Knight in Shining Suit (21 page)

“
No one is judging you,
Ash,” John said gently. “It was about time you gave it up
anyway.”

“
Thanks John!” I
said.

“
Well, at least you gave
it up to someone more gorgeous than Bryan!” Dannie said, trying to
make the mood light again.

“
And I got a thirty
thousand dollar ring in return! What a high class whore I am!” I
muttered.

“
It’s not that, Ash! Maybe
he was just… gallant!”

“
I told him to buy a ring
that was fake, but would pass as being the real thing. Or he could
rent the real thing and return it later. He didn’t do either! And
he only told me to keep the ring after all had been done! What else
was this ring for? He doesn’t know me. I don’t know
him.”

“
He’s rich. Something to
remember him by?” Nicole suggested.

I shook my head. “No. If
he thought he could buy me, he’s dead wrong!”

“
And what are you going to
tell him when you see him? That sleeping with him was actually for
free?” Dannie asked in an irritated tone.

“
Well…” Actually, I didn’t
know what I was going to say to him. “I’ll tell him that… that he
can take his ring back and shove it down his throat!”

“
What good would that do?”
John asked.

“
I don’t like owing people
favors. Especially those with a huge financial value attached to
it,” I replied.

“
Fair enough,” Nicole
said. She stared at my ring once again. “But still, very
pretty!”

“
He must have thought I
was a joke, huh!” I whispered.

“
Come on! You don’t know
that!” John said. “For all you know, you got under his skin the
minute he laid eyes on you.”

“
If he really is who we
think he is, then he’s got a long line of mistresses pining for his
attention. I just feel that he… bought himself a weekend
entertainment and… I was it.”

“
Hunt him down, sweetie.
So you can ask him why he did it. Why he spared you even a minute
of his time,” Nicole said, smiling at me. “Who knows? If John’s
right and you did get under his skin, then… Bryan would be
eating
his
heart
out at your wedding.”

I glared at Nicole.
Because even though I had been thinking about Ryder constantly over
these past few months, I was thinking about Ryder Woodson, the
bartender, who was sweet and kind, smart and funny, who steals
lines from his sister’s romance novels. The warm, gentle guy who
made me feel like I was the queen of the world, that I deserved a
prince like him instead of a loser like Bryan. Ryder, the simple
guy with a great mind and a big heart.

Ryder Van Woodsen, on the
other hand… I didn’t know him at all. For all I know, he could be a
fierce, manipulating, cold-hearted bastard who doesn’t mind paying
thirty thousand dollars to pretend to be somebody he isn’t… and to
take advantage of a desperate, pathetic, heartbroken girl like
me.

If he really was all the
things he said he was at that wedding then he was the epitome of
what I swore never to date ever since I was a teenager.

I went home with a heavy
heart because I knew, every day since the wedding, I’d been looking
forward to seeing Ryder again. I thought that, given the chance,
when I got my act together that I’d show him the real me; he might
actually get to like me. For real.

But now… I doubt
that
I
would get
to like
him.

11.

GUEST BOOK:

Your guests can write
special messages on your wedding day. You’ll want to remember who
was at your party. Some opt to have a photo book printed with their
prenuptial pictures and empty fields and spaces where guests can
write their messages. It’s a photo book and guest book in
one!

J
acob and Angela’s big day was also a big day for me. It was
my debut. A coming out… a vindication… a resurrection… a
rebirth.

I worked tirelessly for
the entire day, tying up loose ends, making last minute
confirmations, making sure that nothing would go wrong.

The ceremony by the beach
was perfect. The way we arranged the place made it look like they
were not in the beach at all. Instead, they were in paradise. We
had the reception in an open area, facing the beach where huge
lanterns glowed along the shore and some in the sea itself. At
least four bubble machines were blowing bubbles in the air. The
ground of the reception had rose petals scattered around. All the
guests were wearing flower garlands. Torches were lit around the
area of the reception to give a little beach bonfire atmosphere.
The whole setting was a combination of beach paradise and elegant
wedding bliss. I was so proud of the results.

“
I am so… so happy!”
Angela said to me just before dinner started. “You are a genius,
Astrid! I would recommend you to all my friends!” She
beamed.

Jacob was so happy that
his bride was positively glowing on their wedding day.

“
Thank you,” he said to me
and I knew he really meant it.

I was looking contentedly
at the guests. It was after dinner and the bride and groom were
dancing along with the other guests. Just then, I heard somebody
speak behind me.

“
So, I see you are back in
business.”

I spun around and faced
the source of the familiar voice. Bryan was staring back at me with
a surprised expression.

I simply nodded at him,
biting back a curse. Well, barely.

“
Are… are you one of the
guests?” I asked him.

He nodded. “Angela and
Jacob were patients of mine.”

“
Oh. Do they still have
all their teeth accounted for?” I asked in a sarcastic
tone.

He chuckled. “God, I miss
your sense of humor!”

“
I don’t miss yours
though. Apparently, your idea of a joke involves getting my cousin
knocked up behind my back,” I muttered.

“
I miss your feistiness,
too,” he said sadly.

He stared at me for a
while and then he sighed. “You look really good, Ash.” Something in
his voice told me that he was not very happy about it. Not one
bit.

Then his eyes drifted off
to my finger.

“
I see you’re still
engaged to Van Woodsen.”

I raised a brow. “Of
course I am! What did you expect? I don’t change fiancés as quickly
as you do, Bryan.”

He sucked in a hard
breath. “I gotta hand it to you, Ash. What a rebound relationship!
Apparently, he was quite a guy. All your relatives are in love with
him.” Then he narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t think you love him,
though. I know you,” he said.

“
You don’t know what
you’re saying.”

He shook his head. “I know
exactly what I’m saying. You don’t love him. I think you were just
using him to get back at me. Does he know? Does he know that you
don’t feel for him half of what you felt for me?”

“
Back down there one
second, Mister!” I said, quite irritated with him now. “You don’t
know me, Bryan. Not even a bit. I’m happy now! Ten times more than
when I was with you! He makes all my dreams come true.”

“
Really? You were never a
mercenary.”

“
I didn’t want his
money.”

“
I heard the Van Woodsens’
pockets run very deep. Especially, your fiancé’s. Owning a string
of exclusive bars in his own name already. Plus, those he will soon
inherit from his parents. I thought you were different. I thought
you
hated
rich
guys whose worlds revolved more on their money than on their
girlfriends. Rich guys who could easily replace you... or buy
somebody else the way they bought you.”

God! Why did I even fall
in love with a bitter, accusing, self-centered bastard like
this?
I thought to myself
angrily.

“
You may be a guest here,
Bryan, but excuse me for this!” I said and without warning, I gave
him one sharp slap on the face.

I quickly turned on my
heel before I could burst into very unhappy tears in front of him.
I wasn’t looking. I ran straight into a hard wall as I turned
around. And because tears were already sliding down my cheeks, I
refused to look back at Bryan.

I felt warm and
comfortable at that very instant. I felt strong arms wrap around me
in one comforting hug. I was too afraid to look. I just wanted to
run away from Bryan.

“
I see you haven’t lost
your touch, Bryan,” a familiar voice said, which made my heart beat
ten times faster. “It seems you still want the things you do not
have.”

There was a long pause.
And then Bryan retaliated, “Are you really sure you have her? You
don’t know her as well as I do.”

“
I think I know her now
more than any man does.” And I knew there was a subliminal message
hidden in that statement.

“
I doubt she loves you
that much!” Bryan said tirelessly.

“
It doesn’t matter. I love
her more than enough for the both of us. Now, if you’ll excuse us,
I need to take my fiancée away.”

I felt his arms come
tighter around me as he whirled me away from Bryan. I followed his
lead, but I refused to look up at him. I was afraid that he’d
disappear… again. That he wouldn’t be real.

He brought me to a
secluded corner. Then his other hand came around me and he
continued hugging me. I cried silently in his arms. I was so mad at
Bryan right now. It was hard for me to believe that I wasted three
years of my life with a loser like him.

I felt him pull away from
me gently. Then he tilted my chin up so I could look at
him.

Our eyes met and a mix of
emotions surged through me. Happiness because I missed that
friendly face, the face of an ally. Excitement, as I remembered the
last night we spent together. Warmth, as I realized how cold I had
been over these last few months. Caution, because I realized I did
not know him at all. Fear, because I knew I could fall for him in
an instant, but I knew I couldn’t trust him the way I trusted him
before.

“
I was told that you were
looking for me,” he whispered softly. “I was also told that you
couldn’t wait to kick my ass.” Although his voice sounded subdued,
I could see that his eyes were dancing.

Realization of the truth
dawned on me instantly.

Ryder
Van Woodsen
.

It was all true then. The
message made it to him. I was hoping it wouldn’t. Because that
would mean he wasn’t the owner of Oil Rig. That he was just a mere
bartender. So I could feel free to fall for him. Because he would
be more real to me than some rich guy.

I pushed him away, but his
grip on my waist was tighter than I thought.

He raised a brow at me,
challenging me. But his eyes were still dancing.

I remembered why I was
looking for him in the first place. His ring! His payment for my
virginity.

Anger surged through me
again as I felt so embarrassed and so… low. I wasn’t able to stop
myself. He deserved the same thing I gave Bryan.

“
Ouch!” he said gently as
his left palm caressed his cheek. Then he took a deep breath. “I
can’t say I don’t deserve that. Anything else?” His eyes were still
dancing, one arm still wrapped around my waist.

“
Damn it! Who are you?” I
asked, pushing him away from me with all my might.

Finally, he let me go. I
stood a good two feet away from him, holding my hands in front of
me, warning him not to come near me.

“
Who are
you
?” I repeated. “I don’t know
you.”

He took a deep breath.
“Yes, you do, Ash,” he replied. “You know me. Maybe even better
than anyone else.”

“
I don’t even know your
name.”

“
It’s just a name! What
difference does it make?”

“
A lot!” I
muttered.

He took a deep breath
again and then he said, “Ryder… Ryder Anthony Van
Woodsen.”

“
See? If you could lie
about your name, you could lie about anything else!” I
snapped.

“
Wasn’t it all supposed to
be a lie, Astrid?” he asked me. “Wasn’t it all supposed to be a
sham? Wasn’t that what you hired me for?”

“
Because I thought you
were real… before all that!”

He took a step towards me.
“I am real, Ash!” he argued. “Every word I said at that party was
true! About who I am. What I do. About my family. It was all me. I
wasn’t pretending to be someone else.”

“
But you allowed
me
to think you were
someone else! Why, Ryder? Why would you agree to that deal? Why
would you agree to be paid ten grand to pretend to be in love with
me?”

He didn’t answer. He took
a deep breath and then he said, “I don’t have an answer to that.
Sometimes, I still ask myself the same question.”