"I don't really know how to explain it without sounding like a total psycho," she began. Ryan almost laughed.

"Taylor, I think we're way beyond that point. What do you need?" he asked her, almost impatiently. He had been looking forward to this uninterrupted study time, and now he had to deal with a hungry baby and an awkward phone call with his maybe kind of ex-girlfriend.

"Okay. Well, actually, it's about Henri-Michel," Taylor began. Ryan rolled his eyes. Taylor's French ex-husband had thrown a wrench in their relationship once before, and Ryan wasn't happy to hear that Taylor had been spending time with him. Technically they weren't together, but that didn't mean he had to like the guy. "He's flying there – to Newport, to talk to my mom. He wants to "do it right this time," he says." Taylor hesitated, before blurting out, "He's asking my mom for her permission to marry me."

"What?" sputtered Ryan. "You're marrying him again?" He was angry. Angrier than he thought he'd be. He understood that Taylor was going to date other guys in France, and he knew, too, that he had the option to see other girls at Berkeley, but this was ridiculous. It had been two months, and she was considering marrying another guy? And not just any guy, but Henri-Michel? Again?

"No, no! Not at all. He's being his old self, all these romantic notions in his head. I don't have any intention of marrying him. He thinks he'll win me over with this sweeping gesture."

"Well, did you do anything to convince him that it might happen for you two again?" Ryan asked. By this point, Sophie had been fed, and he was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, trying to coax a burp out of her. There was silence on the other end of the line. "Taylor?"

"Something…happened. Right after we – you and I- decided to stop trying. I know there's no excuse, but I was upset, and he was there. It meant nothing to me, Ryan, but it happened. And now he thinks that I want it…us…to happen again." Ryan placed Sophie back in her high chair, and sat down at the counter with his head in his hands.

"What do you want from me, Taylor?" he asked, resigned. Letting her go had been hard enough. Hearing she had gone straight back to Henri-Michel was torturous.

"I need you to stop him, Ryan. Set him straight. My mom's trying to get on my good side, she'll agree with him if he convinces her it's what I want," Taylor pled with him. She added, with a bit more force, "He's not what I want, Ryan."

"Let me get this straight. You want me to go to Newport, intercept Henri-Michel before he tells your mom he wants to marry you, and convince him that you don't love him? That's asking a lot, Taylor. Not to mention it sounds kind of familiar," Ryan said. Since college, Ryan's hero complex had pretty much taken a back seat. He was finally safe in an environment that nurtured him, with his family at home or with his friends in the dorm. He was busy having a life; focusing on his studies, spending time with his new sister, making new friends. There was drama, to be sure, but people here knew how to take care of themselves. It was refreshing.

"I know, Ryan. I know. But I really need your help," Taylor was practically pleading with him on the other end of the line.

"I'm sorry, Taylor. I can't," and with that, Ryan hung up the phone. He sat at the counter in silence for a minute before picking his cell phone back up. He dialed #1 on his speed dial and waited for the person on the other end to pick up.

"Seth? No, be quiet. It's my turn to talk now."