Knight in Shining Suit (11 page)

“
Come, let’s go watch the
sunset while we have some drinks.”

He led me to an open-air
restaurant facing the beach. He ordered light beer and I ordered a
margarita.

“
Isn’t it too early to be
drinking?” I asked.

“
You might need a little
help pulling this off,” he teased.

“
I do not!”

“
Sure you do. You tremble
so much when I kiss you. Like… you’re new at this or
something.”

“
God, I hope that’s not
your ego talking!” I groaned. “Didn’t it occur to you that maybe I
haven’t been kissed for a while? I need a little time to get used
to it again.”

“
Really? You didn’t
attempt to date after you broke up with him?”

I shook my head. “To… to
tell you the truth, I’m still in the stage of accepting how my life
suddenly turned a three-sixty,” I said sadly. “I was mostly mad at
my cousin. She was the lucky one, you know. She was always the
beautiful one, Barbie doll in the flesh. She was popular, rich, and
had a loving father who gave her everything. I was the one who
followed her around like an avid fan. She was always the center of
attention and I didn’t mind that. I didn’t care. I had Bryan. He
was my best friend before he became my boyfriend. And I was…
comfortable with him. I thought myself lucky to have found
him.”

“
He didn’t kiss you much,
did he?”

I raised a brow at Ryder.
He had a teasing grin on his face.

I sighed and shook my
head. “I guess I didn’t know how much kissing two people needed to
do. I didn’t mind when I was with him. We were comfortable sitting
together, just cuddling and being close to one another. I felt safe
with him. Like I belonged. That was all that mattered to
me.”

“
But that’s not all that
matters,” Ryder said. “You have to have passion. Like when you walk
into the room, your scent fills his senses. No one else is more
divine or more beautiful. No one else can capture his attention. I
mean, comfort is good. Comfort is what you get from knowing that
the other person can’t feel that kind of passion for anyone else
but you.”

For a guy who looked like
a model, I was surprised to hear these words from Ryder. He spoke
like he really did believe in happily ever afters.

“
You’re a romantic, aren’t
you?”

He snorted. “I’m a
bartender remember? I’m the shrink behind the counter filled with
liquor.”

I had to laugh at that. He
was right. His job required him to talk to strangers. So many
people go and sit alone in the bar, drinking their problems away
into the wee hours of the night, and they only have the bartender
behind the counter as company. I knew this from experience, because
I was once one of them. And it was easy for me to talk to Ryder
about
my
problems. That was the whole reason he was here with
me.

“
Are you over
him?”

I stared at the beautiful
sunset ahead of us.

“
I’m mad enough at him to
stop crying over him,” I replied.

“
That’s good enough.
Because to tell you the truth, sweetheart, he’s not worth it. You
know what they say? The only guy who is worth your tears is the one
who won’t make you cry at all.”

“
Wow! Ryder! You must have
snapped right out of a romance novel!”

He laughed. “I have a
sister,” he said. “She’s a hopeless romantic. Got her heart broken
three times.”

“
You seem like a
protective big brother.”

He smiled. “Yeah. Paris is
still a baby to me. I try to be there for her as much as I can.
Even if it means having to listen to all her guy problems or listen
to her quote passages from all the romance novels she loves
reading… or writing. She’s quite talented.”

I could tell that Ryder
held so much love and affection for his little sister. I admired
that. It made me wish I could have shared something like that with
a sister or a brother. But Geena was the closest thing to a sister
that I ever had and… look where we are now.

“
Did you punch those guys
who broke your sister’s heart?”

“
Just one. The one who
slept with another girl. The two others went to another country.
Geography is a difficult obstacle to overcome in a relationship. I
can’t really blame the guys. It’s better they were honest with her
than cheat on her.”

“
She’s lucky to have you,”
I murmured.

Ryder reached for my hand
and brought it to his lips.

“
And any man would be
lucky to have you, Astrid,” he said gently. “That ex of yours… he’s
not it. He’s not the one for you. Every single good thing that he
did to you has been nullified by the things that he did after which
were downright cheap and distasteful.”

I squeezed his hand and
smiled at him.

“
Yeah. What kind of guy
proposes with a fake engagement ring? The one that you get inside a
candy bar for free!” I muttered.

“
It doesn’t show how he
valued you. It shows his value as a man,” he said. “Please tell me
that he at least paid for something in the wedding.”

“
Oh, he paid for almost
everything!” I said. “I threw all the receipts at him and told him
it’s his job to refund his money from all the
suppliers.”

“
And instead of refunding,
he thought of using all your arrangements… albeit, you are no
longer the bride,” he said shaking his head. “He is one of a kind,
isn’t he?”

“
And I paid for their
florist,” I said.

“
Don’t expect him to pay
you back,” Ryder teased.

I squeezed his hand.
“Thank you for being with me, Ryder. I couldn’t have made a better
choice for a date tonight.”

He stood up from his seat
and pulled me up on my feet. “Come on. Let’s show your ex what he’s
missing!” And then he wrapped an arm around me and led me towards
the ballroom.

“
Breathe, Astrid,” he
whispered against my ear just as we were about to enter the
ballroom. “We’re going on a rollercoaster ride.”

6.

PLACE CARD HOLDER:

Use a place card holder in
line with your motif or theme to ensure that your guests will be
seated according to your preference (not theirs!)

I
fought hard to hold the tears that threatened to spill from
my eyes when I saw the whole ballroom. It was exactly as I had
imagined it would be. The colors, the hues, the lilies. Everything
was perfect.

“
Welcome to my dream
wedding,” I murmured to myself, but Ryder heard me.

“
Welcome to the wedding
that you’re going to best—a hundred times over,” Ryder whispered
against my ear.

I looked up at him and he
gave me an encouraging smile. Then he leaned his forehead against
mine and he said to me, “Relax, Astrid. You have to remember, it’s
me you’re in love with now.”

And then he leaned forward
and gave me a butter soft kiss. “And I love you more than your ex
ever did,” he murmured.

When I opened my eyes, I
saw his handsome face, flushed with our kiss, his eyes sparkling. I
found strength inside me.
He’s really
going to help me pull this off.

“
We can do this,” I
breathed.

He smiled. “We are doing
this.” He leaned forward against my ear. “Forget that we’re
pretending. Tonight, I really am your boyfriend. And you are mine,
Astrid. I only have eyes for you.”

If a guy as handsome as
Ryder told you that he had eyes only for you, you should feel like
you just won the lottery. I felt like I won a once in a lifetime
chance to be with the prince I only see in my dreams. I thought I
melted then and there.

It took me a while to
realize that I did almost fall on my butt. My knees turned into
jelly with the look that Ryder gave me and the words he’d spoken to
me. He had his arms wrapped all around me, keeping me
steady.

“
Easy, love,” he said in a
low voice that seemed so familiar, so warm, so sincere.

I smiled up at him and
then I kept myself steady.

We walked hand in hand
into the ballroom. And we were just in time. Bryan and Geena were
just settling into their seats after their dance.

Nicole led us to our seats
and I could hear people murmuring from all over. I could feel
hundreds of eyes on Ryder and me.

“
What an entrance, Ash,”
Nicole whispered and I smiled nervously.

Ryder pulled a chair out
for me, quite the perfect gentleman. I found that Nicole sat me
with Adam and herself and some people I hadn’t seen before in my
life.

I smiled at them shyly and
then I gave Adam a peck on the cheek.

“
Sorry, we’re late,” I
said to him.

“
Oh, dear cousin. Don’t
worry about it. You had perfect timing,” Adam said in a slightly
higher pitched voice and I had to bite my lips to keep from
laughing.

“
You remember Ryder?” I
asked him.

Adam nodded. “Of course, I
do.” He extended his hand to him and Ryder shook it.

“
Nice to see you again,”
Ryder said politely.

“
Where are my parents?” I
asked Adam.

“
They’re over with Dad.
They didn’t know you were coming, did they?”

I shook my head. “I only
told your dad I was coming.”

“
It looks like it.” Adam
grinned. He leaned forward to whisper in my ear, “Even the bride
and groom didn’t seem to know.”

He excused himself from
our table.

“
Why aren’t you making
rounds to see your relatives?” Ryder whispered against my
ear.

“
Because I’m too nervous
to stand on my own two feet.” I smiled sweetly at him.

He laughed throatily, then
leaned forward and gave my bare shoulder a gentle kiss.

“
Come on, love. Maybe it’s
time you introduce me to your parents,” he said.

I took a deep breath as
Ryder stood up from his seat and pulled me to my feet.

I nervously made my way
across the dance floor, towards the front tables where my parents
were seated. Couples who were dancing stared at Ryder and me. Many
of them were distant relatives who probably knew the real story and
didn’t really expect that I would show up tonight.

I found my parents sitting
with Uncle Jack and his new wife, as well as some of my other
distant aunts and uncles.

“
Oh my God! What a lovely
surprise!” My mother beamed as she gave me a hug.

As I hugged my father, I
felt like crying again. However much I hurt, I needed to keep up
appearances. I gave Uncle Jack a kiss on the cheek, and then I
introduced Ryder.

“
Mom, Dad, this is Ryder,
my boyfriend.”

“
How do you do, Sir?
Ma’am?” Ryder shook their hands politely.

Uncle Jack also extended
his hand.

“
Jack Ackers. I’m glad
there’s a certain someone who’s making my girl blush,” he said
teasingly, and I could feel my face heat up. I could tell that he
was relieved to see me with Ryder.

After finishing the rest
of the introductions, they invited us to sit with them for a while.
I turned nervously to Ryder, but his eyes sparkled as he pulled a
chair out for me. He seemed so relaxed and confident. I squeezed
his hand as he sat beside me and I felt him squeeze it
back.

“
What did you say your
surname was?” Uncle Reynolds asked.

“
Van Woodsen, Sir,” Ryder
replied politely.

“
And where are you
from?”

“
Manhattan,
Sir.”

Uncle Reynolds seemed
taken aback and then he gave Ryder an impressed smile.

“
You’re from New York?”
Uncle Jack’s new wife, Lilie, asked. “How did you and Astrid
meet?”

“
Well, I’m in town for
business, Ma’am. We met through a mutual friend, whom I will always
be thankful to for introducing her to me.”

“
What do you do, Ryder?”
my father asked. Somehow, I knew his question was loaded; he was
judging if Ryder was capable of taking care of me.

I was about to say
something when Ryder squeezed my hand.

“
I’m an entrepreneur,
Sir,” he replied. “I have… a couple of businesses in Manhattan and
now, here in Malibu.”

“
What businesses?” my
mother asked.

Ryder grinned at her. “I
have a chain of music bars and restaurants, Ma’am.”

“
You know the Van
Woodsens. That’s what they do,” Uncle Reynolds smiled. “Hey, some
of your restaurants in New York take reservations as far as a month
in advance. You don’t suppose you can bump us in quickly if we’re
in town?” He chuckled.

“
Uncle!” I
hissed.

Oh my God! I did not think
this through!
I thought to myself. Why did
Ryder’s surname have to be or sound the same as a famous family?
And worse, how could my uncle know them?