Knight in Shining Suit (66 page)

Nicole was already crying
and Dannie’s eyes were brimming with tears, too.

“
Sweetheart… we will miss
you. But I know… after all you and Ryder have been through… you
deserve this.” Dannie said.

“
I will take care of your
company here, Ash.” Nicole said. “You’ll be so proud of me!” She
giggled in spite of her tears.

John ruffled my hair. “How
often are you going to visit?”

I laughed. “Once a week or
at least once every two weeks. Ryder owns two bars here,
remember?”

We were all sad, but I
know my friends weren’t holding me back. After all that’s happened
to me since I dumped Bryan, I deserve this. I deserve to go after
my happily ever after.

After meeting with my
friends, I asked Dannie to drop me off at Adam’s house. I called up
Ryder and told him where I would be. He promised to pick me up
after he was done with what he needed to do at Oil Rig.

Adam was startled when I
appeared on his deck again.

“
Jesus Christ, Astrid!” He
breathed.

I laughed and then I
reached up and kissed his cheek. Then I wrapped my arms around his
waist and rested my head against his chest. I couldn’t help crying.
I will sure miss Adam a lot, including his snide remarks and
sarcastic comments.

“
Are you happy, Ash?” he
asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

I nodded.
“Very.”

“
You will shine in
Manhattan, too, Ash. You can do this,” he said.

I looked up at him. “How
did you know I was moving to Manhattan?”

He raised a brow. “I’m Van
Woodsen’s lawyer in Malibu, remember?” He replied. “I’m required to
know everything that goes on in his life here.” He smiled. “Plus,
he called and told me already. He promised me that you will be
taken care of, and I need not worry. And I was assured you will
come to Malibu once a week anyway, so this is not really
goodbye.”

I smiled at him. “Thank
you, Adam.” I told him. “In a way, you’ve been the bridge between
Ryder and me. You were the one who helped me find the love of my
life. If you didn’t offer to pay my date for Geena’s wedding, I
would not have met Ryder.” I pulled away from him. “You’re a great
guy, if only you chose to show it. You have a good
heart.”

He frowned. “Yeah, but
don’t go telling people about it, okay?”

I laughed and hugged him
again. “I love you, Adam. We may not be related by blood, but
you’re the best cousin a girl can ever ask for.”

It took him a moment to
hug me back. And then he said, “Thanks, Ash. You’re not too bad
yourself. And I love you too. Be happy, okay?”

I smiled. And I know, with
Ryder, Adam can be assured of that. “You know I will
be.”

***

One month
later...

Although my parents and my
relatives know that Ryder and I are living together, they still
didn’t know that during Geena’s wedding, Ryder and I were only
pretending. And until now, they still believe we are engaged. I
once told Ryder that maybe it was better if I told my parents that
the engagement was a sham so our relatives would not feel sorry for
me. Then Ryder and I fell in love afterwards and are together now.
But Ryder thought it was a bad idea.

“
Being engaged to me was
probably one of the things that drove Bryan mad, and for you to
tell them that it was a lie would break your parents’ hearts, as
well as your Uncle Jack’s. Leave it be, Ash. We’re living together
anyway. We pulled it off before when we weren’t officially dating.
I think we’d do better now.”

So we left it at that. I
wondered what we were going to do if my parents came for a visit
and find that I’m not wearing my ring anymore. I guess, we’ll just
make something up when we get there.

Ryder’s apartment was lush
and luxurious, but somehow, I couldn’t help feeling that it was
more a bachelor’s pad. He did have it when he was a bachelor, but
he’s not exactly single now. I prefer the house in Malibu with
separate rooms, a living room, and a deck.

I guess even though his
apartment was huge, a part of me prefers a smaller, cozier
apartment that feels more like two people are making a home out of
it. But I’m not really complaining. It’s such a small price to pay
for being with Ryder.

Nicole had taken over my
responsibilities in Malibu and I kept myself busy with setting up
the branch in Manhattan. Ryder and I visit Malibu once a week
together, where he conducts his business at his bars and I check up
with Nicole in the office.

Today is exactly a month
after Ryder and I got back together… a month after he found his way
back to me.

We planned to travel back
to Malibu together. I planned to surprise him with dinner. We could
drink on his deck and he could play his guitar if he wanted. Then
we’d make love all night.

An hour before we were due
to go to the airport, Ryder gave me a call and told me that he
couldn’t make it.

“
But Ryder, we agreed to
go last week.” I said, a little disappointed, especially since his
tone said that he forgot what day it was today.

“
Sweetheart, I’m in the
middle of a meeting,” he said to me, he sounded like he was in a
hurry. “I’ll see you tonight. Call me when you’ve landed back in
Manhattan.”

“
What?” I was looking
forward to staying in Malibu this weekend. “I’m going to take the
last flight out?”

“
The five p.m. flight out,
love. Promise me you’ll be back?” he asked.

I was not happy about
that. But I didn’t want to fight with him. With a disappointed
sigh, I replied, “Okay.”

“
Look, I have to go. I’ll
see you tonight.”

Has it started already?
Has he started being too busy to remember anniversaries or special
occasions?

I would only have a couple
of hours in Malibu and so I had to make the most of my stay. I was
not in a great mood when I met Dannie, Nicole and John and I only
had a couple of minutes to ring Adam.

Ryder didn’t give me a
call all day, nor send me a text message. He usually sends me
messages every two hours, telling me he loves me and that he misses
me. Today is the first day he didn’t. And it’s only been a month
since we survived his tragic memory loss.

I flew back to New York in
the evening and, although I was tired and a little unhappy, I had
no plans of spoiling this day. I decided to cook a nice dinner for
the two of us anyway. We’re going to celebrate today, no matter
what.

When I got inside the
apartment, a red envelope on the table caught my attention. It was
sitting beside one of Ryder’s car keys. I usually don’t pry in his
stuff, but this envelope just seems to call out to me. It looked
elegant, and it smelled of floral perfume.

It was not sealed so I
pulled out the note inside it.

“
I was hoping you could
come to see me…
” printed in a neat script
font.

There was a location map
attached to it, as well as what seems to be an access
card.

“
Ryder!” I called, my
heart slowly started pounding inside my chest.

No answer.

Now, I was getting
nervous. I’ve only lived with Ryder for about a month. Maybe one of
his old flames didn’t know he was already living with someone and
attempted to have a little tryst with him.

Ryder would never do this
to me!
I believe in him, I believe in
us.

Besides, if he’s up to no
good, he wouldn’t carelessly leave this note for me to find,
right?

But whatever was going on,
I intended to find out. I took my phone and dialed his number. His
phone was off. I tried about three more times just in case he just
lost signal. But still it was off.

I took short breaths to
calm myself down before calling his office. Derek, his assistant,
answered.

“
It’s seven in the
evening.” I told him. “You should be home.”

He laughed. “But I’m fresh
out of college and already a workaholic. What can I do for you,
lovely Ash?”

“
Where’s
Ryder?”

“
Ah…” He took a moment to
answer. “He… went off more than an hour ago. Said he has some
personal things to attend to down at Sixth. I thought… he was with
you.”

“
Thanks Derek.” I said and
then I hung up.

My hands were turning numb
fast. I looked at the location map and found that the “X” on it is
on Sixth Avenue. The address says penthouse.

Ryder would never cheat on
me!

“
He wouldn’t.” I whispered
to myself. “He, of all people, knows what I have been
through.”

But I needed to find out.
Damn, if curiosity really did kill the cat! I dashed to the
elevator and raced to the location stated on the map.

I felt like a woman in
pursuit. My heart was pounding loudly, my hands were cold and I’m
pretty sure my face was crimson red.

I found that the address
points to one of the luxurious apartment buildings on Sixth. I
looked at the map once again to make sure that I was at the right
place.

The man standing by the
doors greeted me cheerfully. He was wearing a black suit with a
nametag so I assumed he is an employee of the building. I showed
him the map.

“
Yes, Ma’am. This is the
place. Go straight, turn right to the elevators.” He gave me
instructions and gave me a very bright smile. I had to smile back.
He seemed very happy with his job.

The lobby of the building
was posh and absolutely impressive, from the marble floors down to
the furniture. If I didn’t have a bomb hanging over my head, I
would probably stop and admire the interior design of the
building.

The person that Ryder
visited is probably just as rich as he is.

“
But it’s you he loves.” I
said to myself.

When the elevator opened,
I pressed P and swiped the card. I closed my eyes and willed myself
to keep calm. I know Ryder. He wouldn’t do this to me. There is a
good explanation for all these. And in a few seconds, I’m about to
find out.

I promised myself that
whatever I uncover, unless what I see leaves little to the
imagination, I would listen to what Ryder has to say.

Breathe in. Breathe
out.

Damn! Why is it taking so
long to reach the penthouse?

Finally, the elevator
opened to a luxurious apartment. I gasped. Unlike our apartment,
this one has a huge living room adorned with gold-accented
furniture that looks very, very expensive. There is a glass
staircase that seems to lead to the bedrooms on the mezzanine
floor. There is an elegant chandelier in the center and everything
in the house was a combination of white, cream and gold
trims.

“
Hello?” I called out.
There was no reply.

I sincerely hope I don’t
get arrested for trespassing!

Just then, I noticed that
the wall in front of me had a paper stuck on it. I looked closer
and saw that an arrow was printed on the same paper type that I was
holding in my hand.

I followed the direction
of the arrow until I reached the next one, and then the last one. I
was led to a huge balcony that was probably half the size of the
whole house. I stepped out, expecting to see Ryder and whoever it
was who left him the message.

But what I saw blew me
away. There were roses and lighted candles all over the place. The
balcony has the perfect view of the city. There was a table in the
middle, set for two.

Then, I saw Ryder standing
in one corner looking out at the view.

“
Ryder…” I whispered
weakly.

He slowly turned to face
me. A brilliant smile was pasted on his face.

“
I… don’t understand,” I
said.

He walked towards me, his
eyes twinkling.

“
Who’s here with you?” I
asked in a small voice.

He shook his head. He
pushed a lock of stray hair away from my face.

“
No one, love,” he said.
“It’s just the two of us.”

I looked around. The place
was romantically set up.

Just the two of
us?

“
But… I found a note for
you…”

He chuckled. “That was for
you, love.”

“
For me? You had me
thinking…”

“
What were you thinking?”
he asked, raising a brow. I had a feeling that he knows exactly
what I was thinking and immediately, I felt embarrassed. I sighed
in relief and gave him a hug. I felt really silly.

“
Nothing,” I said. “I
missed you.”

“
You don’t know how
painful this day was for me.” He whispered.

“
Painful?” I asked,
pulling away from him.

He nodded. “Asking you to
travel alone to Malibu. Not calling you, texting you… it bothered
me all day!”

I narrowed my eyes. “You
did that on purpose?”