Chasing the Prize (Men of the Ice Book 5) by Michele Shriver

Author:Michele Shriver [Shriver, Michele]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sports hockey athlete, career women and dating, television news reporter, love romance relationships
Publisher: SMC Publishing
Published: 2016-06-20T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Ryder could usually tell when he’d messed up, and this was no exception. Jessica’s icy tone told him everything he needed to hear, and then some. He’d screwed up in a very big way. “Okay, I can see that you’re mad—”

“Brilliant deduction, Sherlock. Now can I have those pants, please?”

“Fine, okay.” He rushed to his bedroom, and returned a minute later with a pair of drawstring sweats and a T-shirt. “Here, put these on, and let’s talk about this.”

“Talk?” Jessica laughed, but there was no humor in it. “First, you demand that I leave, and now you want to talk about?”

“What? I didn’t demand that you leave. I said you shouldn’t stay.”

“Semantics, Ryder.” Jessica yanked the pants on and cinched the waist, then pulled the T-shirt over her head. Even dressed in his baggy clothes, she was beautiful. Not that she’d want to hear that right now.

“I told you why. It’s nothing personal,” he tried to explain. “I just have to be up super early to get to the rink.”

“Of course. You need your beauty sleep, and you don’t want me interfering with it. I might distract you or something. We wouldn’t want that.” Ouch. She’d mastered the art of sarcasm, that’s for sure. “Sweet dreams, Ryder, and good luck in Arizona.”

“Thanks, I think.” The words were nice, but he doubted the sincerity. He followed her to the door. “I’ll call you when I get back in town.”

Jessica had her hand on the doorknob, and turned around. “Why? So we can do this again? Don’t bother.” She pulled the door open and stormed out, leaving Ryder standing in the doorway, watching as her car pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the street.

Son of a bitch. Smooth, Ry. Real smooth. He closed the door and went back in the house. He’d ruined it with Jess, and he still had a whole kitchen of dirty dishes to clean up. The afternoon may have started out promising, but it sure went to hell in a hurry. And Ryder had no one to blame for that but himself.

***

No. She wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t. She might be hurt and humiliated, and feel like an idiot, but Jessica was determined not to cry. No. She’d just have to chalk this one up to experience. One more bad relationship. Except she wasn’t even sure this one could even classify as a relationship. What had it lasted? Three dates? Okay, four if she counted the hockey game, but that was a stretch. Yeah, good work, Jess.

Instead of driving home, she headed to Char’s house. One thing Jessica could always count on was her best friend being home alone on a Sunday night, and probably working. Char arguably had an even worse social life than Jessica, if such a thing were possible. Maybe they were even, in the most pathetic way possible.

Jessica rang the bell, and Char answered, wearing yoga pants, a tank top, and her glasses perched on her nose. Yep. Working. “What are you doing here? I thought you were with Ryder.

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