TIANA'S POV :

       "Ashley Purdy , what are you up to ?" , I ask , as he quickly hangs up his phone when I walk into the room .

       "You'll find out in a couple of days ." , he replies , grinning smugly at me . "If I tell you now , it'll spoil the surprise ."

       When he says that , I figure out that he's got something planned for Valentine's Day , which is day after tomorrow , so I don't ask any more questions . Mostly because I don't want him to start poking around trying to find out what I have for him .

       He puts his phone down on the table , walks over , and wraps his arms around me . "Do you have any idea how great it feels to be able to say that without being screamed at , or getting shit thrown at me ?", he asks me .

      " Excuse the hell out of me ?"

      "My last girlfriend would've automatically assumed I was talking to another woman , and start accusing me of screwing around on her ." , he says . "We ended up with a lot of broken shit back then ."

       "Do you mean the one that you actually caught fucking around on you ?" , I retort . "Sounds to me like one of those people who think that just because they act like an asshole everyone else will , too . I know that I can trust you , so I'm not worried about it ."

       "Damn , it feels good not to have to deal with drama !" , he sighs into my neck .

       "I just wish everybody could say that right now ." , I reply , and he nods in agreement .

       I'm referring to CC right now , the poor guy has had a pretty sucky New Year so far . Everybody was pretty shocked when he and Tiff split up just after Christmas , nobody expected it . Apparently , from what Ash said that he told them , they'd been having problems for awhile , but tried to work through them . Unfortunately , it didn't work out , and they decided to end the relationship .

       I talked to Tiff a bit later , and from what she told me , the problems on her end were the fact that she was beginning to get a bit tired of all the negativity from the "fans" who kept bombarding her with hate on social media , along with his being away so much , and she just felt like she couldn't cope anymore . I can see how that stuff can wear on somebody , but I can't wrap my head around the idea of letting that sort of thing come between me and Ash .

       He almost seems to be reading my mind , because he looks at me and says , "Promise me that we won't let that happen to us ."

       "It won't , babe . After everything else we've worked through , I think tour schedules and crazy fangirls should be a cakewalk !"

       His phone rings , so he walks back over and picks it up . He answers the call , mouths "CC" to me , and apparently listens to him for a couple of minutes .

       Then he says , "I'm gonna put you on speaker , so T can hear this , too . She has to okay the idea , too ."

       He turns on the speaker , and CC says , "Totally understandable , dude ! I know this is ridiculously inconvenient , and I hate the idea that I might be screwing up your plans , but I don't know what else to do ."

       "What's going on , C ?" , I ask . "Is everything okay ?"

       "I met this girl last week , when Alice and Jinxx talked me into going to some theater thing with them ." , he answers . "She was one of the actresses in the play , and she's completely fucking stunning . She just stopped me in my tracks , and I really want to get to know her better . When I was talking to her , she mentioned that she was going to be in Vegas this week , and I kind of told her I was , too . I suggested that we get together , and she said okay , and told me when she was free . It's on Valentine's Day , and I don't want her to think I'm being pushy or creepy or something , so I was kind of hoping that you guys might come along , make it sort of a double date ."

       "If she's the one who wants to get together then , why would she think you're creepy ?" , I inquire .

       "I'm not sure she thought about it being Valentine's Day , and I guess I'm just freaking out , 'cause I don't want to look like I'm some sort of weirdo , or like I'm desperate and trying to start up some sort of insta - relationship ." , he explains . "I wasn't planning on worrying about looking for anybody else since Tiff and I broke up , at least not this soon , but I can't get this girl out of my head . I've already got a hotel room for myself , 'cause I don't plan to intrude on your ... 'celebrating' , I was just hoping you could maybe spare an hour or two to help me sort of break the ice , I guess ."

       "So she's really that hot , huh ?" , Ash chuckles .

       "Yeah , but it's not just that , dude !" , he responds . "She seems to be really sweet , and she's easy to talk to , and ... Hell , I don't know how to explain it , really , all I know is that I haven't been able to stop thinking about her since I met her !"

      "Get everything set up and tell us where to be , and when , and we'll be there ." , I tell him .

      "Thanks , T ! Your chick is the best , Ash !" , he whoops . "I'll get ahold of her , and let you know what's going on . Later !"

       He hangs up , and Ash sort of shakes his head and says , "Man , he's got it bad ! I just hope this girl is worth all the effort he's putting out ."

       "I guess we'll find out soon enough ." , I answer . 

                                 _______________________________________________

       We walk into the restaurant , which is completely packed with people celebrating the holiday . The hostess walks over and we give her CC's name , since he made the reservations . She escorts us to the back of the restaurant , to a private dining room , where CC is already sitting . He's drumming on the tabletop with his silverware , but puts it down when he sees us .

      He jumps up from his chair and hugs me , then he and Ash do some sort of weird handshake thing , and we all sit down . 

       "How the hell did you manage to get a reservation on such short notice ?" , I ask him . "Every restaurant in town is packed to the rafters . That's why Ash and I were just going to spend the evening at home ."

      "The owner is actually a buddy of mine ." , he replies . "He always keeps one of the private rooms free in case one of his friends needs a last - minute reservation ."

       "So where's your chick ?" , Ash inquires .

       CC looks up at the clock , and says , "She texted me to let me know that she was going to her hotel to change after she finished working . She should be here in a few minutes ."

       We sit and talk for another ten minutes or so , then the door opens and a girl walks in . Even if we hadn't already been aware of how smitten he was , it's made completely clear by the way his face lights up when he sees her .

       He jumps up from his seat and meets her halfway to the table , walking her over and pulling out her chair for her . He sits back down , and says , "Anna , this is my friend Ashley , and his fiancee , Tiana . Guys , this is Anna ."

       "It's nice to meet you ." , she says , in a soft , heavily accented voice . She looks at me , and says . "I've seen you , on television , I think . You are a writer , yes ?"

       "That's right ." , I reply . "And CC tells us that you're an actress . Do you just do theater , or do you do film , too ?"

      She explains that she was born in Russia , and acted in theater there before moving to the US . Currently , she does most of her work on Vine and YouTube , with a bit of theater work , and some occasional modeling .

       We order our food , and as we converse while we're waiting for it to arrive , CC begins to relax a bit , and starts acting more like his normal self , cracking everyone up . As the evening goes on , I catch Anna looking at him several times when she thinks he's not paying attention , and I kind of get the impression that she's as interested in him as he is in her . She seems to be really nice , so that should be a good thing . 

      After awhile , CC excuses himself for a few minutes , and right after he leaves , Ash gets a call about something going on at APFI , so he steps out to take it , leaving Anna and I alone at the table . When they're both gone , she puts down her fork and looks at me . "You knew his ex - girlfriend , yes ? Does this mean that everyone will disapprove if I accept a date with him ?"

       "Absolutely not !" , I tell her . "Yes , I know her . Not as well as the others do , but yes . But neither of them was really happy at the end , so it was best for both of them to end it . He seems to be interested in getting to know you better , but the question is , what do you want ?"

       "He seems very sweet , and funny , and he's very attractive ." , she replies , smiling broadly . "I think that I would very much enjoy knowing more of him ."

     "That's good , he's a great guy , and he deserves to have someone who genuinely cares about him . But there is something that I'd like to explain to you . I'm not trying to scare you off , but it could be bad for both of you if you walk into this unprepared ."

       She looks at me curiously , and I continue , saying , "If you do end up being in a relationship with him , you're going to become a member of a rather special , small club of only five members ; the two of us , and the other guys ladies . And by joining the club , you'll also have people who will hate you for that alone . They won't know you , or what kind of person you are , they'll just hate you because you're with him , and they can't be . And some of them aren't shy about letting everybody know how they feel , so if you don't think you can handle it , back out now , before he gets too attached to you ."

      "Is that why the other girl left him ?" , she asks .

      "I don't think that was the only reason , but it was definitely a contributing factor ." , I answer .

      She looks me in the eye and says , "I have some experience with what you speak of , from my Vine show . I worked with my boyfriend at the time , and we both got some of that from fans who were jealous of our relationship . It wasn't on such a large scale , of course , but I do understand what can happen . But I don't think that should be a concern between two people in their relationship . If they are happy with each other , why should the opinions of others matter ?"

       As we see CC come back into the room , I smile and say , "You know , I think I'm going to like you ."

       He sits back down next to Anna , and says , "Sorry I was gone so long , but there was a huge line . Did I miss anything exciting ?"

       "Not really , Tiana and I were just talking about my Vine show ." , she tells him .

       Ash comes back a couple of minutes later , and we order dessert . After we finish , Ash says , "Well , I think that T and I are going to leave you kids to your own devices now , if you don't mind . She still has a gift at home to open ."

       "You didn't give it to her yet ?" , CC asks . "Good thing I didn't ask her about it , since you didn't warn me !"

       "So the guys know what my gift is ?" 

       "Well , I had a couple of different ideas , so they helped me narrow it down ." , he admits . "I assume you talked to Brian or Rick , or somebody , about mine , right ?" 

       "Nope . I worked it out all by myself . Your cousin couldn't keep a secret if you put a padlock on his mouth when it comes to things like this ." , I say . "I don't understand it . If you tell him something life or death important , he's the Sphinx , but let him find out what someone's getting for their birthday or something , and next thing you know he's singing like Steven Tyler ."

       We all settle our bill and leave the restaurant , then Ash and I say our goodbyes and walk to the car , leaving CC and Anna in front of the restaurant talking about catching a movie . He drives back to the house and comes around to open my door for me , walking hand in hand with me to the front door .

       We walk into the living room , and he takes my jacket and goes to hang it up , along with his own , while I go retrieve his gift from it's hiding place . When I come back into the room , he's standing in front of the couch , with a red envelope in his hand . 

       "Do you mind if I give you your gift first ?" , he asks .

       "Not at all ."

       He sits down , and motions for me to sit next to him , so I do . "I thought about this forever , so I hope I got it right ." , he says . "But if you don't like it , we can always exchange it for something else ."

       He hands me the envelope , and I open it to find a folded piece of paper . I unfold it , and realize that I'm looking at a confirmation for two airline tickets to Japan , leaving in three days .

       "I remember how we used to talk about seeing the world when we were kids ." , he murmurs . "Japan is such an amazing place , I wanted to show it to you , but if you don't want to do that , we can go wherever you want ."

       "Are you kidding me ?! This is fabulous !" , I exclaim , flinging my arms around his neck . "I've always wanted to go there ! Well , there and some tropical island somewhere ." 

       "Maybe we can do that for our honeymoon ." , he chuckles .

       "Now you open yours !" , I say , handing him the long , narrow box that I've been hiding from him for over a week . "I've had to force myself not to give it to you early , so I hope you like it !"

       He opens the box and takes out a sterling - silver necklace , with an asymmetrical star shaped pendant . "This is cool , T , thank you !" , he says . He gives me a puzzled look when I don't reply , and just continue looking at him .

       "What ?" 

       "Aren't you going to read the inscription ?" , I ask .

      He holds the pendant in his hand and looks at it , blinking several times and rubbing his eyes , then looking at it again . His head snaps up to look at me , and he opens and closes his mouth several times before he finally manages to get out , "Are you serious , Tiana ? Does this really say what I think it says ?"

       "It really does ." , I assure him , as I take it from him and fasten it around his neck , making sure that everyone will be able to see the words "Rock Star Dad".

       " How long have you known ? There's no way that you got this done within the last day or two !" , he says .

       "I've kind of suspected for about a month , but I didn't want to say anything until I could make sure that there weren't any problems ." , I tell him . "I had an ultrasound last week , and he , or she , is where they should be this time . Are you okay with this now ? I know we're gonna have to re - figure the wedding , and ..."

       He takes my face in both hands and kisses me , cutting me off in mid - sentence . "Of course I'm okay with it !" , he says when we stop for a breath . "This is the best present I could ask for . And as for the wedding , let's just get everybody out here and go for it now !"

       "Are you serious ?" , I inquire .

       "As a heart attack ." , is his response .

       So , instead of celebrating Valentine's Day like most other couples are , we spend the rest of the night on the phone , calling all of our families and friends , rescheduling our wedding .