"So Henry was sneaking in Fiona's window to see Bebe?" Lily asked with a frown.

"No, Lily. Fiona and Henry are seeing each other, and the fact that he snuck into her room must mean it's very serious." Finn patiently explained.

"I don't understand what the big deal is. We all know Fiona has always loved Henry. It was only a matter of time until Henry figured out that he loved her too," Lily pronounced. "Although this Finry thing is new to me. How long has that been a thing?"

"Since Mom's funeral?" Davis estimated. "We were on the roof, and the subject came up." He shrugged.

"The roof?" Lily questioned.

"We do all of our best thinking on the roof." Davis nodded.

"After a few too many," Laura said drily.

"Well, either way, I know that look," Kate said as she nodded to Henry. "Unless I'm mistaken, he's just been called in and is about to leave us."

Fiona, who had listened to the entire conversation while wishing the floor would open up and swallow her, turned in her chair to look at Henry, who was looking at his phone while the girl named Dixie was talking.

"Excuse me," Fiona said as she stood and walked toward the bar where Henry was standing. Her sudden move across the restaurant caught Henry's attention, and he looked at her with a guarded expression.

"You're mother just told me it looked as if you have to leave soon," Fiona said as she reached his side. She took her time, letting her gaze skim Dixie as she spoke.

"I have to go now," he responded, and Dixie let out a little cry and grabbed his arm.

"No, you can't go! What if something happens to you! I can't lose you too!"

Fiona could see that Henry wasn't going to be the one to shake her, so Fiona picked up her hand and removed it from his arm.

"Dixie, he's not yours. He's mine. It's time that you let go and step away." Fiona spoke softly, but she used her steely voice, the one she used with the cowboys back home.

"I don't believe you. Henry, tell her it's not true," Dixie insisted as she tried to reach for Henry again.

"Stop!" Fiona said in a firm voice. She was going to have to be cruel about it. "Look at that table." Fiona looked over her shoulder at the table full of people watching them. A few of them were about to fall out of their chairs; they were leaning so far forward.

"That's my and Henry's family. Our families are having dinner, and you are not at that table. If you were truly in Henry's life, you would be." Fiona watched Dixie digest the information, but she still looked unsure.

Henry's eyes were glued to Fiona with an intense look, but what he was thinking was a mystery.

"Are you going to help?" Fiona looked at him with total exasperation. She had no clue why he was only standing there.

"Yes," Henry agreed as he reached forward and pulled Fiona to him. "I love you, and I have to go." He said before his lips captured hers in a fierce kiss. It lasted long enough to make Fiona forget where she was and why she was there.

"Dixie. I'm sorry. Fiona is right. I'm hers, and she knew it before I did." Then Henry patted Dixie's shoulder and asked Fiona to walk him out as he grabbed his hand.

Fiona held tight to his hand as they exited the restaurant. His words made her heart soar.

"I'm sorry, Fiona. That didn't go as I thought it would. Our families are more persistent than I thought." He grimaced. "I also thought my Mom would handle it with cooler than she did, but I'm glad it happened. I was beginning to have doubts despite what I just said to Dixie back there."

"What do you mean doubts?" Fiona's heart stopped at his words. Had he not meant what he said to Dixie?

"The fact that you do not want to tell your family about us has made me feel like that boy in a tree that no one wants all over again. I want to tell everyone about you, and I claim to understand why you don't want to tell everyone about me, but I don't think I really do." Henry gave a half-hearted smile of apology.

"Oh, Henry! I never thought about it like that!" Fiona whispered as she threw her arms around his neck. "That's not what's it's about. I promise you."

"Are you sure? I started thinking about the fact that you didn't want to tell anyone at the ranch, and it made me more concerned, not less. I know you're not happy that it was revealed that we are...I don't even know what we are? Are we dating, lovers, having an affair, just passing the time?" Henry shook his head as his phone buzzed again.

"I have to go," he said as he looked at his phone once more. "Let's put this on hold until I get back."

"I love you, Henry!" Fiona said. She realized that her stubbornness had made Henry doubt her.

"But do you love me or the idea of me, Fiona?" He placed his hands on her shoulders and dropped a kiss on her forehead. "I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll do my best to make New York. We can talk more then, if not before."

Then Fiona watched him turn and walk away from her. He hadn't told her he loved her again.

She wanted to cry out and chase after him, but she knew it wouldn't stop him. The Navy had called him, and he didn't have a choice.

There was a bench against the restaurant's wall, and Fiona slumped onto it as she fought back the tears.

What had she done? Her only goal had been to stop her family from interfering like they always did. It was new and exciting and she wanted to hold that close. She didn't want all of the texting and aside comments that came with affairs of the heart.

Fiona felt someone sit next to her and looked over to see Laura.

"I wish I could say I know what it feels like to have the person you love have to leave like that." Laura was watching a mother struggle with a toddler across the street from where they were sitting.

"Henry doubts my feelings because I didn't want to tell anyone about us," Fiona whispered. "Why is the family so...immature all of the time? Why are they always in each other's business?" Fiona knew it was more than just being a close family, and she was at a loss as to why they couldn't just give each other and her a little more space.

"It's not their fault. They're famous and wealthy people from famous and wealthy parents." Laura shrugged her slender shoulders. "They only have each other. Occasionally, they will bring a few well-chosen people in from the outside, but it's rare for those people to make the inner circle. When your only trusted friends are your family, it can make you lose perspective on what constitutes personal space. You can't really go out in the world and have different close friends, can you?"

"I did," Fiona denied.

"Did you really, though? You have people you call friends, but we've never met them. If you don't share a basic thing like your family with them, are they truly a close friend? I don't think so because our family is what creates and molds us. It's who we are." Laura turned to face Fiona. "The family accepted me because I married Davis, but I don't think any of them would call me a friend, and that's because I have chosen not to share. I have always been included in family events and gatherings, but Grace and Cassie never just called me up for lunch or shopping, and that's my fault. It's my choice because my family made me."

It was a different way of saying what she had said to Dixie. She and Henry were at the table. They were included, but it was more than that. Her family was struggling to be her friends, and she wasn't letting them.

Fiona bit her lip as she considered Laura's words. She felt like her family had been pulling away from her the past few years, but was it them or her that was causing the disconnect?

"All I am saying is, think hard about what it means to keep a private life private and what you have to give up to do it. We're all made differently. Figure out if you're made to be part of a family or fly solo." Laura stood. "Either way, you can still have Henry, but you owe it to him to understand yourself before you expect him to understand you."

Fiona stood with Laura. As much as she wanted to continue to sit and think, the others were still inside, and facing them was the first step to figuring many things out.

Henry and Fiona's relationship wasn't mentioned again, it was as if they had all heard Laura's comments and decided to give her space, or maybe they knew how much it had hurt to watch Henry walk away.

It had hurt a lot, and knowing that he was going out into a dangerous situation while doubting that she loved him only made it hurt worse.