I stared back at him. "Ryder... that's an expensive car."

"You're more precious than the car, Ash." He argued. "Please. Think of it as my way of protecting you while I'm not physically with you. I would rather you drive the car than walk or take a cab." He looked at me in the eye. "Please, love. No arguments?"

I took a deep breath. I know I can't argue with Ryder once he puts his head into something.

"This is the price to pay for being with you, isn't it?" I asked him. He narrowed his eyes. I took a deep breath. "I have to get used to expensive things and gadgets."

He laughed. "We need to find a balance." He said. "I'm just as comfortable with walking as I am with driving my cars. There's one thing I need to ask you." He tilted my chin up so I can look into his eyes. "I can't help who I am, Ash. I'll always be Ryder Van Woodsen. But that does not change the man you fell in love with."

"Now that we're on the topic, what else is there in Ryder Van Woodsen's world? Because I don't want to be taken by surprise."

He sighed. He held me tighter, as if he needs to secure his hold on me before he tells me the real deal.

"I grew up in Manhattan... with my father. Paris lived in Paris with my mother. My parents separated when I was seventeen. Because of my father's womanizing activities, my mother thought it was the best idea to give us the first parts of our inheritance earlier, put it in a trust that we can access when we come of age. I had access to mine when I was eighteen." He looked at me seriously. "I'm not going to lie to you, Ash. It's huge."

"Must be. Your parents would probably leave at least a million or two on your trust."

He took a deep breath. "More than a hundred actually."

I stared up at him, my eyes wide. "Wow!" I breathed.

"I was investing since I was eighteen." He said. "I made my first million when I was twenty."

I listened quietly to Ryder. I knew he was rich. But until now, I didn't have an idea just how much.

"Soon, I'll be inheriting more when my father retires and finally give me full reigns to the business. I will be the one to handle it full time. Paris will just be part of the board, with controlling shares. But she won't have hands-on management."

"Why not?"

"Because she doesn't want to. She would like to operate my bars more than our restaurants."

"She operates your bars?"

"Except the ones in Malibu."

"What else do I need to know about the man I'm sleeping with?" I asked.

He chuckled. "I'm practically debt-free." He said. "I don't mortgage to invest. I owed my first investment to my trust fund. And I rolled the income into another investment. I'm practically made, Ash. Success came to me at an early age. I guess I was lucky. My parents made sure I have everything I needed and more."

"Yet you're grounded, Ryder." I said. "When we're together, I find it hard to believe you are the Ryder Van Woodsen."

"That's what I have been trying to tell you." He said. "I don't exist in glamor, and my life isn't always in the limelight. I can be your ordinary guy... your normal bartender even. You don't have to be afraid with me, Ash. Just take a chance."

I nodded. "I already am."

He hugged me to him. "Please don't deny me the chance to spoil you... to make you feel like a queen. I like it. I used to hate girls who chase after me because of the material things I could give them. Now, the woman I want doesn't want anything from me at all. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I fell in love with you. But that doesn't take away the fact that I am who I am. And I want to shower you with everything, Ash. Please don't deny me that."

I laughed. "Okay. But don't squander your millions on me, Ryder. You have to remember, a bouquet of flowers and a diamond jewelry weighs just the same to me, as long as they came from you."

He chuckled. "I'll remember." He stared at me for a while and then he took a deep breath. "You're beautiful." He said. "I love you."

I smiled. "I love you too."

Ryder leaned forward and kissed me. That started a whole rollercoaster ride of passion again.

Ryder was gone when I woke up the next morning. He left me a note on the bedside table.

Love, I mean it. I want you to stay here while I'm gone. I left the car keys here. You can arm and disarm the alarm with the password.

I'll be home sooner than you think. I'll just finish up with my meetings and I will come home to you. Until then, please be miserable without me. Because I am miserable without you.

The password is 278743. To make it easier for you to remember, spell your name on the keypad. :-) I love you very much.

Ryder I cried after reading his letter. I miss him so much already. It wasn't like this with Bryan. He could go to a convention for a week and I would still be my chirpy self at work. I was too busy with my job then, I didn't have time to miss him. But with Ryder, it's different. It seems that no matter how busy I become, I'll still have a heavy lump in my heart.

When Bryan broke my heart, I was torn and broken. I thought that the only way to take the pain away is to get back together with him, put it all behind us. Had I done that, I wouldn't be here... lying in Ryder's bed, hugging my pillow and missing him like crazy.

I am happier now. Ryder is everything that I have ever dreamed of. He's everything that I was afraid to dream of. Who would have thought that a couple of months ago, I was whining and sulking about Bryan and Geena? Now, I'm having a fairy tale relationship with a Manhattan prince. It's not about the material things. It's about how he genuinely cares for and loves me.

I guess I had to feel that much pain in my journey towards Ryder. And I wouldn't want to have it any other way. I think I would go through a hundred more of the heartbreaks with Bryan, if it meant I would have Ryder to come home to at the end of it all.

My phone rang.

"Where have you been hiding?" Dannie asked.

I have not spoken to my friends since the day I left for my parents' anniversary.

"Nowhere." I said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good. Let's catch up. I want to hear all about your parents' anniversary and your date with that hot photographer." He said.

"Where are you?"

"I'm still at home. Meet you at Starbucks?" He asked.

"Okay. Want me to pick you up and we'll go to Starbucks together?"

"Fine. I'll call Nicole and John. Hopefully, they have time off from work."

After I hung up, the landline rang.

"Hello." I answered.

"You don't know how that feels." Ryder said chuckling. "Calling home and the voice you'd like to hear the most answers your telephone."

"You're not shy with flattery, are you, Van Woodsen?"

He laughed. "Except it's not flattery. I'm just... telling you exactly what I feel." He said. "Did you just wake up?"

"Yes." I replied quietly.

"Are you crying?"

Now, after hearing his voice, I couldn't help crying. "No." But I know the tone of my voice betrayed me.

"What's wrong, love?" He asked.

I took a deep breath. "Will it drive you away if I tell you that I miss you already?"

"No." He replied seriously. "I miss you too."

"God, Ryder! I have to stop being silly!" I said more to myself.

"You're not silly." He said. "I like it that you miss me."

I took a deep breath. "You really did leave your car keys." I said.

"I told you I want you to use it." He said.

"How did you get to the airport?"

"The usual. I asked one of the guys at the bar to pick me up." He said.

"Alright, I'll just arm your alarm when I leave." I said. "Speaking of your alarm, did you just change your password today?"

"No." He replied. "I've had the same password for months. Remember? I told you this before."

"Really, Ryder? My name?"

He laughed. "I've been crazy about you for months, love. I remembered changing the password after we got back from Miami. I knew then that I was in too deep and there is no way I could escape you."

"Ryder..."

"Hmmm..."

"Don't break my heart, okay?"

"I won't, sweetheart. I love you."

"By the way, I'm going out to meet Dannie." I said.

"Good. You know how to drive there?" He asked.

"I know how to walk there."

"Very funny, Ash. Whatever happened to letting me indulge you?"

"That's a flashy car, Ryder." I said.

"It's a safe car." He said.

"Alright." I sighed. "Are you sure you won't get mad if I bump it or something."

"No. But I will if something happens to you."

"Okay. Go back to work." I said to him giggling. "And Ryder..."

"Yes, love?"

"Keep your promise, okay? Be miserable without me." I said.

"I already am." Then he took a deep breath. "Astrid..."

"Yes?"

"Always remember that I love you, okay? I'll always be that guy who would do anything to protect you, make you happy. I want you to know that even before I met you, you were the woman I needed, the woman I have been looking for."

Tears rolled down my cheeks. "I'll remember that, Ryder. And I love you too. I didn't know you were what I needed until I met you. And thank you... for finding me too."

When we hung up, I had to take a couple of minutes to compose myself. There was a heavy lump on my chest and I couldn't help but cry again. I didn't know love could be this strong. It was amazing because I never even felt half of these emotions when I was with Bryan and I was all set out to marry him. Even if he didn't cheat on me, our marriage would have been a mistake. And what I have with Ryder now is... a beautiful combination of all things that are right.

Dannie was already in front of his apartment when I arrived on his neighborhood. He was staring at the car in awe. When I let the window down on the passenger side and called out to him, "Hop in!", his jaw literally dropped. He didn't move until I blew the horn.