running on the Strip. Why do you ask?”
“You’re extremely persuasive.”
Nic smiled slyly. “How do you think I landed Fally?”
Zoe liked this woman. Big balls and all.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll do it. I’m still not sure it will make a difference, though.”
“Thank you.” Nic grabbed her purse. “Okay, I have to take off. I think it will work. It better, because we need to see more of each other. I need someone to hang out with at all the hockey functions and games. Take care, Zoe.”
“You too.”
Nic paused when she got to the front door and glanced over her shoulder. “He’s a good man, Zoe. He just needs a good woman to make him realize it.”
CHAPTER 19
Zoe glanced at her watch. She still had a few minutes to kill before going back inside to Callahan’s. Sitting on a bench in the spacious outdoor courtyard, she let her thoughts drift.
No matter what Nic said, she wasn’t sure Ryder would want to see her, not after how angry he’d been when he left her apartment.
He’d only come to her because his other attempts at sex had failed, and it had hurt. Why couldn’t he understand how horribly used that made her feel?
Who knows how many attempts he made with those other women before finally coming to her. She almost wished he hadn’t said anything.
Sighing, she grabbed her purse and headed for the bar.
She needed to find out about Danielle.
CHAPTER 20
Zoe slipped in the side entrance to Callahan’s. Ryder chalked a pool cue while talking to Roman Falanov. A few other guys stood around the pool table, watching them take shots and talking.
She smoothed down her hair and took a deep breath, pausing at the entrance to watch him.
Ryder leaned over the table, his pool stick in hand, ready to take a shot. Zoe drew a sharp breath, suddenly struck with a massive case of butterflies in her stomach. Devastatingly sexy didn’t even come close to describing him, even when he wasn’t smiling.
Despite how gorgeous he looked, Zoe didn’t miss the dark circles under his tired eyes. He looked completely exhausted.
Jake smiled as she walked up to the bar. “Beer, love?”
“Yes. Thanks, Jake.”
He handed her a pint and she took it to the table where she’d first met Ryder. It seemed strange, sitting here. He’d been wearing a suit the day they met. Today, he wore snug blue jeans and a gray Kingsnakes t-shirt.
He shot the orange ball effortlessly into the corner pocket, appearing as comfortable with a pool cue as he did with a hockey stick.
He turned around to grab his beer and his gaze drifted toward her table. He froze when their eyes met.
Heat crept into her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. Raising her hand to greet him, she prayed he didn’t leave her sitting alone.
***
Zoe.
He stared at her for a moment before turning to Fally. “You do this?” he asked his friend.
“Nope.”
Ryder tried again. “Did you know about this?”
Fally lifted his big shoulder in a shrug and chalked his cue. “Maybe.”
Ryder let out a sarcastic laugh. “Christ. You two can’t let well enough alone, can you?”
Fally motioned to Zoe. “Lots of guys looking her way. Better go stake your claim, Irish.”
Ryder tossed his pool stick down and pointed at his friend. “I’ll deal with you later.”
“Not likely, because I’m leaving.”
“Yeah. Run you chicken shit. I’ll kick your ass later.” Ryder picked up his beer and headed for Zoe. She looked so damn beautiful sitting there.
“Scene of the crime.” He took a seat across from her. She’d foregone her silver glasses for contacts, and her green eyes were soft and watchful.
“Yes,” she said.
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air while they studied each other.
He’d been miserable the past two weeks since their falling out. Though his performance on the ice had remained steady, everyone knew something was going on when his bleary, red eyes betrayed his lack of sleep.
“What are you doing here, Zoe?” he finally asked.
“I have to ask you a question.”
He leaned back in the chair. “Okay. Shoot.”
“Who’s Danielle?”
Jesus Christ.
His grip tightened around the beer glass. She might as well have sucker punched him in the face. It would’ve been less painful.
He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. “Who put you up to this?”
“Nic said I should ask you about her. She told me everything would make sense to me if I asked. I want things to make sense, Ryder.”
“Nic,” he said flatly, “should mind her own goddamned business.”
Zoe rubbed her forehead. “I’m sorry. I didn’t