Knight in Shining Suit by Jerilee Kaye
He laughed. “Just years of talking to a lot of people.”
I realized that Ryder is smart. And being a bartender in a classy bar like Oil Rig exposed him to a whole lot of different people. He seemed like the person who likes to listen to people’s stories. And he’s quite a charmer. I felt confident that we would be able to pull this off. And I have the feeling that even Geena will hyperventilate at the sight of him. Bryan will be practically salivating with envy! That is… if John’s right and he still has feelings for me.
We chatted, polished our plan and then I must have fallen asleep for a couple of minutes. It was at least an hour drive to the resort.
We arrived at the hotel with perfect timing. A bridal car parked in front of us.
“That’s them?” He asked.
“Unless there’s another wedding happening here tonight.” I replied nervously.
Ryder took off his shades and placed them on top of his head.
“So, now, we’re officially together.” He said to me.
I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest.
He smiled gently. I could drown in the deep green of his eyes.
“Permission to become your boyfriend, Ma’am.” He asked politely and I couldn’t help smiling.
“Permission granted, Sir.” I said, giggling.
He stared at me deeply in the eyes. My breath caught in my throat as I watch him lean forward and brush his lips against mine. It was a soft, gentle kiss. When he pulled away, I thought he took my heart with him.
“Do… do I need to start getting used to that too?” I asked, stuttering slightly. I felt completely dazzled by this man.
He raised a brow and grinned at me. “Oh no, love.” He replied and just before we went out of the car, he said, “Not just that!” And he gave me a rakish wink.
My heart pounded as I watch him exit the car and go around to open the door for me. I saw that Bryan and Geena just got out of the bridal car in front of us. Before I got out, I caught a glimpse of Bryan looking at Ryder’s car with lust.
I felt a thrill creep through my veins. Operation Revenge is starting to work exactly as planned.
“Come, love.” Ryder said, holding his hand out.
I took it and slowly stepped out of the car.
Ryder took my hand and pulled me towards him. He leaned closer to my ear and said, “I forgot to tell you. You look breathtakingly beautiful. I’m the luckiest man on earth today!”
And because I couldn’t say anything to that, I just laughed. He pulled me towards him and gave me a kiss on the forehead as his arm wrapped tightly around my waist.
He tossed his key to the valet. “We have bags in the back. Take it to our suite.” He said and gave him our suite number.
Then, with him wrapped all around me, he led me towards the hotel. As we walked past Bryan and Geena, with some of their bridesmaids, Ryder kissed me on the lips.
We didn’t look up at them, I didn’t know whether they were looking at us or not. It was like Ryder and I only had eyes for each other.
When we entered the hotel, Ryder took a glance back, while I buried my face on his chest.
“Is that your ex?” He asked.
I nodded. “Are they looking?”
“Yeah. Bride, groom and entourage.” He replied chuckling.
Hearing that, I stopped and faced Ryder. Then I stood up on my toes and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. As I pulled away, he leaned forward and recaptured my parted lips, deepening the kiss. I could barely support my weight on the tips of my feet, my stance became shaky and I gripped Ryder’s shoulders for balance. I was glad when his arms wrapped tightly around my waist.
When I broke the kiss I could not bear to open my eyes. It’s been a while since I’ve been kissed like that. In fact, I can’t remember ever being kissed like that… Like I was the center of someone’s world. The kiss was sensual and enticing, but also reverently gentle.
He leaned his forehead against mine and sucked in a deep breath.
“Even if you didn’t pay me… your kisses are worth it all.” He said.
Staring up at him with his gorgeous green eyes, I laughed for the simple joy of the moment.
He took my hand in his and led me towards the lobby. I saw a familiar face there. Nicole was dressed in an understated cream, silk gown. She had a headset on and I couldn’t help sighing.
“You miss it that much, huh.” Ryder said.
I nodded. “I was fired by my boss because I lost faith in ever afters.”
He reached forward and touched my cheek softly.
“You, of all people deserve an ever after, love.” He said to me. “Even if you don’t believe in it, it still believes in you. And someday, it will find you.”
I almost cried when he said that but my thoughts were interrupted by Nicole.
“Astrid!” She beamed. She came over to me and gave me a hug. “Wow, you look like a goddess!” Then her eyes drifted on to my date and I could tell she fought hard to keep herself from drooling over Ryder, whether it was for my benefit or hers, I don’t know.
“Nicole, this is Ryder. Ryder, Nicole. My best friend.”
“Oh, it’s so very nice to meet you, Ryder.” Nicole said, shaking Ryder’s hand. “I must say, you do not look last minute at all.”
I had to glare at Nicole for that. But Ryder simply laughed. “Sometimes, the choices you don’t prepare for are the best choices you’ll ever make.”
“So true!” Nicole said. “Okay, I see the bride and groom arriving. I’ll see you later. Go and kick some butt.”
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Nicole.” Ryder said.
When Ryder took my hand to lead me towards the terraces, I stole a glance back at Nicole. She was staring at me.
“WOW!” She mouthed and gave me two thumbs up. I couldn’t help smiling , I was proud of myself for the perfect choice I made.
“Shall we go to the party now?” I asked him.
“Depends on you.” He said. “Are you too anxious to go in?”
“No. Not really. If they followed my program too, there’ll be a first dance after they are introduced as formally Mr. and Mrs. I don’t want to be there for that!” I said, shaking my head and wrinkling my nose.
“Come, let’s go watch the sunset while we have some drinks.”
He led me to an open-air restaurant facing the beach. He ordered light beer and I ordered a margarita.
“Isn’t it too early to be drinking?” I asked.
“You might need a little help pulling this off.” He teased.
“I do not!”
“Sure you do. You tremble so much when I kiss you. Like… you’re new at this or something.”
“God, I hope that’s not your ego talking!” I groaned. “Didn’t it occur to you that maybe I haven’t been kissing for a while? I need a little time to get used to it again.”
“Really? You didn’t attempt to date after you broke up with him?”
I shook my head. “To… to tell you the truth, I’m still in the stage of accepting how my life suddenly turned a three-sixty.” I said sadly. “I was mostly mad at my cousin. She was the lucky one, you know. She was always the beautiful one, Barbie doll in the flesh. She was popular, rich, and had a loving father who gave her everything. I was the one who followed her around like an avid fan. She was always the center of attention and I didn’t mind that. I didn’t care. I had Bryan. He was my best friend before he became my boyfriend. And I was… comfortable with him. I thought myself lucky to have found him.”
“He didn’t kiss you much, did he?”
I raised a brow at Ryder. He had a teasing grin on his face.
I sighed and shook my head. “I guess I didn’t know how much kissing two people needed to do. I didn’t mind when I was with him. We were comfortable sitting together, just cuddling and being close to one another. I felt safe with him. Like I belonged. That was all that mattered to me.”
“But that’s not all that matters.” Ryder said. “You have
For a guy who looked like a model, I was surprised to hear these words from Ryder. He spoke like he really did believe in happily ever afters.
“You’re a romantic, aren’t you?”
He snorted. “I’m a bartender remember? I’m the shrink behind the counter filled with liquor.”
I had to laugh at that. He was right. His job required him to talk to strangers. So many people go and sit alone in the bar, drinking their problems away into the wee hours of the night, and they only have the bartender behind the counter as company. I knew this from experience, because I was once one of them. And it was easy for me to talk to Ryder about my problems. That was the whole reason he was here with me.
“Are you over him?”
I stared at the beautiful sunset ahead of us.
“I’m mad enough at him to stop crying over him.” I replied.
“That’s good enough. Because to tell you the truth, sweetheart, he’s not worth it. You know what they say? The only guy who is worth your tears is the one who won’t make you cry at all.”
“Wow! Ryder! You must have snapped right out of a romance novel!”
He laughed. “I have a sister.” He said. “She’s a hopeless romantic. Gotten her heart broken three times.”
“You seem like a protective big brother.”
He smiled. “Yeah. Paris is still a baby to me. I try to be there for her as much as I can. Even if it means having to listen to all her guy problems or listen to her quote passages from all the romance novels she loves reading… or writing. She’s quite talented.”
I can tell that Ryder holds so much love and affection for his little sister. I admire that. It made me wish I could have shared something like that with a sister or a brother. But Geena was the closest thing to a sister that I ever had and… look where we are now?
“Did you punch those guys who broke your sister’s heart?”
“Just one. The one who slept with another girl. The two others… went to another country. Geography is a difficult obstacle to overcome in a relationship. I can’t really blame the guys. It’s better they were honest with her than cheat on her.”
“She’s lucky to have you.” I murmured.
Ryder reached for my hand and brought it to his lips.
“And any man will be lucky to have you, Astrid.” He said gently. “That ex of yours… he’s not it. He’s not the one for you. Every single good thing that he did to you… has been nullified by the things that he did after… which were downright… cheap and distasteful.”
I squeezed his hand and smiled at him.
“Yeah. What kind of guy proposes with a fake engagement ring? The one that you get inside a candy bar for free!” I muttered.
“It doesn’t show how he valued you. It shows his value as a man.” He said. “Please tell me that he at least paid for something in the wedding.”
“Oh, he paid for almost everything!” I said. “I threw all the receipts at him and told him it’s his job to refund his money from all the suppliers.”
“And instead of refunding, he thought of using all your arrangements… albeit, you are no longer the bride.” He said shaking his head. “He is one of a kind, isn’t he?”
“And I paid for their florist.” I said.
“Don’t expect him to pay you back.” Ryder teased.
I squeezed his hand. “Thank you for being with me, Ryder. I couldn’t have made a better choice for a date tonight.”
He stood up from his seat and pulled me up on my feet. “Come on. Let’s show your ex what he’s missing on!” And then he wrapped an arm around me and led me towards the ballroom.
“Breathe, Astrid.” He whispered against my ear just as we were about to enter the ballroom. “We’re going on a rollercoaster ride.”
Chapter Six
PLACE CARD HOLDER:
Use a place card holder in line with your motif or theme to ensure that your guests will be seated according to your preference (not theirs!)
I fought hard the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes when I saw the whole ballroom. It was exactly as I had imagined it would be. The colors, the hues, the lilies. Everything was perfect.
“Welcome to my dream wedding.” I murmured to myself, but Ryder heard me.
“Welcome to the wedding that you’re going to best—a hundred times over.” Ryder whispered against my ear.
I looked up at him and he gave me an encouraging smile. Then he leaned his forehead against mine and he said to me, “Relax, Astrid. You have to remember, it’s me you’re in love with now.”
And then he leaned forward and gave me a butter soft kiss. “And I love you more than your ex ever did.” He murmured.
When I opened my eyes, I saw his handsome face, flushed with our kiss, his eyes were sparkling. I found strength inside me. He’s really going to help me pull this off.
“We can do this.” I breathed.
He smiled. “We are doing this.” He leaned forward against my ear. “Forget that we’re pretending. Tonight, I really am your boyfriend. And you are mine, Astrid. I only have eyes for you.”
If a guy as handsome as Ryder told you that he had eyes only for you, you should feel like you just won the lottery. I felt like I won a once in a lifetime chance to be with the Prince I only see in my dreams. I thought I melted then and there.
It took me a while to realize that I did almost fall on my bum. My knees turned into jelly with the look that Ryder gave me and the words he’d spoken to me. He had his arms wrapped all around me, keeping me steady.
“Easy, love.” He said in a low voice that seemed so familiar, so warm, so sincere.
I smiled up at him and then I kept myself steady.
“Let’s do this.” I said to him.
We walked hand in hand into the ballroom. And we were just in time. Bryan and Geena were just settling in their seats after their dance.
Nicole led us to our seats and I could hear people murmuring from all over. I could feel hundreds of eyes on Ryder and me.
“What an entrance, Ash.” Nicole whispered and I smiled nervously.
Ryder pulled a chair out for me, quite the perfect gentleman. I found that Nicole sat me with Adam and herself and some people I haven’t seen before in my life.
I smiled at them shyly and then I gave Adam a peck on the cheek.
“Sorry, we’re late.” I said to him.
“Oh, dear cousin. Don’t worry about it. You had perfect timing.” Adam said in a slightly higher pitched voice and I had to bite my lips to keep from laughing.
“You remember Ryder?” I asked him.
Adam nodded. “Of course, I do.” He extended his hand to him and Ryder shook it.
“Nice to see you again.” Ryder said politely.
“Where are my parents?” I asked Adam.
“They’re over with Dad. They didn’t know you were coming, did they?”
I shook my head. “I only told your Dad I was coming.”
“It looks like it.” Adam grinned. He leaned forward to whisper in my ears, “Even the bride and groom didn’t seem to know.” He excused himself from our table.
“Why aren’t you making rounds to see your relatives?” Ryder whispered against my ear.
“Because I’m too nervous to stand on my own two feet?” I smiled sweetly at him.
He laughed throatily, then leaned forward and gave my bare shoulder a gentle kiss.
“Come on, love. Maybe it’s time you introduce me to your parents.” He said.
I took a deep breath as Ryder stood up from his seat and pulled me to my feet.
I nervously made my way across the dance floor, towards the front tables where my parents were seated. Couples who were dancing stared a
I found my parents sitting with Uncle Jack and his new wife, as well as some of my other distant aunts and uncles.
“Oh my God! What a lovely surprise!” My mother beamed as she gave me a hug.
As I hugged my father, I felt like crying again. However much I hurt, I needed to keep up appearances. I gave Uncle Jack a kiss on the cheek, then I introduced Ryder.