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“It’s not that. It’s . . . I like you, Davis. I respect you. I hope we can continue to collaborate, in a professional capacity. I hope we can remain friends.”
“Victoria?”
She lay her hand affectionately on his cheek. “I’m sorry, Davis. There’s someone else.”
“Oh. Oh.” He looked down. “I see. Well. I probably deserve that. And . . . I certainly wouldn’t want to stand in the way of your happiness. Go then. Go be with this other man.”
She gave him a sad smile. “I can’t. But I am going to try to be happy.”
New York Minute
Holy *bleeeep*. Well, folks, we had planned to bring you elegant if bland coverage of Cheryl Prince’s big birthday celebration at the Rainbow Room.
And in a way, we still are, but . . .
(No offense to the lovely Mrs. Prince, who gets more beautiful and charming with each passing year—you know you do, honey.) But the big news last night concerned another Prince all together.
Now, we don’t have the full scoop (or any pictures—sob) because the party was strictly invite-only. But Ryder Prince left (his own mother’s birthday party!) early (now that seems like the Ryder we all know and love). And—drumroll—Vicky Ashby did not leave with him.
Mr. Prince was spotted by reporters in the lobby stomping out of the elevator with a big ol’ scowl on his face. Asked if he and Ms. Ashby were still together, Mr. Prince simply said, “No.”
Sigh.
While we will admit to being somewhat relieved the world seems to make sense again, we have to say we’re just the tiniest bit disappointed. We were kinda enjoying the weird, wild ride that was “Ryctoria.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The next morning, Vicky woke with a sense of purpose. Yes, she was sad. Ryder was gone. Davis was gone. She had let go of an idea she’d had so long she hardly knew how to separate herself from it. The idea that she needed someone to hold her up, to be her other half. The idea that she couldn’t succeed on her own. In business. In life.
It was a thought that had formed long ago, so far back she couldn’t remember it. It was almost certainly the thing that had kept her with Noah so long, even though there was clearly more affection than spark there. That much was obvious when you looked at him and Sabrina. She tried to imagine herself and Noah planning a rushed last-minute wedding because they couldn’t wait another minute to get to the altar. She couldn’t. Of course, she couldn’t. They’d never felt that kind of passion for each other.
The kind of passion she felt for Ryder.
As screwed up as the whole situation was, he had helped her more than he’d ever know. He had helped her realize she didn’t need the perfect, stable guy at her side. Not to succeed in her career or in anything else. He’d also helped her realize that perfect and stable might not be the things that were most important to her after all.
For now, though, she intended to throw herself into her work. She planned to put together a proposal to launch the Art in the Park initiative as soon as next year. She was confident it was going to make a big impact on kids across the city (and maybe across the country after that). It was another thing she had Ryder to thank for. Maybe she could ask him to be involved, once she had more of the details worked out. She was sure he’d have better things to do, supermodels to go out clubbing with, that sort of thing. A widely publicized charitable campaign was a far cry from incognito art with kids on the street. It wasn’t his style. But she hoped he’d be flattered. She hoped he’d be proud of what she’d made. He’d inspired it after all.
Her first stop was the Princes’ apartment. She waited until she knew Warren would be down at the club.
Cheryl’s face warmed with affection the minute she opened the door. She pulled Vicky into a hug.
“Sweetheart, how are you? I’ve been so worried about you.”
Vicky choked back a sob. “I’m so sorry, Cheryl. I’m so sorry I lied to you.”
The older woman pulled back, taking her face in both her hands. “Please don’t be. I’m not upset about that at all. Come, sit down.”
She pulled Vicky inside, taking her coat and leading her into the living room. She sat down beside her on the sofa and took her hands. “Victoria, I’m not mad about the lie. I understand why you did it. I only wish you hadn’t felt it necessary.”
She didn’t trust herself to speak just yet, so she simply nodded. Cheryl took a tissue from the side table and dabbed at Vicky’s eyes like a mother would do with her child. It only made Vicky’s heart ache more.
“And I should have realized how hard Noah’s engagement would be for you.”
“I . . . It’s okay, though. I’m okay now.”
Cheryl smiled. “I know. And I’m glad. You and Noah have been so important to each other over the years. Look at everything you’ve done together, your work with the foundation. You two are good for each other, even if it’s not in the roles you once had.”
Vicky nodded.
