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sticking around to be humiliated any further.
She had known this was a bad idea, yet she d chosen to ignore her gut, and now look at her. Being
mocked by some twit with a made-up name, and thinking that this had been so romantic when Ryder
had brought a string of women here previously. Probably even had stayed in the same room, had sex
with them in the same bed where he d loved on her.
Damn it! She kicked his suitcase sitting next to hers and resisted the urge to squeeze a tube of
toothpaste all over his clothes.
She was in the bathroom, sweeping all her makeup into her cosmetic bag, throat tight from holding
back sobs, when Ryder came in.
Suz? What are you doing? he asked, coming to stand in the doorway, hands in the front pockets of
his jeans.
I m leaving. Going back to Charlotte, where I should have stayed in the first place.
Why? What the hell is the matter? We ve been having a good time, I m pretty damn sure.
Where did she even begin to list all the things that were the matter?
Zipping her makeup bag shut, she turned to him. I am not going to be just another woman that you
brought to this hotel for a weekend screw.
Why would you even say that? Ryder knew he was gaping at Suzanne, but there were times he
just could not follow her thought processes. I just suggested we get married!
If that was a marriage proposal, it was a shitty one! And I know I m not the first woman you
brought to this hotel, and now so does everybody else thanks to Tuesday Talladega and her damn
gossip website.
Ryder s confidence they could work things out, which had already been seriously dented in the last
hour, was smashed completely. Uh-oh. First of all, that Tuesday chick is the modern equivalent of a
rag magazine, and no one listens to a word she says. Second, you and I have both dated other people
since we ve been divorced. That s no secret. You ve had a life and lovers and so have I.
The same hotel, Ryder? That s tacky with a capital T.
This is where the awards ceremony is! It wasn t any sort of conscious choice. Why does it matter
anyway? Those women hadn t been important to him. They had been diversions, amusement,
company for a few of his many lonely nights. Nights he much would have preferred to have spent with
Suzanne.
Was it this room?
Huh? Ryder felt a certain amount of desperation creeping over him. This was going terribly,
horribly wrong.
Did you stay in the same room with them?
You mean like a threesome? No, of course not!
I didn t mean two at once, you dumb ass, I mean, did you have them share this particular room
with you on those three separate trips . . . did you screw those women in the same bed you screwed
me?
No. He didn t think. Hotel rooms all looked the same. And that s not fair anyway. I am positive
you ve had more than one guy share your bed at your condo and we ve spent the night there together,
and trust me, that is not a happy image for me. I mean, Carl, Suzanne? He didn t have brawn or
brains. That idiot Suzanne had dated right after their divorce had been nothing short of totally
unworthy of her. But we were apart for two years, Suz. There s nothing we can do about that but
accept it s the past. And as a side note, stop calling me dumb ass. I really hate that.
Stop being one. She shoved past him and threw her makeup bag into her suitcase. God, I m so
stupid.
Why? What is so wrong that we can t talk about it and fix it? Ryder was truly bewildered.
Maybe my suggestion about getting remarried was too soon, or poorly delivered, I can admit that, but
the thing is you don t make it easy for me. Half the time I m afraid to tell you how I feel, because you
tear me a new one, so I hold it in, then blurt it out. He tried to touch her arm but she shook him off.
When you care about a woman as much as I care about you, there s a lot at stake. I never want to
mess it up, and yet, that s all we seem to do.
We re just talking in circles again. The same old arguments that never get us anywhere.
Maybe we should try talking instead of yelling then running.
Yet Suzanne just zipped her suitcase closed, yanked it off the bed, and pulled up the handle. I m
leaving.
Ryder s anger dissolved as the enormity of what she was saying hit him and his heart splintered yet
again.
Well, that is what you do best.
Her lips tightened at his parting shot but she didn t say a word. She just rolled her suitcase across
the room and left. The door closed with a final and loud click.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I M worried about Suzanne, Tamara told Imogen under her breath as they suffered through Nikki s
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