Knight in Shining Suit (23 page)

I
made myself busy the next week. I got the early shots of
Angela and Jacob’s wedding. I asked permission for those to be
uploaded onto my site. I also asked for some early video clips that
showed most of the venue, the arrangements, and the highlights of
the party.

I was very happy with the
results. Rose was getting a lot of inquiries for our
services.

I met with my friends at a
new bar called Rig Style. I didn’t want to risk meeting Ryder at
Oil Rig. I promised to stay away from that place since I found out
he owned it.

“
So when will you treat us
for a round of beers?” Dannie asked me.

“
Once I start making
money. Right now, it’s still at take off stage. But I’m happy with
how popular we’re getting,” I said with all smiles.

“
You’ve always been great,
Ash. This is you. This is who you are, and what you’re made of,”
Nicole said. “And I won’t forget what you promised me. You’ll hire
me as soon as the cash comes pouring in, okay?”

I nodded. “I
promise.”

When we took our bill, the
waiter told us it has been taken care of.

“
By who?”

The waiter stared at me. I
raised a questioning brow at him.

“
My boss said you’d know,”
he said. “He was hoping you would come up to his
office.”

At first, I didn’t get
what he meant. Then it dawned on me, and my heart pounded inside my
ribcage.

“
Oh, you’ve got to be
kidding me!” I groaned.
How rich could he
be?

My friends looked at me
curiously.

“
Any chance this bar has
the same management as Oil Rig?” I asked the waiter.

The waiter smiled and then
he said, “Then I trust you understand what I meant.”

I groaned and then I
turned to my friends who were smiling now.

“
Wow!” Dannie couldn’t
help saying.

“
Okay, where’s his
office?” I asked the waiter.

I told my friends I
wouldn’t be long. I just need to tell Ryder that next time he wants
to see me, he must make the effort to ask me himself.

I was led to the office
upstairs. When I opened the door, I found Ryder standing on one
side, looking through the glass wall, his back turned on me. I knew
that he knew I was standing behind him, but I made no effort to
call his name or to make any sound to indicate my
presence.

“
Can you do me a favor?”
he finally asked.

I sighed.
“What?”

He turned to face me.
“Will you have dinner with me?”

“
I already had dinner,” I
said, although it was more a snack than dinner. I intended to make
some pasta when I got home.

“
Would you humor me then?”
he asked.

“
What for?” I asked
back.

He smiled and he stepped
closer to me. “We… got off on the wrong foot the last time. I’d
like to make up for it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Ryder,
what do you want from me? I know I owe you a favor. But can you
tell me what you want in return so we can go on our separate
lives?”

“
That’s the thing. I can’t
seem to decide what I want in return,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
I almost forgot how to breathe. He was so handsome and the look he
gave me just blew me away.

I sighed and then I
nodded. “Okay. I just need to tell my friends.”

I dialed Dannie’s number
and told him that they could go ahead since Ryder and I had some
business to talk about.

“
Would you like to have
dinner here then?” I asked Ryder after my phone call.

He shook his head. “No.
I’ve got something else in mind.”

He grabbed his car keys
and then he took my hand. I tried to pull it away, but he only
gripped it tighter, refusing to let me go. Then he turned to me and
winked.

I heaved a sigh. I wished
he would just tell me what the hell he wanted so I could start
moving on with my life!

We drove quietly for a
while. He parked in front of a hotel and then he got out of the car
and opened the door for me.

“
Mademoiselle,” he
said.

I stared at him and found
that his eyes were twinkling, like he was suppressing a laugh or
something. I didn’t know what to say so I rolled my eyes and stuck
my tongue out at him for a moment and then I walked past him. I
heard him chuckle behind me.

We walked into a
restaurant. He chose a spot outside where we had a lovely view of
the beach.

The waiter handed us a
menu. Although I said I already had dinner, I still ordered pasta.
Ryder was suppressing a smile when he heard me order something from
the waiter.

When the waiter left, we
stared at each other blankly. Then Ryder chuckled.

“
What?” I asked in an
irritated tone.

He shook his head. “You’re
cute.”

I knew I blushed at that.
But I raised my brow at him instead of turning away.

“
What do you want from me,
Ryder?” I asked.

“
Come on, Ash. You were
not this grumpy at the wedding. What happened to that
girl?”

I sighed. “That girl was
desperate and broken. This girl is nearly fixed now and she’s mad
at you for lying to her, and making her feel like a first
class…”

“
Stop!” he cut me off.
Something in his voice scared me. He took a deep breath. It was
evident that he was trying to control his temper.

I was afraid to utter a
word. I bit my lip, while I waited for him to say
something.

He took a deep breath. “I
never meant to make you feel that, Astrid,” he said in a low voice.
“In fact, I never planned to… I didn’t plan the things that
happened that night.”

“
I know. I threw myself at
you. And you’re just a man,” I said.

His eyes narrowed. “Do you
think I would take any woman who throws herself at me?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know
you.”

“
Exactly. You don’t know
me. So don’t judge me, Ash.” His words were bitter, but his voice
was gentle. Like he’d been hurt by my words but he was trying to
understand me.

“
Then why did you do it,
Ryder?” I asked him. “Why did you agree to pretend to be my
boyfriend? You didn’t need the money.”

“
Sometime, you don’t need
to have a reason for doing something. Sometimes, you just… want
to,” he said.

“
It must have insulted you
that I thought you were just a mere bartender.”

He shook his head. “Not
really. Would you have spoken to me if you knew I owned the
place?”

I shook my head. “I
wouldn’t even look at you.”

He smiled. “I was at the
right place at the right time, Astrid. You needed me. Call it a
favor.”

Our food was served. We
ate in silence for about five minutes. And then I couldn’t help
asking him, “What about the events that followed after? Was that a
favor too?”

He stared at me for a
while. He knew I was talking about the night we spent together. He
shook his head, “That… that I did for my own benefit.”

I blushed again and this
time, I did look away from him.

The he reached forward and
pulled my chin so I could look at him. “The ring was not a payment,
Astrid. It was yours the moment I bought it. I never intended to
just lend it to you… or to give it to you only after what happened
between us. So… please… do not think otherwise.”

“
Why, Ryder? Why would you
give me that ring in the first place? I know you’re rich and you
could afford it. But you don’t just give out expensive rings to
people you don’t know.”

“
I know you, Astrid,” he
said softly. “And I know you deserved it.”

“
It’s not enough,” I
whispered. “Your reason is not enough.”

He smiled. “If I find a
reason that seems ‘enough’ for you, will you wear the ring
again?”

I raised a brow. “I gave
it back to you already.”

“
It’s still yours. I’m not
going to send it back to the store,” he said. “So? Will
you?”

I sighed. I didn’t know
what that meant, or why he was so persistent, but what could it
hurt if I accepted his gift? As long as he finds a good enough
reason as to why he was giving it to me, then I guess it was
fine.

“
Only if your reason is
good enough,” I said.

He nodded. “Then we have
another deal.” He smiled.

“
I’ll get to be the judge,
so don’t keep your hopes up,” I said seriously.

He laughed. “We’ll see
about that, won’t we?”

* * *

It’s Kaycee and Michael’s
wedding day. They were childhood sweethearts, and they wanted their
wedding to be a feast of flowers. The place where the ceremony was
held was covered in lilies. The reception had roses in shades of
red, orange, and pink.

The floor was covered with
rose petals. I mixed the artificial ones with the real ones to save
on cost. Balls of roses hung from the ceiling in different heights.
It looked like a classy fairy, flower land.

“
I told you, you should
hire me now,” Nicole said. “You really could use some
help.”

I smiled at her. “I know,
but not yet. I can’t afford you yet.”

After my success with
Kaycee and Michael, Peter and Lyn, a referral that came from Angela
and Jacob, hired me. And soon, inquiries just kept pouring
in.

I built up my portfolio.
Our gallery was filled with amazing shots of the weddings that we
had done so far. I had strengthened my relationships with my
suppliers. Even photographers and videographers loved working with
me that they all promised to give me top priority and better
prices. Since my concepts looked unique and brilliant, they also
look good on their portfolio.

One Friday night, one of
the rare weekends I knew I would not be working, I got an
unexpected call.

“
Miss me?” Ryder
teased.

It must have been weeks
since I last spoke to him. But I must admit that he crossed my
mind… more than once a day… particularly before I go to sleep. But
I shook off that thought and instead I pretended to be oblivious of
who he was. “Oh, who is this again?”

“
Oh, I’m so hurt,” he
chuckled.

“
You can’t be. Compared to
you, I’m practically a nobody. I’m sure you have more people pining
for your attention, my indifference is quite insignificant to you,”
I said.

“
But you see that’s what a
normal human being actually craves. The attention that he can’t
seem to get,” he countered.

“
Hmmm… we are insatiable
by nature. But my dreams are simple, Mr. Van Woodsen. I want not
what I do not have.”

This time he laughed. “And
that ladies and gentlemen is our winner!” he said and somehow that
statement confused me. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning, seven
sharp. Pack a weekend’s worth of clothing, will you?”

“
Excuse me?”

“
I know you’re not working
this weekend, Astrid,” he said. “Don’t ask me how I found out. If
you’re not out of bed by seven A.M., I will haul you out of it. And
something tells me that you may not like the methods I will use to
wake you up. Although, I find it very,
very
tempting.”

“
Ryder, what game are you
playing?”

“
I’m not playing games,
but I do remember that you owe me a favor. And this time I need you
to do one for me,” he replied.

I sighed.
Do it and get it over with
. I thought to myself.

“
Do you know where I live
now?” I asked him.

“
I’m sure I can find it,”
he replied. “See you tomorrow.” And he hung up, not giving me
another chance to think it through.

I sighed in frustration.
“What weird things am I constantly getting myself into?” I muttered
under my breath.

Nevertheless, I packed a
weekend’s worth of clothing, not only that, I think I packed some
of my best casual clothes, nightgowns I’ve only worn once, and
underwear that I bought some time ago, thinking I would be using
them when I got married.

Damn!
I cursed to myself.
You’re not
thinking of sleeping with him again, are you?

I stared at myself crossly
in the mirror. I remembered the last night I was with him and how
reason had abandoned me.

No!
I will not allow myself to drown like that again!
I will not sleep with Ryder Van Woodsen the
second time around!

Firmly deciding this, I
threw out the nightgowns and kinky undies from my bag and instead,
I packed new sets of bikini panties and bras. The bikini underwear
was low cut, but still very decent. I put two pairs of pajamas in
my bag. Pastel-colored in candy-like designs. The kind that a
sweet, innocent college girl wears on slumber parties.