grasp. She turned to face him.
“There are fifteen other people ahead of me in line. Being number sixteen isn’t enough for me.”
She hurried back into the house. Wiping her eyes as she stepped into the kitchen, she prayed her mascara hadn’t streaked down her face.
A blonde woman standing in front of the refrigerator glanced curiously in her direction, and Zoe froze.
“Hello,” the woman said, taking a beer from the fridge.
“Uh, hi,” said Zoe. Ryder stepped into the kitchen, closing the door behind him.
“Nic,” said Ryder. “This is Zoe. Zoe, Roman Falanov’s wife, Nic.”
Nic leaned against the island. “Nice to meet you. How do you two know each other?”
“I gave Zoe a ride home from Callahan’s the other night when she broke her shoe.”
Nic glanced at Zoe. “Oh?”
“I’m here because I lost something in the Escalade.” Realizing the double entendre, she flushed.
Ryder raised an eyebrow. “That you did.”
At Nic’s confused expression, he pointed at Zoe. “Her necklace.”
“Are you okay?” Nic studied Zoe’s face. “You look like you’ve been crying.”
“No, just allergies,” Zoe lied. “I should be going, actually.”
“Are you sure?” Nic asked. “It would be nice to have another girl to hang out with tonight. Stacey took Briar home, so it’s only me with a houseful of boys.” She made a face. “Why don’t you stay?”
Normally, Zoe would feel intimidated around a woman like Nic. She looked like she’d fallen off the cover of a fashion magazine, with her glossy blonde hair and gorgeous peaches and cream skin. Her genuine nature put Zoe at ease, even in the wake of what had just transpired with Ryder.
Ryder leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “Sounds like a plan. A guy’s night is obviously not going to happen, anyway.” Ryder gave Nic a pointed glance.
“Thanks for the invite,” Zoe told Nic. “But, I have my roommate’s car, and she’ll be expecting it back any second now.”
If she didn’t put some distance between herself and Ryder, she knew she’d be back in his arms, ignoring her brain and listening to her heart.
“I’ll have to make sure Ryder invites you to the next get together. We could use another girl around here. Keep these boys in check.” She smiled at Zoe.
Zoe grabbed her purse. “Right. Sure. It was nice to meet you. Take care.”
“Bye.” Nic elbowed Ryder in the ribs as he passed. “She’s cute, Ry. If you made her cry, I’ll punch you in the balls.”
“Lay off, Nic,” he snapped.
Zoe made a beeline for the front door. She started to step outside before she remembered the guys. She’d been so anxious to get away, she’d raced right past them.
“Nice meeting you all.”
“You too, Zoe,” Fally replied. The rest of them chimed in with their goodnights. Eli looked dejected, but raised his hand in a wave.
Ryder slid behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll walk you to the car.”
Zoe stepped outside and he followed, pulling the door closed behind them. “No. Stay here,” she said.
As she turned to flee, he grabbed her hand. “Zoe, wait.”
“I have to go,” she said softly.
“Tell me you don’t want me.”
They stared at each other in the soft glow of the porch light. His blue gaze never wavered as he waited for her to speak.
Zoe tried to tell him. She swallowed, and tried again, but couldn’t bring herself to speak the words.
“Goodnight,” she whispered, slipping from his grasp.
***
As Ryder watched her climb into the beat up Toyota, he realized it was the second time she’d left him and not looked back. Still, she hadn’t been able to say the words.
That gave him hope.
CHAPTER 11
The noise in the Anaheim arena had reached deafening levels. Their fans screamed for Anaheim to end the battle that had raged on the ice for the past sixty minutes.
The Kingsnakes led 3—2 in the third period. With 32 seconds left on the clock, Anaheim forward Tyler Clark banged the puck past Kingsnakes goalie West Keller, tying the game and forcing overtime.
Now, with only 58 seconds left on the overtime clock, Anaheim was on the attack, and their fans demanded a victory.
Caleb Steele, Eli’s partner on defense, battled for the puck in the corner against John Black, a right winger for Anaheim.
Black dislodged the puck from beneath Steele’s skate and slid it to line mate David Morgan behind the Kingsnakes net.
Eli delivered a crushing body check against Morgan, shoving him hard into the glass.
“Steele, Go! Go!” Eli yelled.
Steele gained control of the puck and flipped it up ice to Fally, who skated up