“Let me guess. You got some sort of discount for ordering two dozen,” he grinned. “Well I guess that merits wearing a tie for you. I love the vintage paper.” He unwrapped the other gift, revealing a Neiman Marcus tie box. He looked up at me. I was eager to see what he thought.

“You darkened the doors of a mall? You must really love me,” he said, observing the box. “Did you buy this today when Annabel took you to get your makeup done?” He studied my face. “They certainly did your makeup very natural.”

“I wiped all that stuff off. Holy shit. Who’s ever heard of brown cheeks? I looked ridiculous.”

This brought spontaneous laughter from Griffin. “I think they call it bronzer, Bae.”

“Are you going to critique my makeup or open your present?” I asked. We exchanged one last conspiratorial look before he opened the box and examined its contents.

“How?” he asked.

“Well, I talked to Mac. The delay over the permits got handled, and he’s ready to do the restaurant. I’ve been saving, but I had to wait until the last installment yesterday, and then Annabel helped. She knows everyone.”

“You don’t have any money.”

“I have a little more than I used to. They’re real tickets, but Annabel suggested you might kick in a little bit for an upgrade.”

“Tickets to Italy, Bae.” He seemed overwhelmed.

“Better than a tie?” I asked.

He leaned over and kissed me. It was a kiss that matched my generosity. “You really shouldn’t have.”

“The way I see it, I’m just giving you back something you should’ve already had.” He was about to protest, but I continued talking, “Now I can have sex in a foreign country with you before anyone else and—”

“If you keep talking like that, it won’t be my checkbook I pull out.” Griffin pulled away from me. He straightened up. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

I was very pleased with myself. I stood up to leave.

He took my hand. His gratitude could not touch my happiness in being able to give him Italy. “Wait.” He continued holding my hand. I sat back down next to him on the sofa.

“I have something to say. When you came home, you had really lost your way. You lost yourself, Bae. I want you to always know that no matter how often you feel lost, you always have the ability to find yourself. I wanted to give you a tangible reminder that even though some things look lost, they are merely misplaced.” He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a box. I recognized the box immediately.

I took it from him before he offered it and opened the lid. Looking up at me were my own peridot and diamond earrings. “How?”