in before closing the door and making his way to the driver's side of the jeep. He got in, started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot.

They managed to get on the highway in complete silence until he realized that he had no idea where she was going. He looked over at her and found her staring into the distance.

"Where are you headed?" he asked, glancing over at her.

She turned to look at him with wide eyes. "I um… I don't know. I didn't think that far ahead. I just wanted to get away." she said, looking absolutely petrified.

He nodded, not really knowing what to say to her.

"Did you… uh…?" he asked, feeling stupid when he couldn't finish the question out of fear but not at all surprised when she picked up on what he meant.

"He said I do, the priest asked me if I did, I freaked out, and I ran" she said, choosing not to look at him but to pick at her nails instead. "I shouldn't have done that to him in front of so many people but I just couldn't go through with it" he noticed the way she started playing with the ring on her finger.

"Second thoughts?" he asked while he took off his sunglasses, even though he was afraid of what her response would be.

"No" she stated blankly.

Silence ensued and he kept stealing glances at her from the corner of his eye. He watched as she took off her veil, folded it, and placed it in his glove compartment. He noticed the way she breathed a sigh of relief when she kicked off her shoes.

"Comfortable?" he asked with a smirk.

She smiled at him ever so slightly before reaching up into her hair and pulling out some pins. She placed them in the glove compartment with her veil. He became entranced as she reached up to her hair once again, undid her bun, and shook her head while her auburn tendrils fell to cascade down her shoulders and back. He forced himself to look away and focus on the road ahead when the familiar smell of peaches and cream filled his lungs for the first time in five years.

"Now I am" he heard her say and he looked over to find her sitting back against the seat of the jeep a lot more comfortably, with the wind blowing her hair out of her face, and a bigger smile stretching her lips. She looked absolutely beautiful. "What were you doing on the pier?" Taylor asked. "You didn't move back to Newport, did you?"

"No. I had a business meeting I had to attend. I live in San Francisco" he said.

"Really?" Taylor asked and he nodded. "What a small world! I live there too."

"I know" he said, and immediately wished he hadn't. He knew so much about her and she knew nothing about his life.

"Oh. I would have never pegged you as a tabloid reading kind of guy" she said as she looked at him curiously.

"It isn't just the tabloids – it's the front page of newspapers, the television, the radio, conversations at work…" he could have gone on but chose not to when he glanced over at her saw the sullen expression on her face. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Peachy" she said and he immediately knew she wasn't okay. He watched as she began to pick at her nails again. "I hated all of that. I never wanted any of it. It was all just kind of dealt to me, you know?" she asked and he didn't say anything because he didn't know but had the feeling that she'd explain herself. "I had no idea who Brad was when I fell in love with him. Well, I knew who he was but I didn't know that he was Governor Carleton's son. In all honesty, I was kind of shocked when I found out that Schwarzenegger was no longer the governor. I had spent so much time outside of California that I had no idea what was happening here. By the time I found out who he was I had already fallen in love with him and none of it seemed like a big deal because we were in New York. As soon as we moved back here everything changed. The lack of privacy was just something that came with him and I didn't want it to get in the way but I hate it."

"So you didn't want to marry him because of the lack of privacy?" he asked. He tried to ignore the fact that she said she loved him and focus on something else. It had been five years. He tried to relax and loosen his grip on the steering.

"That and the fact that if I do my mother will constantly be forcing her way into my life. She gets along well with Brad's mother. When I went back to France she practically cut me out of her life and when she found out that I was marrying Brad she just showed up to a family dinner one night and acted like we had always been on speaking terms just because she wanted to climb the social ladder" she said. "There are a lot of reasons why I don't want to marry Brad. What it really boils down to is the fact that he isn't the one." she continued after thinking for a few moments. "I know it seems silly" she laughed "but part of me still wants to believe in true love despite how stupid the concept is in this day and age. I don't want to spend the rest of my life marrying men and divorcing them. I'm just glad that I wasn't drunk enough to actually go through with it this time."

He laughed, they exchanged a smile and he felt better. She loved Carleton but he wasn't the one for her. It was confusing but it made him think of Marissa. He loved her but deep down he knew she wasn't the right one for him. Everything with her had always been over the top and dramatic. He was never able to see him and Marissa settling down and having kids. When he was with her he was always waiting for something to tear them apart. Instead of just being himself, it was always trying to live up to being what she wanted him to be – the savior, the bad boy, the felon, the protector – because she never took the time to actually understand him. Marissa hadn't been the one for him.

All thoughts of Marissa were shoved out of his head when he heard Taylor's stomach growl. He looked at her and saw her blushing as she bit her lip and smoothed her right hand over her stomach while avoiding his gaze. He couldn't help but smile at how adorable she was.

He didn't say anything to her but pulled into the next pit stop and filled up the tank before parking near the restaurant.

"I'm going to go grab some food" he said to her as he unbuckled his belt and got out of the jeep.

"Can I wait here?" she asked. "You know… since I'm dressed the way I'm dressed?"

"I think that would be best" he laughed. "What do you want?"

"Surprise me. Just make sure it's greasy and chocked full of fat" she said and he raised his eyebrows at her. "My mother forced me to adhere to a non-dairy, non-fat, vegan diet for the past couple of months so that I wouldn't look bloated today" she shrugged.

He nodded and turned towards the restaurant. He hated her mother. What kind of woman constantly puts her daughter down? What kind of woman uses her daughter so that she can climb some pointless social ladder?

"Two double cheeseburgers and an extra-large fries" he said as he placed his order.

A teenager handed him his bag within five minutes and he walked back to the jeep. He got in and handed her a burger and put the container of fries in one of the cup holders between them.

"Thanks" she smiled at him and he smiled back.

"No problem."

He pulled out of the pit stop and put the jeep in cruise control when he saw nothing but a straight road ahead. They sat in silence as they ate.

"Greasy enough for you?" he asked with a smirk, causing her to giggle.

"Oh yeah, definitely. I missed real food."

"When I woke up this morning I never thought you'd be sitting in my jeep and eating a cheeseburger and fries in your wedding dress" he said as he tossed her a sideways glance and found her wiping her hands on a napkin and placing her garbage in the brown bag the food came in. She laughed and held the bag out for him to do the same.

"I never thought I'd be here either" she said with a smile as she reached for some fries.

They sat together in peace while they ate the fries. He reached for some and his hand found hers. They stared at each other for a few moments. He couldn't help but remember the incident with the popcorn where he leaned in to kiss her but just couldn't do it. His eyes drifted down to her soft pink lips and he wanted to lean over and kiss her so badly but chose to pop a couple of fries in his mouth and eat them instead. She avoided his gaze as she did the same and focused her attention on the view outside the windows.

"I'm glad you're here though… I hate driving alone" he said, earning a smile from her.

They both remained silent for the rest of the drive. He found it strange that she was being so quiet but he figured that she had a lot to think about. He was busy contemplating about whether he should take her back to San Francisco or to the Cohens place in Berkley. He ended up deciding on the latter because he had the feeling that everyone in San Francisco would be looking out for her and he didn't feel like letting her go again.

"The Cohens?" she asked when he pulled up the driveway and recognized the house. He nodded at her, watched as rose tinted her cheeks, and smiled because he knew she was thinking about when they got caught in bed together by one of the former owners of the house at Julie's almost-wedding to the Bullitt.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and began to put her shoes back on while he got out of the jeep walked over to the passenger side of the jeep and opened the door for her. He held out his hand to help her out and she took it without hesitation.

Her hand was soft in his own. He still felt that feeling he did when she first kissed him – it was the same one he used to get whenever he'd wrap his arms around her, squeeze her hand, or tap her nose.

"I will never allow myself to be talked into buying a huge wedding dress ever again" she said as she struggled to get out of the jeep, causing him to smile at her.

"Why did you pick this one anyways?" he asked. She looked amazing but Taylor always had more of a classic taste when it came to things.

"Actually, I didn't. My mother did. She said it made me look better than I actually do" she said as she began to straighten the dress out.

"She's full of it. You know that, right?" he asked.

"I don't know if she's full of it or not but what I do know is that I don't want her around when or if I ever decide to get married again" she said with a smile.

He stared into her eyes for a few moments. He wanted to tell her that she was beautiful, that she shouldn't listen to her mother, and that he was stupid for letting her go. She held his gaze before her eyes drifted towards their hands and he noticed that he was still holding hers.

"Sorry" he mumbled, dropping it like a hot potato.

"It's okay. I'm just a bit nervous" she said, sweeping her bangs to the side with a single finger.

"Nervous about what?" he asked.

"I haven't seen them in ages and when I finally do see them I look like a train wreck in a wedding dress?" she asked, on the verge of panicking.

"Firstly, you don't look like a train wreck and secondly…" Ryan started as he glanced at the house and then stopped when he looked at the window. Everyone was standing by the window staring at him and Taylor. He glared at them and they continued to stare. Couldn't they take a hint?

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be such a bother… look, if you could just call me a cab or something I promise you I'll pay you back. I'm good for it. I swear" he could hear the panic, desperation, and anxiety in her voice. She thought she was bothering him but the truth was that he didn't want her to leave – he didn't want to let her go again. He looked at her and found her hazel eyes pleading with him.

"What? No. It's just…" Ryan started before tearing his eyes away from hers looking back at the house. Everyone was still standing by the window and watching them intently. He watched as Taylor turned around to see what he was staring at and he wearily rubbed his hand through his hair. "I think it's a bit too late to avoid the whole meet and greet after five years thing" he finished.

"Oh crap" she murmured under her breath with wide eyes before smiling and waving at everyone, causing him to duck his head over a smile. He watched as all of them slowly started to wave back at her.