Knight in Shining Suit (22 page)

“
God, I’m such a fool! You
must have been having the laugh of your life behind my back!” I
said angrily.

He shook his head. “I was
having the time of my life. For the first time, I was sure that a
woman enjoyed my company because of who I really am beneath my
nametag.”

“
I wouldn’t care, Ryder!”
I said to him.

“
I know,” he said. “And I
liked that. It shouldn’t change anything between us,
Ash.”

I shook my head. “It
does,” I said to him. “I can’t look at you the same way
now.”

Tears rolled down my
cheeks. I started to take off the ring he gave me, but he was quick
to close his palms over my hands.

“
Don’t!” he said. I stared
up at him. His face was serious. His eyes were no longer playful
and dancing.
Is this the real Ryder Van
Woodsen?
I asked myself.

My phone rang that
instant. I took a deep breath and answered it.

“
Astrid, where are you?
The party’s about to end and I need you here,” Leilani said to
me.

“
I’m coming,” I
replied.

I stared up at Ryder
again. “I… I have to go to work.”

He nodded. “I’ll wait for
you up front. I’ll drive you home.”

“
There is no need for
that…” I started protesting.

“
I’ll take you home,” he
said in a strident, demanding tone.

I didn’t answer. Instead,
I turned my back on him and walked back to the party.

I kept myself preoccupied.
It was too confusing to think about Ryder.

Who did he think he was?
The king of the world? Can I just easily forgive him for making a
fool out of me? Does he think he can give a very expensive ring and
expect me to shrug everything off?

I said goodbye to the
guests. I made sure everything was in order.

Finally, I said goodbye to
Angela and Jacob. Angela was in tears when she hugged
me.

“
Bless you, Astrid! Bless
you!” she said to me, in between tears.

“
Thank you very much,
Astrid. It was a job brilliantly done,” Jacob said, shaking my
hand.

I said goodbye to my
assistant and then I went down the front steps. True enough, a
familiar McLaren was parked in front of the hotel. As soon as he
saw me approaching, Ryder got out of the car and opened the car
door for me.

We drove in silence. I
didn’t know what to say to him. I would have babbled endlessly with
Ryder Woodson, the bartender, but I was seriously tongue-tied now,
in front of Ryder Van Woodsen… apparently the richest bachelor in
town!

I remember when I asked
him to pose as my boyfriend he was reluctant at first. He said that
I might not be able to afford him! Well, that was
so
true!

He parked in front of
Adam’s house.

I didn’t live here
anymore, but he didn’t have to know that. I hadn't spoken to Adam
in a while, I still had his keys and some of my clothes were still
here, so I figured it might be a good idea for me to sleepover. I
could use a little chat with my lawyer.

“
I can’t accept this ring,
Ryder,” I whispered.

He stared at me, raising
his brow. “You accepted it before.”

“
I didn’t know it was real
then! Haven’t you forgotten? I was the girl who couldn’t tell the
difference between cubic zirconia and diamond!”

“
What does it matter if
it’s real?” he asked.

I took a deep breath. “I
don’t want to owe you anything, Ryder.”

“
You don’t,” he
replied.

“
With this ring on me, I
feel like I do! And worse… it made me feel like… you paid me
because of that night,” I said quietly.

He sucked in a deep
breath. “Whoa!” He stared at me with a hard expression on his face.
“That was never my intention!”

“
Then what was your
intention, Ryder? Because the last time I checked, it is not normal
to give thirty thousand dollar diamond rings to near strangers!” I
snapped.

“
You asked for a
ring!”

“
I asked for a fake ring!
Or a rental!”

“
The last guy who gave you
a ring gave you a fake one already! I wanted to be original!” he
snapped back.

I took the ring off my
finger and I placed it in his palm.

“
Here’s your ring!” I
muttered. “Until you give me a better excuse as to why you gave it
to me, I can’t accept it because every time I look at it and every
time I remember what happened between us, I will always feel like…
a first-class whore!” I opened the car door, stepped out and
slammed the door behind me.

I walked towards Adam’s
house without a backward glance at Ryder.

I found Adam on the deck,
drinking beer and enjoying a cigar.

“
Oh, since when did you
fancy a Monte Cristo?” I asked behind him.

He almost jumped up from
his seat; I couldn’t help laughing.

“
Jesus Christ, Astrid!” he
groaned. “I want my key back!”

I laughed and sat beside
him.

“
Relax, cousin.” I took a
beer from the cooler beside him. “If it makes you feel better, I
missed you.”

“
It made me feel better!
Loads!” he said sarcastically.

We sat there for a while,
listening to the gentle breeze and the sound of the
waves.

“
What did I do to deserve
this visit?” he asked.

I sighed and took a gulp
of my beer.

“
Funny thing happened
recently,” I said to him. “Do you remember that I was sporting a
very lovely ring?”

“
The one that was meant to
blind the person unfortunate enough to stare at it for more than a
minute?”

I giggled and then I
nodded.

“
So? What about
it?”

“
Apparently, it was a
thirty-thousand grand Harry Winston.”

Adam took a gulp of his
beer.

“
Only thirty?”

I raised a brow at him.
“You knew!”

He sighed. “I can tell the
difference from cubic zirconia and diamond, thank you very
much.”

“
Why didn’t you tell me,
Adam?”

He shrugged. “You didn’t
ask.”

I groaned. Then I said,
“Don’t tell me you also knew that the date I brought with me was a
fake! He wasn't really a bartender!”

He was silent for a long
while. I stared at him, unable to believe that Adam could hide the
truth from me.

“
Oh my God, Adam! How
could you?” I groaned.

“
Hey, Ash. It wasn't my
position to tell, and he asked me not to.”

“
What? When?”

“
Well, I got the door for
you, remember?” he said. “I recognized him at first glance. Ryder
Van Woodsen is a prominent guy in some cities. He was new here. But
in Manhattan, he has face value.”

“
A-list?”

Adam nodded. “Sort of.
Their family is not exactly unpopular. They’re quite rich and they
own a chain of restaurants on three continents. When I saw him, I
told him immediately that I was expecting to meet a bartender. He
asked me not to say anything to you. But he was willing to help you
out in your own little game.”

“
Why?”

Adam shook his head. “I
don’t know. He didn’t say.”

I sighed. “That was why
you were looking at him funny all evening. That was why you were
constantly warning me not to fall for him.”

He nodded. “I was not
really happy that day, you know. Or maybe a little.” He smiled.
“Because I knew I would be getting my ten grand back. But other
than that, I was worried.”

I sighed. “He must have
been having the laugh of his life that night!”

“
Who knows? Maybe he was
bored with his life,” Adam said. “The ring was gorgeous
though.”

“
I returned it,” I
whispered.

“
Good for you,” he said.
“Show him you’re not one of the material girls he
knows.”

I took a gulp of my beer.
“I didn’t know until the guy in the jewelry shop told me I was
wearing an authentic Harry Winston. That’s when I looked for him
again. True enough, he wasn’t known in Oil Rig as the
bartender.”

“
He owns the place,” Adam
whispered.

“
I’ve been duped twice in
a row, Adam!” I muttered.

Adam smiled. “But if it’s
any consolation, I did a little research on him. He doesn’t seem so
bad. He was just too much into his work, but the good news is… he
was never rumored to be a womanizer.”

“
I don’t care about Ryder
Van Woodsen, Adam,” I said. But I knew something inside me was
deeply broken. I don’t know why. But I felt really sad to see him
again today and find out that he really is Ryder Van Woodsen, and
not the Ryder Woodson I was looking forward to seeing
again.”

“
Then why do you sound so
sad?” Adam asked wearily.

It took me a while to
answer. “Because I was disappointed. Because, for a while, I was
hoping to meet him again. To show him the side of me that isn’t…
you know…
cuckoo!
” I sighed again. “I really liked him. The guy who went with
me to the wedding. He was funny and smart. Down to earth and…
romantic. He inspired me to be better. And now, I think I am. I was
hoping to find him again so I could see what… lies ahead of
us.”

“
You found him again,
Astrid. This could be the beginning of something great.”

I shook my head. “I will
never see him again.” I stared at Adam sadly. “I will never see
Ryder Woodson again. Because he doesn’t exist. He never
did.”

“
What about Ryder Van
Woodsen?”

I shook my head. “I don’t
know him,” I replied. “I never did.”

“
Well, don’t you want to
get to know the guy?”

I laughed humorlessly.
“Come on, Adam! That guy is way out of my league! There is no way
I’ll fit into his world. It won’t last. And you know, if I start
believing in ‘ever after’ again, I need to find a man who can lead
me to that. Not a playmate for a while who will ditch me later on.
I don’t want to live like that.”

Adam narrowed his eyes.
“Live like what? Like a queen? With a guy who can give you
everything your heart desires?”

I shook my head. “I’m not
asking for much. I never did. I like the simpler things. I just
wanted a stand up guy, who can grow old with me, respect me, and
won’t look down on me. And I don’t want to live like… a bomb is
about to fall on my head any day. That he might tire of me because
he lived in an exciting world full of glamorous women who would do
anything and everything to take him away from me.”

“
You’re a very complicated
woman, Ash.” Adam shook his head. “Now, I understand. Even a guy
like Ryder Van Woodsen would be crazy about you!”

“
I’ve been through a lot.
And now that I’m almost out of that zone, out of danger, I… wanted
to make sure I won’t head down the same path again.”

“
I don’t think you would
head down the same path, Ash,” Adam said reassuringly. “Bryan is…
one of a kind!” he added sarcastically.

“
He’s a classic, isn’t
he?” I said shaking my head. “You know I saw him tonight. At the
wedding.”

“
Oh? And how did that turn
out?”

“
Really bad. I slapped
him,” I said.

“
Finally!” Adam threw his
hands up in the air triumphantly, as if he had been hoping for that
to happen for a long time. “Now, do tell!”

“
Well, he came up to me
and congratulated me for getting back in business. Then he said
that he didn’t think I really loved Ryder, that he thought I was
just using Ryder to spite him. Then he told me that Ryder bought
me. I couldn’t take it. I slapped him.”

“
Still couldn’t accept the
fact that he lost you. And he lost you to a better man. And then
what happened?”

“
I turned away from him,
and ran straight into Ryder. I don’t know what he was doing at that
party… but he was there at the right time. Bryan told him that he
didn’t think that Ryder really had me.”

“
What did Ryder
say?”

“
He doesn’t give a damn,”
I replied. “He said he loved me enough for both of us and that’s
all that matters.”

Adam snorted and then took
a gulp of his beer. “Van Woodsen reads a lot of cheesy
novels!”

“
Sometimes I don’t know if
he’s for real,” I admitted. Ryder just blows me away. But then
again, I really didn’t know him.

12.

WEDDING FAVORS:

There are plenty of
choices for wedding favors. You can choose from figurines, candles
or mints. Just make sure that whatever you choose, it’s not out of
your theme and your budget. Plus, it should be something that you
yourself would be glad to receive.