Knight in Shining Suit (8 page)

“
A down payment,” he
replied.

I looked inside the
envelope and found a check amounting to five grand.

“
You’re really serious,
aren’t you?”

“
I keep my promises, Ash.
And I know you need this more than ever. You can give this to your
guy as an act of good faith. He can rent a suit and a nice car with
this. The other half, he’ll get after the party,” he
said.

“
Adam, seriously, why are
you doing this?”

He put an arm around my
shoulder and pulled me towards him. “I hate weddings! I’m willing
to pay for a little entertainment.”

I laughed and reached up
to give him a peck on the cheek.

“
Thanks anyway,” I
said.

“
Good luck. Make it worth
my money, Ash,” he called in a teasing tone.

When I arrived at the Oil
Rig, none of my friends were there yet. I sat in the bar and
ordered a margarita.

“
The best margarita in
town for the beautiful lady,” I heard the bartender say.

I looked up and found
myself staring at the most striking green eyes I have ever seen in
my life. Long dark lashes framed his eyes. He was wearing a white
cap over his dark hair and had a stud earring on his left
ear.

“
Can you sign, Ma’am?” he
asked. It took me a while to realize that he had already asked me
the question twice.

“
Oh.” Was all I could say.
He nodded slightly and his lips curved into a crooked smile,
revealing a deep dimple on his left cheek.

I was pretty sure that my
hands were shaking as I signed the slip he handed to me.

“
Thank you,” I
said.

“
You’re welcome, Madam.
Enjoy your drink. Just call for me if you need anything else,” he
said, grinning.

I might have been in a
relationship for too long because, for the life of me, I could not
tell whether he was flirting with me or not. But since I had almost
lost everything I had worked for, there was nothing I could say to
him that would make me sink any lower. Bryan and Geena have totaled
me out, thank you very much!

“
And what name would I ask
for?” I asked, mustering all the confidence I could manage, and
hoping to God that my voice didn’t sound squeaky.

He flashed me a brilliant
smile that made my world turn upside down and every nerve in my
body tingle. His aristocratic face suddenly turned boyish and
mischievous with a perfect smile that showed another deep dimple on
his other cheek, and his perfect set of teeth.

“
Ryder,” he
replied.

I nodded. “Alright.
Thanks, Ryder.”

He stood there for a
while, and I knew he was waiting for me to say my name. Then after
a couple of seconds, he figured out I was not going to give it to
him. I grinned back at him instead.

“
Alright. Perhaps when I
bring you your next drink.” And he gave me a wink.

I knew I was blushing from
head to toe. How could I be flirting with a guy like
that
? When I was with
Bryan, I didn’t care about how I looked or who looked at me. I
always thought I’d be with Bryan until the end of my life. And what
he thought about me was the only thing that mattered.

But now, flirting with the
bartender who looked like he just stepped out of the covers of a
magazine gave me a new string of confidence. I actually felt…
womanly… beautiful!

I sipped on my drink,
trying to get his face out of my head, but I just couldn’t. The
memory of his perfect smile and his perfect features were playing
in slow motion in my head. I almost forgot that it’d been an hour
and my friends hadn’t showed up yet.

“
Fancy another glass?”
Ryder came back and asked.

I looked up at him and
because he was so breathtakingly beautiful, I nodded instead of
saying something.

My phone rang. It was
John.

“
Sorry, doll. I can’t make
it tonight,” he said. “My sister had a little emergency and I
needed to go take her.”

“
Is she okay?”

“
Yeah, she’s fine. Just a
little cut on the elbows and knees. But other than that, she’ll
live.”

“
Okay… what about the
prospects?”

“
Well, I can’t find
anybody else who would agree besides Jonathan. And I thought
Jonathan was… not extraordinary enough for your taste.”

“
Besides the fact that we
never got along? He’s an ogre!” I muttered.

John laughed. “Easy, Ash.
Beggars can’t be choosers.”

I sighed. “Find somebody
else okay?”

Nicole sent me a text
message that she couldn’t make it either. She had to work on some
presentation that needs to be finished by tomorrow.

When I saw Dannie’s number
appear on my phone, I was getting hopeless.

“
Sweetie, I’m sorry.” It
looked like he was going to come up with an excuse then decided to
be honest. “Who am I kidding? I’m on a date. I didn’t mean to be,
but you know Jasper? I’ve been dying for him to notice me in the
office and finally, he asked if I wanted to hang out tonight! You
understand right?”

“
Do I have a choice?” I
asked.

“
Don’t worry. I might find
some prospects for you. I’m going to a house party
tonight!”

“
Dannie! Chances are,
you’re going to a gay house party! And there’s no hope for me
there.”

“
Well, you said your guy
just needed to look the part. And act it out. You didn’t say
anything about being straight.”

“
Oh, that would just be
nice.” I groaned. “Just enjoy your party. And please… find me a
straight guy!”

I heard a suppressed
chuckle from the counter as soon as I hung up. I saw Ryder smiling
crookedly, and although he was not looking at me, I knew the smile
was for me.

I raised a brow. “You
shouldn’t eavesdrop on other people’s conversations.” I said
sipping my margarita, not looking at him.

“
I wouldn’t have, if your
voice wasn’t that loud,” he said, approaching me.

“
Oh, sorry,” I said.
“People talk loud in bars, you know. Well, you should
know.”

“
Yes. I know,” he grinned.
“So, what’s the quest for a straight guy for?”

Lie!
I told myself. But somehow, the liquor in my system and the
frustration I felt for being stood up by my best friends were
wearing me out.

“
Not just a straight guy.
But a straight guy who’s willing to do anything for a couple of
grand.”

He raised a brow. “You’re
not doing porn, are you?”

I stared at him, clearly
abhorred by the thought and then I burst out laughing. “Oh my God!
No!” I said when I finally found my voice. “Well, it’s not porn,
but it does involve the part of playing lovers.”

“
Now, I’m intrigued. What
could a girl like you possibly need a straight guy for?” he asked
me.

“
You wouldn’t believe me
if I told you,” I said to him.

“
Try me,” he said with a
grin.

“
It’s a long story,” I
said.

“
I’m here all night,” he
insisted.

“
Yeah, but you’re
working.”

“
It’s a lax night,” he
said.

I narrowed my eyes at him.
“You’re pretty persistent, aren’t you?”

He shrugged. “I’m a
straight guy. Who knows? I just might be able to help you
out.”

“
Oh! As if!” I rolled my
eyes. “You don’t strike me as desperate.”

He raised a brow.
“Everybody has needs, honey.”

I sighed. “Okay, where do
I start?”

“
From the top?” He
grinned. As he flashed me that gorgeous smile, I couldn’t help
thinking,
I could go to bed with this
guy!
Then I shook myself back to reality.
I took the last gulp of my margarita.

“
Perhaps you should give
me another margarita first.”

“
Right away, Ma’am,” he
said.

He disappeared for a while
and when he came back, he handed me another margarita and a bowl of
cheese sticks.

“
Margarita and cheese
sticks, on the house,” he said.

“
Wow! All these for the
pathetic story of my life?” I asked, taking a bite of a cheese
stick.

“
Well, some stories are
worth paying for,” he smiled.

I sighed. “Okay. I don’t
really see the point why I should be telling the tale of my
somewhat…sad life to a complete stranger, but whatever.”

He leaned closer to me and
my breath caught in my throat. “What color are your eyes?” he
asked.

“
Oh… they’re… blue,” I
replied.

“
You’re wearing contacts,”
he said.

I nodded. “My eyes are
bluish violet.”

He took a step back and
smiled. “Nice color. Why do you want to hide that?”

“
It’s… too
different.”

“
Different is good,” he
said. “So, what’s the story of your life?” he asked. He picked up
the champagne glasses in front of him and wiped them one by one as
he listened to me.

“
Okay… so three months
ago, I had everything. A wonderful fiancé I was in love with… the
job of making dreams come true… a best friend who is also my
cousin, who I grew up and lived with most of my life.” I was trying
my best not to cry again.

“
My life was perfect. I
was planning the wedding of my life. The wedding I had pictured in
my head ever since I was a little girl. But… three months ago, I
found out that my fiancé was sleeping with my cousin. And he
knocked her up. To cut a long story short, my world fell apart. I
lost my job because I could no longer picture the perfect wedding,
or imagine happily ever after. The apartment I was living in
belonged to my cousin… I couldn’t bear to live there anymore. I had
to crash at my cousin’s brother’s place temporarily… until I get a
job or my act together, whichever comes first.” Again, I was
reminded about how sad my life was.

“
I was at my lowest point…
or so I thought. A couple of weeks ago, I found out that my
ex-fiancé and my cousin would be getting married. And to make
matters worse, the wedding I was planning months ago is still going
to happen. All of it! From the invitations to the reception right
down to the florist! All of it was going to happen exactly as I had
planned. But not to me.” I took a deep breath. “Everything is going
exactly as I had imagined it would be since I was a little girl…
except that… I’m not going to be the bride.”

I didn’t know that I was
crying until Ryder reached up and wiped my tears with his thumb. He
had a serious look on his face. He didn’t say anything, but I knew
he understood how I felt.

I took another deep
breath.

“
And worse, I have to keep
a straight, brave face in front of my family. I’m going to attend
the wedding.”

He raised a brow. “Surely
they can’t ask that of you.”

“
Oh, they can. Her father
was like a father to me too. I’m going to do it for him. But God! I
can’t be there alone!”

“
And what do you need a
straight guy for?”

“
I need some guy to
pretend to be my boyfriend… to pretend that he can’t keep his hands
off me… to be so in love with me… so I can keep my dignity,” I
replied.

“
You not only need a
straight guy,” he said, his eyes narrowed. “You need to make
everybody think that you are a lot better off.”

I was taken aback by his
analysis. Apparently, Ryder’s IQ was higher than I gave him credit
for. I admired how immediately he was able to deduce my
desperation.

I nodded. “The wedding’s
in a week. I’m desperate. I’m… willing to pay if
necessary.”

He looked like he was
taken aback, but then he chuckled. “That’s cute,” he
said.

“
If I ask you, will you
help me?” I asked boldly. It’s now or never… while the margarita is
still effective in my head, I had to say it.

Ryder seemed like a man
who had been through a lot in his life and it would probably take a
lot to surprise him, but I could see that I had done just that with
flying colors.

“
I’ll… pay you. I’ll make
it worth your while,” I said.

He chuckled and then he
leaned his face closer towards mine. “You might not be able to
afford me, sweetheart,” he said.

“
Everybody has a price,” I
said, refusing to back down.

“
True,” he said leaning
away from me. “I’m not sure I’m for sale though.”

“
Ten grand. One night. All
you need to do is rent a nice suit, come in a fancy car, maybe a
Boxster, and rent a diamond ring… or something that will pass as a
diamond ring, at least two carats in size.”

He raised a brow. “You
really are desperate, aren’t you?”

I took a deep breath and
stared back at him. But I didn’t say another word.