5.
BRIDAL CAR:
The car that carries the Bride and the Groom after the ceremony; usually adorned with flowers and signage saying “Just Married!”
I picked out a bright lavender outfit that accented my curves, bared my shoulders and exposed my long perfect legs. I was going to tease Bryan… with something he never had. Something that he should have been having by now, had he waited.
I used to be a little bit on the conservative side when I was with him. But they’d stripped me of almost everything so what did I have to lose?
I went to the salon to color my hair. I tried a multi-colored hairstyle. Blonde, red, reddish brown, dark brown and a few black strands. When the hairdresser was finished, I thought I looked cool and my hair looked stylish. As a benefit, no one could tell what my natural hair color really was.
No contacts anymore. When I put on my gown, it emphasized the violet hue of my eyes that, according to my friends, is just beautiful.
I wore light makeup and I curled the edges of my hair. When I slipped into a pair of silver sandals and went downstairs, Dannie and John just applauded. Even Adam was clearly impressed.
John whistled at me.
“You look fab, sweetheart,” Dannie said.
Adam smiled at me. “I’m glad to see you this way. No doubt you will be the most beautiful woman in the ballroom tonight. Bryan won’t even know what hit him.”
“Thank you, guys!” I said to them.
Apparently, Geena approached Fiona to get an on-site, on-the-day wedding coordinator. I told Nicole to volunteer for the job. It would be nice to have one more ally in the party besides Adam.
I had been coordinating with Ryder most of the week. His cover story was that he graduated with honors at Harvard. He’s an entrepreneur. His family owns a couple of restaurant chains in New York. He invests here and there. I asked him to rent a Boxster for the night and a nice Armani suit. I also asked him to rent a ring for the night or buy a fake one that could pass as the real thing. We even agreed to rent a room in the resort to leave no doubt that Ryder and I were for real.
Bryan would be eating his heart out! He knew I never, and I mean never, go for super wealthy guys. He knew I preferred a guy who had more time to work on relationships than meet with his business associates. He knew I wasn’t looking for something grand. I wanted a simple, but happy life. Quiet and comfortable. And moreover, I would never sleep with a guy outside marriage.
Well, he was in for the shock of his life!
The doorbell rang. Adam went to get it.
I double-checked to make sure that Adam’s check was in my purse… Ryder’s full payment.
“I look fine?” I asked Dannie nervously.
“You’re a goddess!” he assured me and John agreed.
We all waited anxiously for my date to come. I was beginning to wonder what was taking Adam so long. Was he interrogating Ryder already?
Finally, Adam came back into the room and behind him was a breathtaking god dressed in a black silk Armani suit. His raven hair combed smoothly in place. He was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses and for a while I thought he looked familiar. He was not wearing a stud on his ear and the guy I was looking at now was ten times classier than the Ryder I met at the bar. It was almost hard to believe that this was the same guy.
“Hello, Astrid. We meet again,” he said.
“Oh my God!” I heard Dannie hyperventilate behind me.
“Hey… Ryder.” I tried…hard… to keep my voice steady.
Only Adam seemed not so pleased with my choice and I wondered why. He had a cold expression on his face and somehow I knew that he was biting his tongue to keep his thoughts from spilling out loud, which was obviously painful for him.
“Shall we?” Ryder asked.
I nodded. He took my hand in his and gently, he intertwined our fingers. I caught a whiff of his cologne… sweet, yet masculine.
Adam raised a brow at me.
“Oh, sorry. Ryder, this is my cousin, Adam. And these are my friends John and Dannie.”
It’d been ages since I last dated someone new, I completely forgot about the necessity of introductions.
Ryder politely shook their hands. Dannie was quite ecstatic to shake his hand, but I could tell the squeeze that Adam gave Ryder was a warning of sorts; probably some macho ‘big brother’ thing. I raised a brow at Adam. He merely nodded at me coolly.
Finally, we said goodbye to them. Ryder took my bag and led me outside towards a sports car and immediately, my breath caught in my throat.
Now, I don’t know much about cars, but I know an expensive, flashy car when I see one.
He opened the passenger door for me.
“Mademoiselle?”
I smiled at him nervously and then I got into the car. He put my bag in the trunk and then he went around the car and sat beside me on the driver’s seat.
“You’re staying at the resort tonight right?”
I looked at him. “You’re not coming with me?”
“Only if you’d like me to.”
“If you left, that would make this all sound fake, right? Although it is fake. But… they don’t know that.”
“Yeah. They don’t.” He smiled and I had to keep my breathing under control.
He started to drive. It was going to be a long ride to the resort where the reception is going to be.
“What type of car is this?” I asked him.
He laughed. “What does the ex-fiancé drive?”
“A Porsche Boxster.”
He nodded. “Don’t worry. If your ex knows about cars, he knows what this car is worth.”
“Yeah, he has a thing for expensive cars. But what is it? Just in case somebody at the party asks what car my…” I trailed off, not exactly sure what to call him.
“Your boyfriend for now, your fiancé by tonight,” he supplied with a grin on his face.
I swallowed hard; somehow, even I couldn’t believe that I scored a guy like this.
“Okay. Just in case somebody asks me what car you drive.”
“It’s an SLR McLaren,” he said.
“Mental note taken,” I breathed.
“What more do I need to know about you? Brothers or sisters?”
I shook my head. “Geena was the closest thing I had to a sister. And she tore my world apart. She’s Adam’s half-sister. Adam isn’t actually related to me by blood, but we grew up together. He’s a lawyer, which works great for him since he’s probably the most tactless person I know. Says what’s on his mind even though it hurts. He was the only one who dropped hints on me that something was happening behind my back. At first, I thought he just wanted to make me miserable. I didn’t listen. So when the shit hit the fan, he was the only person I trusted. He took me in.”
“He sounds like a good guy,” Ryder whispered.
I nodded. “I only realized that now. In fact, he’s the one writing you the checks.”
Ryder just raised a brow at me and then stared ahead.
“Will ten grand cover all… your expenses? I mean, you offered to rent out a room for us. And this car seems more expensive than what I asked you to rent…”
He reached out for my hand and squeezed it.
“Sshhh…” he said. “Relax, love. Let’s not talk about it. I have it all under control.”
“And the ring?”
He chuckled. He surprised me by pulling my hand and brushing his lips against my fingers.
“You won’t see the ring until tonight,” he said. “Pretend you don’t even know about it.”
I laughed. “Alright.”
He intertwined our fingers and it surprised me how relaxed he was. Like he’s known me for a long time.
“You’re nervous,” he said, squeezing my hand. “You need to lighten up a little bit. Remember, you’re on a mission. And you need to accomplish it with flying colors.”
I leaned back on my seat and tried to relax a little. But inside, my heart was hammering wildly against my chest. Whether it was because I’ll be seeing the two people who hurt me the most or because of the tingle that Ryder’s hands were sending down my spine, I was not sure.
“Just give me a recap,” he said. “I’m supposed to act in love with you. I can’t get my hands off you and I only have eyes for you in the whole room.”
I nodded. “Pretty much.”
“Okay, so how did we meet?”
I froze on my seat. I realized that I had spent so much time making sure that Ryder had the perfect cover that I forgot that I must also have the perfect love story for us.
“God! I forgot that!”
“Hmmm… how about at the bar. Oil Rig. You’re there a lot, aren’t you?”
“Yeah I am.”
“Okay, so we met through your friend John. He introduced us and I fell in love with you at first sight.”
“Wow! You believe in that?”
He stared over at me under those pitch-dark shades and even though I couldn’t see his eyes, I could feel a blush creep over my face.
“Hey, we’re going for the rebound story of the year, why not go the extra mile?”
I giggled. “I admire your imagination. When did we meet?”
“Two months ago. But you’d lost your faith in love then. I was pretty persistent. Let’s say I sent a dozen roses to your apartment for a month until I finally got you to go out with me, and I haven’t let you go ever since.”
“Have I met your parents?”
He shook his head. “But you do speak to my mom on the phone a lot.”
“Where are they?”
“They’re in Manhattan. I’m just in town for my latest business venture.”
“Where do you live in Malibu?”
“Let’s say a few blocks from Adam,” he replied.
I laughed. “Okay, I’ll say it’s the three story house with the huge wrap-around deck facing the beach.”
He smiled. “Yeah. It could be that house.”
“God, I hope no one in the party would know the owner of that house! Otherwise, we’re doomed.”
He smiled again. “The city’s big enough. You have zero percent chance of running into the house owner there to nullify our story.”
“Have we slept together?” I asked, laughing.
He squeezed my hand. “Of course! I can’t get enough of you.”
I laughed. “My ex is going to eat his heart out if he hears that!”
“Why? Was he possessive of you?”
I shrugged. “Let’s just say that he also didn’t get enough of me.”
Ryder stared over at me, as if asking me to elaborate. I smiled and winked at him.
“Maybe that’s why he cheated on me,” I said rolling my eyes.
“He must be a loser then,” he said.
“Why did you say that?”
“Because if I had you, I wouldn’t think about touching anyone else.”
I forgot to breathe right that instant. When I finally recovered, I forced a laugh. “Right. Keep that frame of mind. You need it to make it all real.”
“Not a difficult job, love,” he murmured.
“I’m twenty-eight years old, by the way,” I said.
He smiled. “I’m two years your senior.”
“I’m jobless right now. But I’m looking.”
He shook his head. “Why not say you’re looking to put up your own business?”
“Me? Put up my own business?”
“Yeah. With me in your life, I have influenced your entrepreneurial skills.”
“Wow! It’d be awesome if that were true!”
“Why not? Do you want to be an employee all your life? You’ve got the skills, the know-how, the contacts, and even the portfolio.”
“But I don’t have the capital.”
“Ah-ah-ah… Are you forgetting? Your rich boyfriend invests here and there. Why can’t he invest in you?”
“Trust me! My relatives will be watching out for that! And they would know if it didn’t happen within the next few months!”
“In the next few months you will have your act together. You could always say something more interesting and a little bit less risky came up.”
I stared at him and realized how brilliant his plan was. “You really have the answer to everything, don’t you?”
He laughed. “Just years of talking to a lot of people.”
I realized that Ryder was smart. And being a bartender in a classy bar like Oil Rig exposed him to a whole lot of different people. He seemed like a person who likes to listen to people’s stories. And he was quite a charmer. I felt confident that we would be able to pull this off. And I had the feeling that even Geena would hyperventilate at the sight of him. Bryan would be practically salivating with envy! That is… if John’s right and he still had 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 was 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 watched him exit the car and go around to open the door for me. I saw Bryan and Geena just getting 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 was 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, surrounded by some of their bridesmaids, Ryder kissed me on the lips.
We didn’t look over 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 had been a while since I’d been kissed like that. In fact, I couldn’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 asked.
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 Nicole interrupted my thoughts.
“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 anxious to go in?”
“No. Not really. If they followed my program too, there’ll be a first dance after they are introduced formally as 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 kissed 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 to have passion. Like when you walk into the room, your scent fills his senses. No one else is more divine or more beautiful. No one else can capture his attention. I mean, comfort is good. Comfort is what you get from knowing that the other person can’t feel that kind of passion for anyone else but you.”
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. Got 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 could tell that Ryder held so much love and affection for his little sister. I admired 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 would 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!” 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.”