Knight in Shining Suit (57 page)

“
But you need a room,” he
said.

I sighed. “I’ll think
about it.”

“
Cool.” He stood up from
his seat and grabbed his jacket.

“
Hot date?”

He grinned. “Don’t wait
up.”

I rolled my eyes.
“Player.” I muttered under my breath.

Ryder’s car has not moved
in two days, so I assumed he’s back in New York and I am safe from
running into him for the time being.

I closed the deal on my
lease. It’s in the center of the city. It’s a lot smaller than my
current office, but it will do for now. Besides, it’s all about the
interior design. I just have to make it cute and cozy.

I had to move out, too. I
took most of my personal stuff to John’s place. I considered his
offer, but only temporarily. He’s a nice guy and all, but it’s
weird having breakfast with a different girl almost every
morning.

I still think about Ryder
every hour. I wonder how he is. I still remember our many nights of
passion. It still brings tears to my eyes. And I am still praying
that one day, he’ll come back and tell me he remembers me and he
still wants me.

One late afternoon, I was
taking out my boxes from the office, when suddenly a voice startled
me from behind.

“
Going
somewhere?”

My heart stopped beating.
I took short breaths and turned around to face him.

He was wearing jeans and a
white Armani T-shirt. He looked simple. He didn’t look like a
tycoon at all. His hair was disheveled and he had dark circles
around his eyes, like he hasn’t been sleeping at all. But God, he
still looks beautiful.

“
I… I’m moving,” I
replied.

“
Why?”

I shrugged. “This place is
too big for me. I am trying to cut costs so I can make more
profit.”

He nodded. I saw guilt
cross his face, but I turned away. I don’t need that. I don’t need
his pity. And besides, there is nothing wrong with cutting costs
and laying low. In fact, I should have done this when I started the
company in the first place.

I turned back to my boxes.
I lifted one, and it was really heavy. Ryder stood beside me and
took the box from my hand, lifting it as if it weighed
nothing.

“
Where are you going?” he
asked.

“
I’ve closed the lease on
the new place. I have to get my stuff out of here this
week.”

“
Did you not consider
movers?” he asked.

“
I don’t have a lot of
stuff. A couple of trips will save me the money I would spend on
the movers. It’s unnecessary.”

He looked like he wanted
to say something, but then he decided not to. Instead, he took
another box out to the front. Then he went back to take some
more.

What is he doing
now?

“
Ryder… really. I can do
this,” I said to him.

He grinned at me. “I know.
But if I help, you will finish faster.”

Is he trying to be
cute?
But God knows ‘cute’ is a huge
understatement to describe Ryder Van Woodsen!

“
Why do you care?” I
retorted.

He shrugged. “Maybe
because I would like to ask you out to dinner after you’re done
here. So the sooner we finish the better.”

I sighed.
What now?

“
Why do you want to have
dinner with me? Ryder, I can’t…” To my surprise, he reached out to
take my hand. His touch was gentle. Sincere. I wasn’t able to
finish my sentence.

“
Please, Astrid?” he
pleaded.

I looked into his eyes.
And somehow, I saw the shadow of the man that I loved in there. The
man that loved me back. Hope flickered inside me.

Hope.
Is there still hope for Ryder and me?

I nodded. He smiled at me.
“Thank you.”

Ryder was making some
calls while helping me bring out my boxes. And when I went inside
my office to continue packing some more of my office stuff with
Rose and Leilani, he went with me and silently helped.

Then I heard some noise
out in the front. I went out and found a huge truck pulling up my
driveway. The logo on the truck said
General Movers
.

I stared at Ryder in
disbelief. He grinned at me.

“
I told you, I don’t want
this. This is an unnecessary cost for me.”

He gave me a crooked
smile. “But it’s not on you. It’s on me.”

“
Ryder, I don’t want to
owe you anything!” I said in a frustrated tone.

He grinned at me again. He
reached out to push a lock of hair away from my face. “I know. And
you don’t,” he said. “Consider this a treat.”

“
A treat?” I
echoed.

He shrugged. “A treat from
your
boyfriend
.”

That irritated me. I
pushed him, but he was too quick for me, as if he knew I was going
to do that. He trapped both my hands against his chest and pulled
me closer to him. His expression was mischievous and
boyish.

“
Astrid…” He said gently.
“Did you break up with me before my accident?”

I took a deep breath. I
shook my head.

“
Did I break up with you?”
he asked again.

I shook my
head.

He gave me a crooked
smile. And then he pulled me closer towards him, snaking one arm
around my waist. Then he leaned forward, I can feel his breath on
my neck, which caused all the hairs in my body to rise.

“
So if we didn’t break up,
it means we’re still a couple. I’m still your boyfriend, Astrid,”
he said. “Don’t forget that, sweetheart.” And he planted a soft
kiss on my neck, before releasing me.

I felt weak when he pulled
away from me. I had to hold on to one of the boxes beside me to
support my weight.

Damn it!
How can he have such an effect on me? And what
game is he playing? He’s asking me not to forget that he’s still my
boyfriend, when he was the one who literally forgot that I was his
girlfriend!

Ryder turned and gave
instructions to the movers.

“
Where will they take
these boxes?” he asked me. I gave him the exact address.

“
So, now, you’re free,” he
said.

“
But these guys are not
yet done.”

“
Your assistant can watch
them. These guys will pack and transport everything to your new
place. And then they will unpack everything there. Basically, you
don’t have to worry about a thing. You’re free to go out with me
now.”

I rolled my eyes. He
didn’t give me a choice. I don’t know what game he is playing, but
to be honest, I was curious. After all, what else can Ryder Van
Woodsen do to me that will hurt me even further? I’m practically
maxed out!

“
Okay, since I’ve packed
away most of my clothes already, I’m going like this!” I said
motioning to the jeans, sleeveless turtleneck top and thong sandals
that I was wearing. I will make no effort to look glamorous to
impress Ryder. The Ryder I know likes me the best when I’m wearing
one of his oversized shirts.

He grinned at me. “Do you
always look gorgeous in anything you wear?”

I raised a brow at him. Is
he… flirting with me?

“
You’re kidding, right?” I
asked.

He smiled and stepped
closer to me. “I wish I was,” he said. He looked down at me,
pushing a lock of hair away from my face again. He looked into my
eyes. “Your eyes are beautiful.”

“
Of course. I’m a witch
remember?” I retorted and stepped away from him.

I can’t be too close to
Ryder. I have to put some distance between us before I literally
jump on him and beg him to kiss me like there’s no
tomorrow.

He stared at me for a
moment, watching my face turn the deepest shade of red. Then he
grinned. “Your blush is beautiful too, you know. And I like it that
I can make you blush.”

I groaned. “Ryder, what’s
going on?” I finally asked. “The last time we saw each other, you
were not nearly this nice to me!”

He raised a brow. “I don’t
think that’s true. The last time I saw you I couldn’t get my eyes
or my hands off you.”

I breathed heavily.
“Where’s the rude guy who thought I was after his
money?”

He raised his hand like a
boy scout. “Hey, ‘asshole mode’ still off.” He grinned.

Somehow, this Ryder is
confusing me. He’s every bit as cute and as playful as the first
time I went out with him in Miami… the first time I actually
changed my mind about Ryder Van Woodsen being a snob and
obnoxious.

He seems like the old him,
but I know he’s different. The arrogant guy who woke up at the
hospital was so much easier to resist. This Ryder, on the other
hand… I live for this man!
God, help
me!

“
Are you going to turn it
back on anytime soon? Because I have to be ready, you know! I have
to make sure I have enough fire power to snap back at you and
enough cab money to get back home when I walk out on
you.”

Ryder stared at me for a
while, and then he laughed, a real heartwarming laugh. “You’re
amazing Astrid Jacobson! I guess now I understand how you got
through my shield the first time around.”

I raised a brow at him.
Still waiting for his answer.

He took a deep breath and
reached out to touch my cheek. “No. I promise. ‘Asshole
mode’…
forever off
,” he said and my heart nearly melted right then and there.
He looked so sincere and there was tenderness in the way he stared
at me now. The cold, relentless man I met at the hospital was
almost gone. “Now, can we go?”

I sighed and then I
nodded.

He took me to a restaurant
and chose a spot where we had a lovely view of the beach. Tears
threatened to brim my eyes. This place was the same restaurant we
went to when I first found out who he was. But of course he doesn’t
remember that.

When I looked at him, he
was staring at me, watching my expression. He didn’t say anything.
But I know he could see that I was on the verge of
crying.

“
We came here before,
didn’t we?” he asked quietly.

I bit my lip. “Yes. First
time after I found out who you really were. When I found out that
you lied to me about being a bartender.”

The waiter came and
interrupted us. Ryder asked me to order first. I ordered pasta and
Ryder ordered salmon.

“
Why did you have to
move?” he finally asked me.

“
The place was too big for
me and too expensive. I would rather divert those funds into more
important things,” I replied.

“
You still have my
investment,” he said gently.

I stared at him and raised
a brow. “No. I gave you the check.”

He reached for my hand
across the table. “I didn’t cash it,” he said. “And I’m not going
to. I was out of line when I pulled it out.”

I bit my lip for a moment
and then I gently pulled my hand away from his. “Doesn’t matter,
Ryder. I don’t want your investment anymore. I can do this. It will
be difficult, I know. But I guess when you pulled the plug on me, I
realized that it’s time for me to grow a pair and be strong and
brave enough to face the challenges in my life alone.

“
Every time somebody in my
life leaves me… I crumble and fall and I don’t know how to get up.
When Bryan and Geena cheated on me, my world just fell apart. When
you… forgot about me, I felt like a part of me died and I didn’t
know how to recover from it.” I tried my best not to cry. “I don’t
want to do that anymore. I have to be strong for
myself.”

He stared at me for a
moment. I could see pain on his face. But he was lost for words
again. He didn’t know what to say. Of course, he can’t imagine how
much pain he can cause another human being he doesn’t even
know.

Hearing myself say those
words, I know that it was the right thing to do. Ryder cannot do
something out of whim and then change his mind about it and think
it’s just like clicking the ‘undo’ button on a computer
program.

And besides, I cannot make
my life always be a result of the consequences of the actions of
the people around me.

Bryan proposed to me, and
I set out to become Mrs. Bryan Bryans.
What a ridiculous name that is!
Then
he cheated on me, I became homeless and jobless. Ryder came and
invested in me, and I became an entrepreneur. Then he forgets about
me and I
almost
became jobless again.

This cycle has to stop. I
have to write my own future. I have to be who I am, regardless of
who comes in and walks out of my life.

I looked at Ryder again.
He was staring at me. Somehow, I see some admiration in his eyes.
He reached out for my hand and squeezed it.

“
I know you will not
change your mind about my investment,” he said. “But neither will
I.”