Chapter Ten
“What is this?” Ryane entered Steps, one of the famed restaurants in the city, and stopped. A true nightspot normally swarming with the who’s who of the west coast, the place was quiet with no one there but a few wait staff. “Daddy?”
“I’ve decided we need some efficiency here.” Ryane’s father nodded and the maître d’ guided them through the ultra modern restaurant done all in dark woods and glowing blue sea glass to a large table at the center of the restaurant. “Now, I know you are seeing Patrick, and I can’t tell you how happy I am about that, but before we decide that he’s the one, I think we need to make sure that we have covered all our bases.”
Ryane shook her head. No more dates, no more potential. The one man she wanted sent her away before she even knew his name, while the other man in her life was like going out with a cardboard cutout of a date. Patrick was perfect as long as she didn’t mind the ordinary. He was the personification of exactly who she should be with, smart, successful and sensible.
Then there was Knight.
Her eyes heated and she pressed her lips together to stop any more tears. With the way she was acting, one would have thought they had a real relationship, not just a few stolen moments in the forest. But something about Knight made her feel connected to something, like she mattered. As much as she needed him, he needed her as well. They were thrown together for a reason. Yet, here she was without him, right in the thick of another one of her father’s set ups. Though nothing had happened yet, something told her to brace herself. “Daddy, we need to talk.”
“We need to fast track this, so I want you to sit here.” He placed her at one end of the table.
“What are you doing?” Rather than sit, she clutched the edge of the table.
“I hired the best. We will get this done tonight.” Her father raised his hand.
A man in a tight plaid suit appeared at the far end of the restaurant. He lifted his chin and with a clipboard in his hand, rushed over to the two of them. “Hello.” The man bowed. “I am Hall Menlo, your life partner planner. I start with the dating, move on to the engagement party, and then the wedding.”
Life partner planner? Didn’t the man realize she was going through a breakup of sorts, her heart was in pieces, and she didn’t even want a husband? She reached out to what used to be her life preserver and caught her father’s arm. The man was literally throwing her out to sea. “Can you give me a chance to prove to you I can do this on my own?”
“Princess.” Her father turned and kneeled down in front of her. “I’ve given you years to prove yourself. I will take care of this, and we will find you an amazing match. You just keep planning whatever big shenanigans you have for the Anniversary Ball.”
“Daddy.” Her heart sped and the room seemed to close in around her. “I’ve been working. Patrick gave me a lead on a piece of property near the Los Padres land. I want to work on the deal, let me show you I can do this.”
“After tonight, if Patrick is who you want, I will make it happen. I just want you to weigh all your options.” Her father spoke as if he didn’t hear a word she said. “Hall, let’s get to it, I’m not paying you seven figures for nothing.”
Hall nodded and clapped his hands. “Let them in.”
“Them?” She let go of her father, now floating alone.
Two doors at the far end of the restaurant opened and no less than thirty men entered the room.
“I have herded the best of the best for you. One nod means maybe and you need more time, two nods means we want a date, purse your lips for no, and raise your eyebrows, and I’ll get the guy out of there before his three minutes are up.” Her new event planner patted her back. “Are you ready?”
No. No she wasn’t ready. What she wanted was to go back to Los Padres and see Knight, demand to know why he sent her away, ask him if that was what he really wanted. She wasn’t ready to see thirty men when she only wanted one. If she were honest with herself, if she was going to marry anyone it could only be him.
“All right, here we go.” Clipboard in hand, Hall ran forward, and grabbed one of her would be suitors, and brought him over to the table. “Ryane, this is Tim Timothy. His father owns Timothy Holdings in New York. Your pairing would be quite a merger.”
Yes, she knew Timothy Holdings, they were Fortune 100 just like Windsome, but Windsome was in the top sixty.
To say the man was model perfect would be an understatement. This Tim Timothy could give models lessons in being good looking, but he was too perfect, too groomed, too everything. His blonde hair was perfect, combed back and not a hair out of place, his cheekbones high, sculpted and masculine and his eyes a piercing blue. Come to think of it, she had seen this man many times, mostly on the Internet where his looks were more renowned than his last name.
A waiter came by and handed Ryane a glass of champagne, but she could only stare at the person before her and the circus going on behind him as men lined up for their turn with her.
The man finally sat down and gave her a smile. “East Coast West Coast. A perfect pairing.” In what she would call an elegant move, he swept one of the flutes of champagne off a one of the server’s trays and tapped it against hers.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her Life Partner Consultant and her father huddled together watching her.
She took an unladylike gulp of the champagne, remembering the wine Knight served her. When he kissed her, his taste and the tang of the drink combined to give her a heady feeling.
“So.” Tim nodded, one lock of hair strategically falling into his eye. “You. Me.”
An uncomfortable silence took over their non-conversation.
He graced her with a smile and took a sip of the champagne.
They stared at each other.
After a moment, they still stared at each other.
Hall waved to her and a made a motion to do something.
Strange, everything with Knight came naturally. Their conversations even their silence, especially their kiss.
“Do you work for your father?” Unsure really what to do with this person, she asked the first thing that came to mind and tightened her hold on her glass.
He nodded. “Don’t we all?”
His answer was followed by more silence.
Model or not, she needed to end this, caught Hall’s eyes, and pursed her lips.
In a flash, her overpaid consultant rushed over. “Thank you Tim. Time is up.”
“Did I make the cut?” Tim winked at her. “We know the answer to that.” He ran his hand through his hair and struck a model’s pose.
“Let’s go over to the other side of the room and talk.” Hall held up one finger and led the boring man away.
Ryane glanced over at her father and ground her teeth together. At one point in her life, Mr. Tim Timothy would have fit her perfectly. As long as he provided the cash and the face, they could have a life. Now, even if it were only for a glimpse, she knew there was something more.
She wanted her Knight back. At her thought, she balled her hand in a fist and shook her head. The night she drove away, she promised herself never to return to the lake, never to look for him again. For three days she had played this ping-pong with her thoughts, but she had to err on the side of her dignity. He didn’t want her or he would have told her his name and not sent her away. At least with someone like Tim, she knew what she would be getting.
For all she knew, Knight was married, a serial killer or he didn’t exist. It was better to end it.
But then why would he kiss her with such passion?
Hall returned with another man. This one with dark hair and a designer suit, but that was all she could see since his face was hidden by his phone.
“Larry Charleston, may I present Ryane Windsome.” Hall motioned toward her. “Ryane, this is Larry, he owns one of the premier businesses that makes apps for smart phones.”
The man continued to type away, but he did do her the favor of turning slightly, the screen illuminated his face. He wasn’t bad. He was no Tim, he wasn’t even a Patrick, and he was most definitely no Knight. Then again, no one would ever be Knight.
“Larry.” Hall tapped him.
Her potential date absentmindedly sat down in the chair, but continued to stare at his screen.
“Larry.” Hall kicked his chair. “Ryane is here and wanting to talk to you.”
“Well, if she’s going to be my wife, she’s going to have to learn that I must conduct business if I am going to keep her in thousand dollar shoes and handbags that cost more than some cars.” He never even looked up from his device.
Rather than purse her lips or do any of the other gestures Hall gave her, she simply shot him a look.
“All right, well, maybe you can text Ryane later.” Hall grabbed the man’s arm and dragged him away.
Through the crowd she searched out her father. He stood talking to one of the multitude of men there. He threw her out here alone, was this whole thing a test? What would he say or do if he found out she met someone in the middle of nowhere?
Once again Hall came to the table, this time with two dirty blond men. Identical in every way including their bizarre tuxedo that was trying to be stylish, but missed the mark by a several thousand miles. “Ryane Windsome, may I present Colton and Cash Conway. Their family owns some property in the area.”
Ryane pressed her back to the chair. These men were not her type at all. Not that she wanted to be mean, but she wasn’t really sure they were anyone’s type, at least not on this planet. They were both sort of a mess and their features were not right, but there was something more, something off putting.
“Hello,” the first one said.
“Hello,” the other one repeated, greeting in the exact same tone and inflection as the first.
“You’re very pretty,” One said.
“Yes very, very pretty.” Two echoed the words. “We thought it would be more efficient to meet you together.”
“Why don’t you have a seat?” Only pure curiosity didn’t have her lifting her eyebrows.
Rather than get another chair, they both shared the one chair in front of her and with wide eyes stared at her. “Do you always share everything?”
In unison, both smiled identical smiles.
“We’ve been told it’s the number one female fantasy.”
Truthfully, she didn’t know who spoke, and it didn’t matter because she never wanted to speak to these people again. At this rate, she would gladly go back to Larry and his cell phone, because at least they didn’t have to talk. How dare her father put her in this position? She wasn’t a prize cow up for auction, she was his daughter.
“We would make a great merger.” The twin one continued to speak. “You marry one, but get the other as a bonus.”
“You will be the envy of everyone, with two men to do your bidding.” The other piped in.
She glanced around, caught Hall’s attention, and raised her eyebrows.
Hall ran over, and she stood. “I need a break.”
“Hey, we were just getting started,” One of them called to her.
“I’m just finishing.” She stomped away from the table and over to her father, interrupting his discussion. “Daddy, I demand to talk to you.”
“Ryane, Princess, while you’re here, I would like to introduce you to--”
Before he could finish, she stomped her foot. “Daddy!” She grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
“Ryane, you can’t be rude,.” her father chastised. “You don’t have to like every man, you just need to find a man. There is no way out of this. We need to plan for the future and be serious. Now are you going to fight me?”
“No, Daddy.” If she went against him it would be a disaster.
“Then we are doing this my way,” he told her.
She had to come up with something fast. “What if I have a man?” Of course, he was the man she thought she had she lost, but there was no time for technicalities.
His expression softened. “And who might this man be?”
No one? A man she didn’t know? She needed something. “I don’t think it’s right you make me continue this cattle call.”
A smile took over his face, and he leaned down. “Is it Patrick?”
She didn’t react. Didn’t say yes, didn’t say no. What she really wanted to know was why her father couldn’t give her a chance to try this on her own.
“Go ahead and go. I can only tell you how proud I am.” He gave her a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll clean up the mess here.”
“Daddy.” She gazed up at the man who raised her. Did she tell him she lied?
“Go ahead, Princess. Soon you’ll be a queen.” He patted her shoulder.
Without waiting another moment, she dashed toward the exit. No, she never told her father it was Patrick, but she never said it wasn’t him. The tears started the moment she entered her limo. Why did she feel as if she had betrayed Knight? He wasn’t in her life anymore and never could be. Real love wasn’t meant for her, she had to do what was right for the Windsome name.