Page 19 of Ryder

Suddenly, Ryder came into view as he turned his large black and chrome motorcycle into the small parking lot beside the restaurant. As he moved out of sight, I relaxed a bit. Surely, he didn’t see us here. He was probably out for some event or on a date himself.

A sharp pain struck my heart at the thought of Ryder on a date, and again, I had no idea why I was feeling this way. I had only met him a handful of times. I had no stake or claim over him, nor did I want any.

Allison sat back down and gazed at me. I just shook my head, pleading with her not to say anything. Thankfully, she obliged.

John and Gregory just moved on with their conversation as Allison said she thought she saw Tom Cruise.

I reached for another drink of my water when I heard a deep voice resonate from behind me.

“Hello, Scarlett.”

My head jerked around, and my body swiveled in my chair at the sound of that familiar, deep voice.

Standing behind me was Ryder Raven. His black hair wild and his smile wickedly appealing. People all around us were talking and whispering as they stared at the man who was for some strange reason, talking to me. His face is plastered all over billboards around Los Angeles, and he has been seen around every club in Hollywood.

“Hi, Ryder,” I say, my knees suddenly shaking and weak.

He smiles at Allison and nods at the guys, giving Gregory a strange glare that made me super uncomfortable.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, unsure of what else to say.

“I heard you would be here tonight,” Ryder says, his baby blue eyes boring into me.

I snapped my head over to Allison, who held her hands up in defense. “Hey, don’t look at me. I didn’t tell him,” she states firmly.

Shaking his head, Ryder pulls up a chair from another table and sits down right beside me. Unwelcomes, I must add.

“Nah, Allison didn’t say anything. Actually, I called All Our Children, and they told me you were off tonight. I had my publicist locate you,” he said, winking at me.

That had to be some type of violation of privacy, I was sure. What, did he hire a detective?

“Did you need something?” I ask, my voice clipped.

“I wanted to see if you were available to have dinner with me tonight?” Ryder asked.

He was extremely rude right now, and it was making me frustrated beyond belief. How dare him to interrupt my dinner, ignore my date, and then have the audacity to ask me out in front of said date.

“Excuse me. We are actually enjoying our evening. Do you think you could contact Scarlett at a later date?” Gregory asked,his eyes looking Ryder up and down as though he were beneath him.

Whatever rage I was feeling for Ryder seconds ago, was now drifting to Gregory.

“I wouldn’t call us enjoying our evening,” I said, rolling my eyes.

I heard Allison gasp, and Gregory gives a humph as he sat back and folded his arms across his chest.

Ryder just chuckled and seemed to be enjoying how uneasy he was making me feel.

“So, what do you say?” Ryder asks me, his tone laced with a seductive growl.

I felt myself shudder from the intensity of his stare. “Ryder, I will call you later…” I begin, but Gregory jumps in and takes the lead.

“You know what? I think this dinner is over. I am not interested in a woman who is already seeing some guy who can’t even dress appropriately for dinner,” Gregory seethes.

“Whoa buddy, I don’t know who you are fucking talking about,” Ryder begins, and I place my hand on his chest to stop him. Ryder pauses, his eyes locked on my hand, which is now holding him in place.

Gregory pushes his chair back and offers a smile to Allison and John. “My apologies, but I am leaving,” he nods toward the pair.

Allison and John seem to be shocked as they just sit there and watch the show before them.

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