Knight in Shining Suit (36 page)

I intertwined our fingers.
It felt warm and I instantly felt comforted. I didn’t answer, but
tears were rolling down my cheeks.

He knew the answer even
though I didn’t say anything. The next thing I knew, he was parking
his car in front of his house.

He opened the car door for
me. I’m not sure what I was doing here, but I was sure it was a lot
better than whining inside my room alone.

He lit the fireplace in
his living room. Then he pulled me to sit beside him on the couch.
My heart pounded in my chest. He promised not to make any move on
me. The deal we had expired the minute we left New York.

He put his arms around me
and held me.

“
It’s okay, love. You can
cry if you want to. For now, that’s all you can do. At least it
will make you feel better,” he said gently.

I buried my face on his
chest and let the tears fall again. But now, I knew I was not
alone. I had Ryder with me… my savior, my rock.

I must have fallen asleep.
When I opened my eyes, I was resting comfortably against soft
mattresses. Light was seeping through the glass doors. I could hear
the soothing sound of the waves on the ocean.

I propped up my elbows and
found myself lying on Ryder’s soft bed, with the comforters draped
over me to keep me warm. There was no sign of Ryder. I looked at my
wristwatch for the time. It was already nine in the morning. I sat
up and found myself dressed in a big baggy shirt that I was sure
was Ryder’s.

I remembered that he had
to take the six a.m. flight. Did he cancel his trip?

I stood up from the bed
and went out of the bedroom.

“
Ryder!” I called. No
answer.

I went to his living room.
There were keys on the table, and there was a note under
them.

Ash,

I hope you’ll be okay
while I’m gone. There’s a meeting in Manhattan that I can’t miss.
Otherwise, I would have stayed.

Keep the keys with you
until I come back. You’re welcome to stay here anytime you want… in
fact, I would like it if you do.

Don’t worry too much.
Things will fall into place soon. And if they don’t, you know I’ll
always be here for you. You just say the word…

Call me as soon as you
wake up.

By the way, you can arm
and disarm the alarm system. The passcode is 278743.

Love,

Ryder

I read the note a couple
of times. Tears rolled down my eyes again. But this time, I wasn’t
crying because of my parents’ problems. I was crying because I
missed Ryder already.

He’d been the epitome of
strength to me. He’s been there in my darkest hours. He helped me
get back on my feet. He’d been too sweet, too kind. And every day,
I wished more and more that he was not a complicated man. That he
was just the boy next door that I could hope to have an ‘ever
after’ with. So I wouldn’t be scared to take a chance with
him.

I dialed his number. He
answered in one ring. “Good morning, love,” he greeted
cheerily.

“
Good morning.”

“
Do you feel
better?”

“
Yeah. Except I need
coffee,” I said.

He laughed. “I have a
coffee maker in the kitchen. Water’s in the fridge.”

I walked over to his
fridge. Its only contents were a box of milk, a pitcher of water, a
box of orange juice and a pack of butter.

“
Do you live in this place
at all?” I asked giggling. “Your fridge is almost
empty.”

He sighed. “I can’t really
trust the maids to refill the fridge.”

“
So what do you do when
you’re here and you need to… eat?”

“
I order out. Or I call
the bar and have one of the guys bring me food. Or I just simply go
out.”

“
Don’t you want to stock
up your fridge at all? I mean, you’re here at least once a
week.”

“
Well, I just don’t have
the time to do the grocery shopping.”

“
Oh well, would you have
time for anything other than work?”

“
I have time to be your
fiancé, don’t I?”

I felt guilty. That was
true. No matter how busy he was, Ryder magically found the time to
pose as my devoted fiancé in front of my family.

“
I’m sorry I impose on you
too much.”

“
Why are you sorry?” he
asked. “I like being your fiancé.”

I sighed. I wished it were
true. That he really likes being my fiancé… and not just for the
sake of the charade.

I broke the uncomfortable
silence that followed. “I forgot to give you back your
ring.”

“
It’s your ring, Astrid,”
he said in a serious tone.

“
Ryder… I don’t want to
have this argument anymore.”

“
Neither do I,” he
replied.

I held out my hand and
looked at the beautiful ring on my finger.

“
You don’t give thirty
thousand dollar diamond rings to strangers, Ryder.”

“
You’re not a stranger,
Astrid.”

“
You promised you’d find a
good reason. Our engagement in New York was just make believe. So
I’m compelled to give this back to you.”

He laughed. “Alright. You
win,” he said. “Just hold on to it until I get back.”

“
Can’t I leave it
here?”

“
No. Please. My safe will
be installed next week. It’s more secure on your finger. I promise
I’ll take it back when I see you.”

“
When are you coming
back?”

“
A couple of
days.”

“
Alright. I’ll have coffee
and then I’ll lock up,” I said.

“
Hold on to the key for
me,” he said. “Ash…”

“
Yes?”

“
You can go there anytime
you want.”

I laughed. “Ryder, you go
to another person’s house to visit them. Why will I go here if
you’re not here?”

“
Well, just in case you
need a change of scene.” He chuckled.

I walked over to his
living room. “Hmmm… that I can use.” I looked at his movie
collection. “Have you watched all these movies?”

“
Some,” he replied. “Some
I’m finding time to watch.”

I read some of the titles
on his huge collection. “Let’s see what sort of movies Ryder Van
Woodsen fancies…
The Godfather, Scarface,
The Godfather II, The Godfather III
…
you’re an Al Pacino fan.” I went all the way to the other side.
“There you go!
Notting Hill, My Best
Friend’s Wedding, Runaway Bride, Stepmom
…
you’re a fan of Julia Roberts, too. Hey, there’s a movie I’d like
to watch!
Pretty Woman
!”

“
You haven’t seen
Pretty Woman
?” he
asked.

“
In passing,” I said. “My
friends in college were watching it once, I was cramming for an
exam the next day.”

“
Hmmm… you can watch
it.”

“
One of these days, when I
need to unwind, I just might treat myself to a pizza and a movie
here at your place.”

“
You’re welcome anytime.
You have the keys,” he said.

We chatted for another ten
minutes and then I said goodbye to him. Then I finished my coffee
and went off.

For the next few days, I
kept my mind off my parents’ problems by keeping myself busy. Ryder
and I had been texting each other almost every hour. He narrated
what happened each day to me. I did the same. Every night, he would
call me and we would talk until one of us would fall asleep. It was
like he was not in Manhattan at all. Like, he was just right there
beside me.

19.

USHERETTES:

Their role is to make sure
that your guests do not lose their way on your wedding
party.

O
ne night, Ryder called me to ask a favor.

“
The maid will come
tomorrow. Usually I’m there when she does. But I won’t make it this
week. Can you stop by my house? She doesn’t have a key. Just let
her in and stay there while she does her stuff.”

“
You want me to supervise
your maid?”

“
Not really. Just be there
to make sure that everything’s in order.
”

“
Alright. I think I can
handle that.”

The next day, I went to
Ryder’s house. His maid was a woman in her forties named Zara. She
didn’t look like a maid at first, more like a diner waitress. She
was chewing gum and was wearing a skirt way above her
knees.

“
Where is Mr. Ryder?” she
asked me.

“
He’s in Manhattan,” I
replied. It looked to me that she was disappointed that the boss
was not in. Judging by her makeup and her short skirt, this woman
had another agenda in mind in cleaning Ryder’s house. I didn’t like
that idea.

“
Are you one of his
employees in the bar?” she asked.

I shook my head.
“No.”

“
Relative?” she asked
again.

I shook my
head.

“
Employee in Manhattan?”
she insisted.

I turned to her. In a very
controlled voice, I said, “No. I’m his… fiancée.”

She was taken aback. Then
she looked at me from head to feet, sort of measuring me. “Sorry.
It’s just that the boss never brought any woman in this house. You
were the first.”

“
That’s very comforting to
know,” I said to her. Then I took my Chinese takeout to the deck
and ate.

Zara finished her chores
after two hours. Before she left, I checked if everything was in
order. I checked the plants, the rooms, the bathrooms, and the
kitchen. I must admit, she did a very good job. She was very
thorough. Even though I was irritated with her for attempting to
seduce Ryder, her great job in the house deserved a tip. And so I
gave her a generous one.

She smiled at me. “Well, I
guess you and the boss are two of a kind. Congratulations on your
engagement.”

I smiled at her. “Thank
you, Zara. Have a nice day.”

When she was gone, I
called Ryder.

“
Did you sleep with your
maid?” I asked him.

“
Hell no!” he replied.
“Why? What’s wrong?”

“
Oh my God! Didn’t you
notice that she was trying to… make you notice her or
something?”

“
I’m not naïve, Ash. But
I’m also not interested.”

“
Really? Short skirt,
bulging neckline?”

“
Nope,” he said. “But it
is uncomfortable for me to be in the same room with
her.”

“
Why? Difficult trying to
keep yourself cool?” I joked.

“
No. More like… difficult
trying to keep myself from throwing her out of the house! Just so
you know, I don’t like aggressive women.”

“
Ryder, she asked me who I
was.”

“
You should have told her
you’re my fiancée,” he said.

“
I did actually,” I said
shyly.

“
That should stop her from
going to work in… shrunken clothing!” He chuckled.

“
Wow! Cleaning day must be
difficult for you, huh.”

“
Not my favorite part of
the week. However, she does a very good job. As much as I don’t
trust her, I am happy that she keeps the place dust-free. If I
could only just leave her alone in the house and just wire her the
money… if that would work, that would be heaven for me.”

I don’t know why I
volunteered for the job, but the next thing I knew, I was offering
to watch the house whenever Zara was around to clean up.

“
That would be great, Ash!
You can schedule it at a time convenient for you.”

“
Not a problem,” I said.
“You do me all sorts of favors anyway. It’s time I make it up to
you. We’re friends, remember?”

“
With benefits?” he
teased.

“
Before. But that ship has
sailed.” I giggled. “Now, let’s try to be normal friends. I never
was a friend-with-benefit type of girl before I met
you.”

“
You were innocent when
you met me, Astrid,” he said. “I shouldn’t have touched
you.”

That stung. “Thanks!” I
said sarcastically.

“
Don’t get me wrong!” he
said quickly. “What I meant was… the most amazing night of my life
would be the end of me.” I heard his sharp intake of breath. “I
shouldn’t have started what I couldn’t finish. I shouldn’t want
what I cannot have.” There was sadness in his voice. For a while, I
thought my heart was going to break.

“
Ryder…”

“
I know!” he interrupted.
“I’m Ryder Van Woodsen, right?”

“
You’re my knight in
shining armor, Ryder. But I don’t believe in fairy tales anymore. I
don’t want to wake up one day and find myself shattering to pieces
again. Bryan broke me, and you fixed me. If I break because of you,
I don’t think I can be fixed again. So please, I would rather have
you in my life, as a dear friend. And I will love you
forever.”