Page 64 of Desperate Pucker
“That should be gentle enough on your stomach.”
I take another bite. He sits next to me on the couch and frowns at Bruce, who’s sitting between us, cleaning himself.
I stare at Ryker as I chew.
“What?” he says when he notices me looking at him.
“You’re such a caretaker. It’s really sweet. I wasn’t expecting it.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Are you going to say that I don’t look like the kind of guy who would take care of someone when they’re sick?”
“No. I just…I’m not used to being taken care of like this.”
The look in his eyes softens. “Your ex wouldn’t take care of you when you were sick?”
I shake my head. “He was pretty grossed out by germs. He wouldn’t even come visit me in the hospital when I had surgery on my ankle.”
Ryker’s jaw bulges. “You’re kidding.”
“I wish. Sergei wasn’t the most caring person in the world.”
“Then why were you with him?”
I’m taken aback by the bluntness of Ryker’s question.
“Because he was my first love. My first everything. I was with him since I was nineteen, and I didn’t know any better. I didn’t know I deserved better.”
I pick at the crust of my toast and expect Ryker to shake his head in disappointment. But he just nods.
“Yeah, I know what that’s like.”
“You do?”
“I felt like that with my ex-girlfriend.”
I wait for him to say more, but he doesn’t. He looks down at Bruce, who’s curled into a ball and sleeping. Gently, he pets his head.
“She was a figure skater like you,” he says after a quiet moment. “She came from a really rich family.”
Oh.
It makes sense now why he didn’t like me when he met me. I’m a figure skater, and my dad’s a billionaire.
“How long were you together?”
He stretches out his leg and rolls out his ankle. “Seven years.”
“That’s a long time.”
“Too long. I should have called it off way before we broke up.” He tugs a hand through his thick hair. “It ended the day before I was going to propose to her.”
“What happened?” I shake my head, feeling like I’m prying. “I shouldn’t be so nosy.”
“It’s fine.” He lets out a heavy breath. “She found the ring I was going to propose to her with. She hated it and refused to get married to me unless I got her the ring she wanted.”
My jaw falls open. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah.” He looks down at his lap, a shy look in his eyes. “That was the last straw. I knew it would never work between us, so I ended it right then.”
