Free That Dating Thing by Mackenzie Crowne

smiles, sarcastic wit, dark-secret eyes and gut-wrenching walk, he had to admit, he didn’t particularly like Ashley either. The cynical convenience that defined his and Ashley’s relationship left a bitter film in his throat. His connection to one of the most sought-after women on several continents had been a stroke to Coop’s ego. For Ashley, Coop’s political connections were the main source of appeal. But using wasn’t the same as caring.
    Exclusivity played no role in their relationship. Unlike Rylee, the word wasn’t in Ashley’s vocabulary. On the road more often than not, Giovanni’s favorite model seduced men worldwide, and too many beautiful women wandered the streets of Manhattan for Coop to be content twiddling his thumbs while awaiting Ashley’s return.
    “Why don’t you ask Giovanni to take you tomorrow night?” he suggested. “He’ll know everyone and I’m sure he’ll enjoy himself more than I would.”
    “He’s already going,” she snapped. “Besides, he’s gay, darling,” she added more evenly.
    “And your point is? It’s an industry event, not a candlelit dinner for two.”
    “Why are you being difficult? I said I was sorry.”
    “I’m being reasonable. I don’t see the point of dragging this out when we both knew all along what we had together was never going to go anywhere.”
    “You’re right,” she sniffed. “I’d prefer attending alone to spending another interminable evening with a workaholic bore who can’t tell the difference between discount catalog and couture.”
    He chuckled at her peevish tone. “Point taken. Take care of yourself, Ashley.”
    “You’re dumping me?” Incredulity rang in her clipped demand.
    “I thought we came to that mutual decision the last time we spoke, but if it makes you feel better, consider me the dumpee in this case.”
    “Oh, I do, you bastard.” Her hard-won cultured accent disappeared beneath a nasal Bronx snarl. “Nobody dumps Ashley Connor.”
    The call clicked off, and knowing Ashley, she’d be picking up a new phone to replace the one she just shattered against the wall of her Park Avenue townhouse. Pissed, her ego tweaked, she would fume for a while, but a new man would be warming her bed before the end of the week. He put her out of his mind, an easy task since the moment he’d knocked on Elliott’s door and gotten an eyeful of Rylee Pierce.
    He’d endured several teasing comments from Tim this week, remarking on his preoccupation with the sultry dog trainer. His friend lifted a knowing brow when Coop requested Tim include Rylee in his investigation after all.
    “The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” he insisted, laughing.
    Coop didn’t bother correcting Tim’s assumption. The truth was, she intrigued him, and not just because he desperately wanted her in his bed.
    Rylee Pierce had secrets.
    At lunch earlier in the week, she displayed a warm and funny personality, and showed genuine interest when the topic turned to his career. A smartass dog trainer one moment, a sexy seductress the next, he was charmed…until the moment he inquired as to how she’d come to be raised by Silvia. Her eyes went flat and she looked as though she wanted to bolt. She changed the subject, her evasion clumsy, and he let it go. For the time being.
    As a prosecutor, he understood appearances could be deceiving. Most people had something in their background they would rather not have exposed to the public, but he couldn’t imagine what that something might be in Rylee’s case. A straightforward woman with a giving nature, she hadn’t set off any of the internal alarms he’d come to trust after dealing with scumbags for so long. Still, she was hiding something. By nature and profession, he needed to discover what that something was.
    Negotiating in her kennel, she insisted their dating thing end when one of them decided to walk away. When, at the end of their lunch, she once again expressed her doubts about their association,