"No just you, Acton and Brylee if she wishes to join." Ryder says his eyes moving over to the petite woman. She nods her hand squeezing the crook of his elbow as she bows towards Ryder at the same time. Elizabeth passes the flute of what must by champagne to a servant behind her. She dips her head towards Ryder before her, Acton and Brylee make their way from the ballroom but Ryder stays standing with me as he nods at my past queen as well. "What deal?" I question Ryder softly trying not to move my lips knowing that everybody has their eyes on us. "I'll tell you later," His voice is tense as his warmth disappears from around my waist and he takes my hand. He goes to pass my hand over to Reynolds who is standing at my side but I don't allow him to let me go. "Will you actually tell me?" I could see that he wasn't going to tell me. I didn't know how but the roughness of his voice was a big hint. "Lot..." Sliding my hand from Ryder's I drop it into Reynolds still outstretched hand. I see his eyes move to Ryder in question before his fingers wrap around mine. Before Reynolds has time to lead me away Ryder's hand comes up to cup my cheek. "It's not something you need to know yet. You are experiencing so much at the moment and I don't want to add to it." My eyes stay locked with his as I try to force him to tell me. "I'm not telling you. Hands only," his eyes are on Reynolds before he walks away with a brush of his thumb over my cheekbone. My eyes watch him as he leaves the room following after the group with just Cole following behind him. With Cole gone Charlie replaces him from his spot hidden amongst the crowd. "Do you want to dance?" Reynolds smiles down at me he looks way too excited and when I raise an eyebrow he chuckles at me. "Hands only," I repeat with a teasing smile as he leads me back to the dance floor. Ryder had taken longer than I expected and while he was gone Reynolds had stuck by my side the entire time. Heidi had come to talk to me while he was gone and I got to meet her partner. He was a lot like I expected someone for her would be. He stood there smiling at her as she talked about herself. Heidi had always talked about herself and he looked happy to stand there in awe about her. When Ryder had come back he seemed tense and lost in his thoughts but he had still come back to wrap his arm around my waist again and I had let him. He hadn't spoken till we had returned to the hotel and I had pulled the heavy crown from my head and the cramp in my neck was starting to grow. "Ryder," he was perched on the edge of the bed playing with his hands nervously. I had changed into a pair of shorts and a simple shirt of his that had such a strong lingering scent of Ryder I knew he'd must have been wearing it this morning. He was still in his suit and had only loosened his tie from around his neck. His eyes stayed on my body as I got closer to him. I was angry after he had left me without telling me what he was doing and how quiet he was when he had returned but his silence is scaring me now. When my slow steps land me in front of him he parts his legs and pulls me in so I'm pressed to his chest. His hands are on my hips and I can see as he bunches up the shirt in his hands before he lets it go, he wants to rub his hands over my skin but he's second guessing it. Running my hands through his hands I try to get him to look at me but he continues to stare at his hands. "Ryder," I repeat. "What's wrong?" "I love you, you know that." His chest is rising and falling and it's pulling against his shirt. Tightening my hand around his jaw I force him to meet my eyes. "I do and you better know that I love you too and I'm worried about you. What's wrong?" "I can't tell you." "Is that about what happened in that meeting with Elizabeth?" I say trying to keep my voice even. His secrecy hurt but he had my safety and happiness in mind when he thought about how it would affect me. He nods trying to remove his chin from my hold but I tighten my grip again. "If you think it's best for me not to know at this moment then it's ok but please tell me at some point." Ryder seems shocked by my admission. He falls back on the bed with a deep exhale pulling me with him and I collapse on his chest. I was still nervous about this secret that was worrying him so much but once he had stripped the suit and gotten in the bed behind me I had relaxed but there was still so much making me nervous.