Avery walked around the grocery store getting things she needed to make Randy a romantic dinner. They were leaving to go out of town and she wanted them to leave on a happy note.

"Avery?" She heard from behind her. She turned to see Kari there.

"Kari, hey. How are you?" Avery asked her.

"I'm good." She smiled. "Getting things together for the New Year's Eve party."

"I bet it will be good like always."

"I hope so." Kari replied. "I heard you and Randy were going out of town?"

"Yeah, we are." She replied.

"Well, I hope you have fun." Kari smiled. "I think this party will be awesome this year as always."

"It always is." She smiled. She looked at Kari. She had to know where the watch came from. "Kari, do you know what Keely got Roman for Christmas? I remember her saying it was something great and with us not speaking, I was curious as to if he liked it."

"He loved it." Kari replied. "She got him a very nice watch. He wears it all the time according to Nick. Roman got her a nice gift too. It's a beautiful butterfly necklace. She wears it all the time."

"Well, it seems like she picked a good gift."

"She totally did." Kari laughed. "Well, I should finish my shopping. Happy New Year Avery."

"Same to you." Avery smiled and walked away. She wasn't sure what to feel now. Roman had taken off the watch she gave him so many years ago. Even after the divorce, he wore it and now he is wearing one Keely got him. She couldn't help but wonder if it was a symbol. A symbol that he was moving on and she knew, in her heart, he was.

A few days later was the New Year's Eve party. Keely stood in her bedroom deciding what to wear. She wanted to look perfect. Kari had decided to have a black and white theme with everyone wearing black, white or both. She slipped on her black and white dress with spaghetti straps and then her black heels. She walked over to her dresser and opened up her jewelry box. She put on her dress watch and then the necklace Roman had given her for Christmas. She picked up her wedding set and stopped. She looked at it and then at Seth's picture. She thought about the date. It was getting ready to be a new year. Wasn't time she started anew? She put the wedding set in the jewelry box in a special part. She then took out the sapphire ring out and put it on her right hand. She took another look in the mirror and smiled. She was now ready for the party.

She had just walked out of the bedroom when the doorbell rang. She walked over and opened the door. "Roman." She said when she opened the door. "You look very handsome."

"Thanks." He smiled and walked in. "You look beautiful, as always."

"Thank you." She smiled back

"Are you ready to go?"

She smiled and grabbed her black clutch bag. "I'm ready to go." He nodded and offered her his arm and they headed out.

They arrived at Kari and Nick's and headed in. "Oh, my gosh, you two look so pretty." Kari said when she greeted them.

"Thanks." Roman laughed.

"Well you both are." She smiled. "Now, Keely and I are going to get something to drink. Why don't you guys go do what guys do?"

Nick laughed. "That means Kari wants to talk to Keely without us." Roman laughed and followed Nick as the girls headed to get a drink.

Kari looked at Keely as they got some champagne. "So, tell me"

"Tell you what?" Keely asked.

Kari smiled and took Keely's left hand. "You're without your wedding set. So, what does it mean?"

Keely sighed. "It means that it's going to be a New Year and I thought it was time to take it off and start a new year moving on. Something just told me it was time take it off."

Kari smiled. "Well, I think it's the right step and you did it at your pace. You decided when it was time and that's the best thing."

"Thanks." Keely replied. "Now, I'm going to celebrate the New Year and just enjoy myself." Kari smiled and they both head over to where Roman and Nick were standing.

Roman stood with Nick at the TV that was playing a New Year's Eve Special. "So, Keely looks good." Nick said as they stood there.

"She does look very pretty." Roman agreed.

"Did you notice the absence of the wedding ring?"

"I didn't really notice." He looked over at her and saw the empty left hand. "Why did you bring that up?"

"Because it shows she's ready to move on and put Seth and the past behind her." Nick said before taking a sip of his drink. "Her taking off the wedding ring is like you taking off the watch Avery gave you and now you're only wearing the watch Keely gave. That says you're ready to move on and put the past behind you as well."

"Nick, I think you're reading way too much into this but if Keely is ready to move on great. And I think I'm getting there too. So, it's great for both of us." Nick nodded in agreement.

The evening continued with laughter and enjoying the night as they started the countdown to midnight. Kari looked at the clock and smiled. "It's almost time." She said to the group. "Get ready to countdown." She walked over and turned down the music as they started to countdown along with the TV. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Happy New Year." She said before kissing her husband.

Roman looked at Keely. "Happy New Year." He said to her

"Happy New Year." She said as he leaned in and kissed her softly. He pulled back and smiled. She smiled too as they greeted the other guests.

It was about two in morning, when they got back to her house. They headed in and turned on some music.

"Too buzzed to sleep?" He asked as they sat on the sofa drinking some more champagne.

"Yeah." She laughed.

He looked at her left hand. "So, I see you took off your wedding set."

"Yeah." She replied looking down. "It just felt like time, you know." He nodded. "I have thought long and hard about it. And when I was getting dressed tonight, I thought about the day. It was getting ready to be a new year. And I thought it was time for a new start. It will be a year in March that Seth died. I realized it's time to put him and our marriage in the past. While, I am still grieving and missing him. I can't be stuck in the past anymore. So, I put the wedding set up and now, it's time to start a new year."

He nodded in agreement. "I feel the same way. When you gave me this watch for Christmas, I realized it was time to put things behind me. I took off the watch Avery gave and put this one on. A new start."

"I guess we both are ready for a new start and new year."

"Yeah." He said in agreement.

They sat there for a few minutes before a slow song came on the stereo. She looked at him as it played. "How about a dance? We didn't get a dance tonight."

He smiled and took her hand. He led her to the middle of room and put his hand on the small of her back as she put one of hers on his shoulder and the other one in his hand. The music played softly in the background as they danced close. The song ended and Keely pulled back a little bit. She didn't know why she did what she did next but she leaned in close to him and kissed him.

She felt him kiss her back and turned passionate. The next few moments seemed to happen in a blur. Their kiss intensified as they made their way to the guest room, clothes hitting the floor as they did. They were soon in bed where they spent the night making love.

Please Review!