Knight in Shining Suit (65 page)

He reached up and wiped my
tears with his thumb. “Is that a yes?” he asked.

I giggled and I leaned
forward and kissed his lips. I sighed contentedly.
“Yes.”

“
Thank you!” He said in
happy voice. Then he gently pushed me towards the bed and in a
minute, he was on top of me again, pinning me between the mattress
and his body. With a mischievous look on his face he said, “Now…
Manhattan.”

“
Ryder!” I laughed. But my
laughter died when his lips descended towards mine.

37.

RING:

A ring is round because it
represents eternity… like a love that will last forever. It is a
symbol of never-ending commitment. It is usually worn on the left
hand, on the fourth finger, as “myth” states that this finger
contains the “vena amoris” or the “vein of love”, which is
connected to the heart.

W
e were sitting on the deck; Ryder was strumming his guitar,
serenading me with his smooth, soulful voice.

I couldn’t help but be
drawn to him and the world he was bringing me to when he sings. If
I wasn’t in love with him already, hearing him sing to me would
probably do the job.

“
How come you sing so
well?” I asked him.

“
Genes, I guess.” He
smiled.

“
Did you always know how
to play the guitar?”

He nodded. “Ever since I
was a kid. I play the piano, too.”

“
So why didn’t you make a
career as a musician?” I teased.

“
Well, it’s not too late,
right? If the band in one of my bars walked out, I could always
fill in.” He grinned.

I laughed. “You’re right.
But I don’t think I would like that,” I said.

“
Why not?”

“
Girls always fall for the
front man, especially if he’s hot!” I leaned forward and planted a
soft kiss against his lips. “I’m very jealous and possessive.” I
kissed him again.

I can feel Ryder’s smile
against my lips. “Hmmm… if you’re possessive, then does that mean
you want to be with your man all the time?”

I felt him shift and put
his guitar aside. Then he pulled me to him and deepened the
kiss.

“
Yes,” I replied. “I want
to be with you all the time.” I moaned when he nuzzled my
neck.

“
Hmmm… then you should
really consider branching out in Manhattan.” He whispered against
my skin.

I giggled.

“
You’re not going to stop,
are you?” I asked.

“
Nope,” he replied. “I’ll
get you to say yes… eventually.”

“
You realize that might
take a long time, right?” I pulled away from him so I could look
into his eyes.

He smiled at me wistfully.
“I guess. But I won’t give up,” he said. “Astrid, I live in Malibu,
too. But I live in Manhattan more. And when I take over my parents’
company, I will be there eighty percent of the time. And… by then,
I hope you have decided to make the move.” His voice was sober.
There was a hint of frustration and sadness there.

It’s been three days since
he found his way back to me. During those days, we mostly stayed in
the house. Ryder was making plenty of calls to New York to give
instructions and conduct conference calls. But he never booked a
flight back.

“
Ryder… how long have you
been in Malibu?” I asked him.

He shrugged. “Probably the
longest time I have been here.”

“
When are you going back
to New York?”

“
I don’t know.” He leaned
forward and kissed me again.

“
Ryder… why aren’t you
going back to New York yet? Are you not needed there?”

He sighed. “I’m always
needed there.”

“
Then why are you still
here?”

He kissed me again and
leaned his forehead against mine. Then he looked back at me.
“Because… I keep remembering the last time… the last time I left
you. We were making love. Then I went back to New York… and then it
took me five months to come home to you.” The look on his face was
gloomy. “I don’t want to be away from you for that long again, Ash.
I get scared that the minute I board that plane, I may not keep my
promises to you again.”

“
Ryder…” I whispered. God!
I was so insensitive. He was right. He boarded the plane to
Manhattan the last time we were this happy. Then he came back as a
different person. And he did a lot of things he wouldn’t have done
if he were himself.

He shifted on the chair
and pulled me so I was sitting on his lap. “I meant what I said,
Ash. I will make up for
everything
that I did to you these past few months. And I
would have a better chance of doing that if you were with me all
the time.”

“
Geography will always be
our problem.” I whispered.

“
You know my solution to
that,” he said, planting a kiss on my neck. “And nothing will make
me happier.”

I sighed. “Can I… think
about it?” I asked.

He took a deep breath.
“Sure, love. Take all the time you need.”

We sat there for a long
time, lost in our own thoughts, enclosed in each other’s embrace,
enveloped in each other’s warmth.

I was scared of Ryder
going away, too. We’ve been through a lot in the past few months. I
don’t want to go through another nightmare again.

Please God! I’ve had
enough!
I silently prayed.
Please let me keep him!

I planned to return Adam’s
money. With Ryder’s money still in my company, I have more than
enough to start something in Manhattan. I could start small. Get a
small office; renovate it to make it cute and cozy. Hire a fresh
graduate to do my telemarketing for me.

I think I can let go of my
monthly salary and give it to Nicole. She will do a great job
managing the Malibu office. I will just oversee it from Manhattan.
I can even come with Ryder once a week for a visit.

I can let go of the little
luxuries in life, until the branch in New York takes off. I have
some money saved up. Enough for me to fend for myself for the next
three to six months, I guess.

Three to six
months?

Can I really make it in
such a short span of time? Plus, it’s New York. Competition will be
much stiffer there. Truth be told, I’m dead scared. Ever After
Malibu is doing well, but it’s not yet big enough to save another
branch that is losing out. I’ve been so proud of myself that I
almost raised Ryder’s investment in such a short span of time. I
wish I could do that again, in Manhattan.

Moreover, I cannot bear
losing Ryder again. When he forgot about me, I desperately wanted
him to remember me again. I wanted to spend every minute of every
day with him… but I can’t because he didn’t even know he was in
love with me.

Now… we’re past all that.
I was thankful I was given a second chance with him. And I want to
make it count. I don’t want to live in fear that every goodbye kiss
we share would be the last kiss we will ever share. We’ve come too
close to that. I have too close to losing him forever.

I felt Ryder’s lips on my
neck, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine. I giggled and
turned to face him. He kissed my lips gently.

“
Ryder…” I have to make a
decision now. There’s no point denying him this. Both of us have
suffered too much already.

“
Yes, love?”

I took a deep breath.
“Okay.”

He pulled away from me and
looked into my eyes.

“
What are you
saying?”

I smiled. “If… if you
won’t pull out your investment from Ever After Malibu… I think I
will use the money to… venture in Manhattan.”

He stared back at me, his
eyes glittering. “Really?” His smile was boyish, but genuinely
happy.

I nodded.

He leaned forward and gave
me a deep kiss on the lips. Then he said to me, “You know when I
said move to New York, I didn’t just mean move to the city,
right?”

I raised a brow. I know
what he meant, but still, it would feel nice to hear him say it out
loud. “Just exactly what do you mean?” I asked.

“
I meant… move in with me
to New York, love,” he replied. “As in the whole package. I don’t
just want you in my city. I want you in my apartment, too. And
besides, what’s the point in living separately there, when we live
together here?”

I smiled at him. I felt
warm and giddy. A year ago, I was bent on waiting for marriage
before I share myself with a man. And I was so much against men
with power, fame, and money. Now, I’ve broken all the rules and put
all my bets on a man who is… the epitome of what I didn’t believe
in.

But I believe in him the
way that he believes in me. I believe in our love. After all, it
has gone through a lot… but still… it stands strong and it burns
bright.

“
You really want this,
don’t you?”

He nodded. “I promised you
I would make up for the past months that I behaved like an asshole.
And it will be easier to do that if you live with me. So I can show
you every day, every night, just how sorry I really am and how
desperately I want you to forget how much I’ve hurt
you.”

His words touched me in
ways I couldn’t explain. I felt his sincerity, like he truly wanted
to erase everything that happened to us when he lost his memories
of me.

And I won’t make it harder
on him. New York is a huge and scary city, but I know I’m making
the right decision. “I’m scared, Ryder. Manhattan is huge! What if
I fail?”

Ryder chuckled. “For a
woman who doesn’t have to work a day in her life anymore, you worry
too much.”

I raised a brow at him.
“I’m not rich like you, Ryder. I need to stretch my legs if I want
to eat.”

He pulled me towards him
and kissed my forehead. “Ahh! Are you forgetting who’s taking care
of you now, love?”

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

“
Luckily, neither do I,”
he said,” he said. I pulled away from him so I could stare into his
eyes. “I love you, Ash. And I will take care of you. Let me. You
can work on your company as a hobby if you want. But everything
that you will ever need… I will take care of it. You don’t have to
worry. All I ask in return is for you to stay with me.”

Tears welled up in my
eyes, as I hear him pledge those words to me. I may have a lot of
stubborn beliefs in the past, but now, I know that none of them
matters anymore. I will do everything to make Ryder happy, too. And
he was right. We have to find a balance in our relationship. So I
nodded. “Okay.”

He smiled at me. “I love
you, Astrid. And I mean it. Your ever after has just
begun.”

The next afternoon, I met
with my friends at Oil Rig. I haven’t seen them since Ryder came
back. They were actually worried when I moved out of Adam’s
house.

“
Are you sure you are
okay?” Nicole asked.

“
I’m perfect!” I said,
smiling. “He’s back you know.”

They sighed in
relief.

“
We actually kind of know.
We just weren’t sure and we didn’t want to give you false hope…
just in case it was… a false alarm.” John said.

I smiled at them. “Thank
you, guys! Thanks for sticking with me all throughout these years.
I must have been a lot to handle.”

Dannie laughed. “Yeah, you
are! But it would have been very boring without you! You give our
lives a whole different level!”

I laughed, too. Then tears
welled up in my eyes as I remembered that I would leave them soon.
I surely will miss them.

I looked at Nicole. “Are
you still interested to work for me?”

“
Is the sky blue?” She
asked. “Of course! I can start like yesterday! Fiona is about to
fire my ass because I’m best friends with you!”

“
Good! Cuz, I need you to
start this week.” I said to her.

Her eyes widened. “You’re
kidding, right?”

I shook my head. “I want
you to manage this branch, Nic.”

She was excited at first,
but then her smile faded. “Wh… what are you going to
do?”

I smiled at them. “I’m
moving to Manhattan, guys.” I croaked. It makes me sad that I will
be away from them, but I know I cannot live without Ryder,
too.

“
Are you breaking up with
us?” asked Dannie crossly.

I laughed. “Of course not!
But… it’s gonna be a long-distance relationship for us.” I sighed.
“Ryder asked me to live with him. And… he insisted on not pulling
out his investment in my company, so I decided to use that to
branch out in Manhattan.”

“
Wow! A year ago, you
refused to even sleep with Bryan until you were married. And now...
you’re going to live with a man!” Dannie teased.

I laughed. “I know. I
found it ironic, too. But somehow, I realized that this is not a
question of values or beliefs. Love does get in the way of our
principles. I guess what I had with Bryan wasn’t strong enough to
break through my pedantic beliefs. But with Ryder… I gave in the
first night we were together. We have this passion that is stronger
than both of us. He tried to stop it too because he didn’t want to
take advantage of my weakness then. But somehow, we both just gave
in, stopped fighting what was happening to us. But you know, Ryder
and I have more than passion, too. We believe in each other. We
also have faith, trust, and friendship.”