Ryan looked ill while he dotted the I's and crossed the T's. He fought me on accepting the sum jointly but I told him I never wanted to fight about money. What's mine was his and if he too was going to be starting up his own business he needed to be financially secure to do so.
I kept mum about getting paperwork together to buy Sweeney's and told Horace the first thing I was going to go out and purchase was our forever home. The winery could wait. I also accepted part ownership in my grandmother's North Carolina beach house and apparently I was to receive a key that opens an old garage my grandfather had held onto on his old property in Hollis. Their old house had been turned into a Bed & Breakfast years ago but apparently, my grandparents still owned the land the B&B rented from them. It seemed to be a nice little side income Tilly was receiving, so I told Ryan we could discuss what to do with it later.
After getting everything signed off, I left the office on a high. I was now a financially independent married woman about to buy her first house. I pushed the "unemployed" that was currently attached to my name away from my mind and focused on the positive.
"What now my husband?" I ask Ryan as we drop back into my car. He swiped the keys from my hand as we crossed into the lobby and I didn't fight him on it. He fits comfortably in the driver seat, sliding his hands on the sleek steering wheel and I add, "You kinda want to drive it right?"
"I drove around Austin's Audi," Ryan reminds me but I continue to smirk at him, "Yes, but I have the upgraded fancy stuff." I poke around on the navigation screen and then look back to Austin, "But really what now? We don't have a home to go to or a job expecting us. Not sure what address I should be punching in."
"You know Hollis like the back of your hand, why do you even use that?" Ryan mocks while looking over to me.
"Because I paid for it, now don't distract me. Where are we goin'? What are we doin' now?" I ask, pulling my fingers away from the G.P.S.
"Are you talkin' big picture, like what are we doing with our life? Or immediate, like where are we goin' for lunch?"
I look to him, "Let's start with lunch and we can get deep and meaningful while we eat."
He sighs before saying, "Are you ready to face the town? Anywhere we go now is going to have someone you know inside. Or do we need to drive to Oxford and find a spot along the way?" I mull over my options and realize I don't want anyone to ruin my good mood. If I find my mother inside a restaurant or LulaBelle Anders I'm going to instantly go sour.
"Let's drive on toward Oxford. I know of a nice place where we can order champagne for lunch and no one will judge us," I tell Ryan and he looks reluctant. "Ryan I was just paid out, I want to celebrate my independence from my mother." That gets him to crack a smirk and he finally pushes the button to start the car. He puts it in reverse and then says, "I guess I should see how fast I can get this thing goin' on the highway."
******
When we pull up to Bottega Louie, Ryan gives me the side eye. I wave him over to the valet and as we are climbing out Ryan says, "I don't think we are dressed for a place like this."
"And when we order the most expensive champagne they won't care," I giddily say back to him while sliding my arm through his. We take our jeans and casual shirts up the thinly carpeted stairs and the doorman shows us through to the hostess. Ryan looks up at the ornately painted high ceilings and then runs his eyes over the very French decor.
"I didn't know Oxford had a place like this," he says while staring at an ornate gold frame holding a massive landscape painting inside.
"It's a nod to the failed French colonization in Mississippi," I reply while wondering if the frame is just making a cheap painting look worthy of the Louvre or if it's actually a pricey antique hanging on the wainscoted walls.
"Sometimes you say things that floor me," Ryan says with a laugh and the hostess finally comes to help us. She shows us over to our white antique table that sits in the center of the bougie restaurant. As I am settling into my seat, I look up when I hear a loud laugh coming from the bar area. Right past Ryan's head is a giggling woman swatting at the man next to her. She leans back laughing and he must feel my gaze as he suddenly turns toward me, revealing a wide charming smile. My face flushes when he catches my eye and the quick squint of his blue eyes has me wondering if he recognized me. I knew who he was immediately, even before I heard the faint Irish accent.
Ryan catches my sickened expression but the waitress beats him to me. She quickly takes our drink order, but I now no longer want to celebrate. I don't want to be near anyone associated with Rory. As soon as she saunters away Ryan asks, "What Sawyer? What just happened?" I open my mouth to respond but I'm cut off by the familiar man stopping next to our table.
"Sawyer Sweeney, I thought that was you," Kit Cunningham says sweetly but I know the bite is there. "You're a hard face to forget love." Ryan looks from him to me as I reply, "It's Hart now. This is my husband Ryan." I look to Ryan and add, "Ryan, this is my old friend Kit Cunningham." I don't have to tell him it's Rory's older brother. He already knows and by Kit's response, I didn't need to tell him who Ryan was.
"Oh yes, Ryan Hart. F.B.I" Kit says, puncturing each letter in F.B.I. "Heard a thing or two about ya."
"Flew in to see Rory did you? Is that Dot over there?" I ask while nodding over to where Kit and Rory's sister is oogling from afar, a scowl plastered across her pretty porcelain face.
"Aye that's Dottie over there. The whole fam has come over to see what all the fuss is about," Kit replies while looking to Ryan. None of us breaks the awkward silence that looms over his words until the waitress bearing the champagne bucket comes to the other side of the table, holding onto two glasses with a big cheery smile.
"Celebratin'?" Kit asks while glancing to the ice bucket. The waitress does a whole show of popping the cork and Kit remains interested. She fills up the flutes and then glances to Kit. She doesn't acknowledge the loiterer and as soon as she slips away I look back to Kit, "We are actually, and I think we'd like to get back to it."
"Okay okay, I get the hint," Kit says while throwing his hands up. He takes a step away from the table and runs a hand through his dark hair while saying, "Be seeing you enough here shortly."
"You sure will," I reply with a threatening smile. He gives me an equally icy one in return before heading back to his enthralled sister. She stares well after he returns to his seat and I finally flick my eyes back to Ryan, "I can't believe we drove all the way to a French restaurant in Oxford and still run into people."
"Never thought we'd just casually bump into the other Cunningham's though," Ryan says, still apparently surprised at meeting his nemesis's siblings. "Just the two of them right?"
I nod, "Yeah Kit is a couple years older than Rory and Dot is a couple years younger. All three of them are bad news though. Charming as hell but bad eggs all around."
"So Kit and Dot? I remember their full names, Christopher and Dorothy but I didn't know he went by Kit nor her Dot. Took me a second to place it when you said Kit, but when he first walked over I thought for sure that was Rory fuckin' Cunningham on bail."
"All three of them could be triplets. Dark hair, blue eyes, light complexion-"
"Confusing nicknames," Ryan adds. "I like that you're Sawyer and Austin and both of you go by Sawyer and Austin." His hand gesturing to the neat compartments our names fall into.
"We should go by Kitty and Auggie," I reply and Ryan eyes me like he can't tell if I'm joking. I wink to him and reply, "My mother goes by Dolly and my grandmother went by Tilly. It's actually surprising I didn't get stuck with some old, deep southern name."
"The Cunninghams are Irish and they still got nicknames. And accents?" Ryan asks suspiciously and I nod, "I told you I don't know how they manage to keep the accent alive. They only ever visited Ireland up until Dot graduated. Then they all bought property over there while his mother's family is still here in Oxford."
"I'm guessing they like to stick out more than they already do," Ryan mutters before wincing at his champagne. I know he's going to order a beer as soon as the waitress comes back over and I won't complain about having the bottle to myself.
"Oh, I'm sure Rory's arrest will bring plenty of attention to the Cunninghams. They'll find a way to enjoy it." I say with an eye roll. "You warned me that Hollis could start to feel very small. I guess I should just hope that Maybridge doesn't start to crowd us as well." And as if on cue, I watch Sebastian Crawford stride over to the bar and drape his arm over Dot Cunningham.