Score Her Heart: A Marriage of Convenience Hockey Romance (Philadelphia Bulldogs Book 2)

by Danica Flynn

  I wanted to give her space, but I also really wanted to talk to her. I still felt like maybe I trapped her in this marriage by proposing to give me a couple months to prove to her it was worth it. At the same time, I was hopelessly in love with her, and I wanted her to feel that way about me too.

  How did you woo the woman you were already married to? And hopelessly in love with?

  It had only been a couple days since I last saw her, but damn did I miss that woman. I didn’t question what work thing she was doing but instead suited up for my game. I drove myself to the arena but walked in with Hallsy. We fist-bumped each other and then went our separate ways to start our pre-game rituals. I taped and re-taped my stick three times before it was time to get dressed. I dressed in my particular weird order, saving my jersey for last, always. I heard the music from down the tunnel and was ready to get out on the ice.

  I shut my brain off from thoughts about Fi and focused on the game. I visualized skating backward to block the puck and being on the breakaway while I took practice shots on Metzy during warm-ups. I felt good, and we were coming off a win, so we had a loose feeling to our game. That didn’t mean the pressure wasn’t on, though. We all felt like every game needed to be played like a playoff game. It would all be worth it in the end if we could climb out of the bottom of the standings to secure that wild card spot. I had my doubts, though, because I had been studying the stats religiously. It didn’t look good for us.

  The game started, and I got my head into it, thinking about nothing but getting the puck on my stick and protecting the slot in front of Metzy. I took to the ice on the first shift change and watched Noah take the face-off while I backed him up and trash-talked the opposing defenseman. I was ready for this game to be a battle.

  I was an offensive defenseman. I was good at protecting the net and blocking shots, but I also knew when to get up in my opponent’s zone. It was all good because my defensive partner Jonesy played his game close to the old-school blueliner way. He was a stay at home defensemen, so when I rushed the net, he knew to cover the other end of the zone. We worked well together, but I had to admit his game had been a little off lately. I wasn’t sure what that was about; Jonesy usually had his shit together. We were gonna need to spend more time reviewing tape together this week, but I couldn’t think about that right now. I had to focus on the task at hand.

  I eyed the opposing defenseman while Noah took the next face-off in their zone. Noah’s face-off skills were legit; it also helped that he had Benny and TJ on his wings tonight. Noah won the draw and went to the net. He flicked the puck back to me to distract our opponents; I took the shot without hesitating and scrambled as it hit the post. Benny fought in the trapezoid with our opponent, and as if graced by the hockey gods themselves, he scored the wraparound goal.

  The siren sounded, and the red light lit up behind the net while the goalie threw down his stick in annoyance. Ha! Goalies were the weirdest guy on the team.

  Benny skated right over to me and threw me into a great big hug. I returned it, cheering and excited that we scored the first goal of the game. It was going to be a good game; I could feel it.

  I looked up into the stands and saw the spot where all the WAGs usually sat together. Noah’s girl Dinah was cheering with Hallsy’s girl Mia. I waved and smiled at them as I headed towards the bench.

  “Yo, why isn’t your wife here?” Benny asked as I slid onto the pine next to him and grabbed a water bottle.

  I shrugged. That was a good question. I hadn’t thought about asking her to come, but when I looked at the other girls smiling and cheering on their men, I felt a pang of regret. Fi always loved coming to my games when we were younger. It was nice that she always had my back. She stopped coming after I started dating Stacey in high school, though. I was going to regret that for the rest of my life.

  “Why isn’t your girl here?” I countered.

  He made a face, but at least it shut him up. I really didn’t understand why he was still with Stephanie. I never had any particular animosity towards her, but the woman did not like me. I think she thought Benny’s anti-marriage shit was because I was a guy who had a lot of casual sex. Nope, that was one hundred percent on him.

  I cleaned my visor with a towel and watched my teammates try to start up another scoring chance. My mind should have been on the game in front of me, but it kept wandering back to Benny’s question.

  Why hadn’t I asked Fi to come to the game tonight? I asked her to come to Saturday’s game, but I wasn’t sure why I didn’t ask her to come tonight.

  I shook my thoughts away when the change-up came, and I was back on the ice again. I would think about all that stuff later, right now I needed to help my team win this game.

  Somehow, we managed to win the game. I liked to think it was because we played our hearts out and skated our balls off, but really it was because the other team had the worst penalty kill in the league right now. The superstitious part of me was thanking the hockey gods for our good luck. I rubbed my shoulder as I put my wedding ring back on.

  “You okay?” Benny asked from his spot beside me at his own cubby. He was combing back his hair, still wet from his shower, while I stripped off my gear.

  I rolled my shoulder again. I had gotten boarded during the second period, and there was no fucking penalty. The refs pretended like it didn’t happen, but I felt okay. Doc Franklin even made me do a baseline test during the intermission, and then he wanted to look at me again after the game. I felt fine, but I’d never had a concussion before, so I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel if I was concussed. They wanted me to keep an eye on it, but I thought they were freaking out over nothing.

  “All good,” I told him.

  Benny raised a dark eyebrow. “You sure?”

  “Benny, get off my dick. I passed the baseline test.”

  He hummed at me.

  “Boys!” G cheered. “Tonight’s win calls for a drink! No one gets out of it, except you underage rookies. You can beat it!”

  I sighed. As much as I could use a drink, I really wanted to get home to Fi, but I knew that shit was important to G. It was important that there wasn’t lingering drama in the locker room and that we were a team in sync with each other. I had played on other teams where the locker room was a toxic waste dump, but so far, the Bulldogs had been a good place for me for the past three years. I was sure some of the boys’ significant others would show up, at least those that came to the games, and I itched to call Fi, but I knew she wasn’t ready for being around this part of my life. I wondered if she ever would be.

  Benny nudged me. “What’s with you?”

  “I miss Fi.”

  He laughed. “Ask G if you can get out of it.”

  I shook my head and wrapped my towel around my waist. “It’s fine. I’ll see you over there.”

  He gave me a little sarcastic salute while he changed back into his suit.

  “Yo man.” Hallsy slapped me on the back after I was showered and dressed to head to the bar. He fixed his tie and ran a hand across his recently shaved jaw. His girlfriend Mia wasn’t much for facial hair, and the man obliged her.

  “Hey, man. What’s up?” I asked and kept stride with him as we walked outside the arena and to our respective vehicles.

  He looked down at his phone and frowned. “Why do you keep retweeting stuff from this one writer? I didn’t even know you could read.”

  “Har har har,” I muttered.

  Hallsy’s brown eyes widened, and I realized he saw my left hand. “G wasn’t kidding. Did you get married?”

  “Yup. It’s my wife, by the way.”

  He looked confused. “Who is?”

  I rolled my eyes. “The author I keep on retweeting. She’s my wife.”

  Hallsy stared down at his phone and smirked. “Damn, your wife’s smoking! I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

  Didn’t I know it? I punched him in the arm. “Still my wife, Hallsy. And I wasn’t.” I waved my hand away when h
e gave me a ‘go on’ sort of look. “It’s a long story.”

  He shook his head and laughed, his dark curly hair bouncing around. I watched him get into his car and speed away. I sat in my SUV for a minute, debating whether I could go home and get out of having a drink with the boys. The boys were great, they were my pals and my teammates, but my heart ached to see Fi.

  I dropped my head onto the steering wheel with a sigh. This was bad. I loved her so much, but I didn’t think it was love for her. Oh, she was very much attracted to me, that was clear, but I thought it was just sex for her. I liked sex, a lot, so it was great, but I never knew how much it could hurt to be with someone who didn’t love you back.

  Which was why I hadn’t initiated being intimate with her since we got back from Vegas. I didn’t want her to think that was the only reason I married her. If she wanted this bod, she was going to have to ask for it.

  So on that depressing note, I drove off in my SUV to meet the guys at the bar and grab a drink or two. I sat at the bar and drank my whiskey while my mind was preoccupied with how to fix my weird marriage.

  A blonde with legs for days sidled up on the stool beside me. “So what position do you play?” she asked with a seductive smile.

  “Defense,” I stated flatly.

  When I brought my glass up to my mouth, she must have seen the ring on my hand because next thing I knew, she was cozying up to TJ. Good for him, because I was only interested in one woman right now, and she was home alone and probably in my bed. With that thought, I finished my drink.

  I clapped G on the shoulder. “See you, man. I gotta get home.”

  He eyed me confused, and then his eyes widened. “Oh, I totally forgot you have a wife now.”

  I smirked, but it was faked because I hadn’t heard from Fi since this afternoon, and I was starting to wonder if I did still have a wife.

  It was kind of late when I got home but not crazy late for a night-owl like Fi. When I walked into the condo, I heard the TV on but saw that she had fallen asleep on the couch with a paperback book on her lap, looking like she was ready to curl up into bed. I flicked off the TV with the remote and picked the book up off her lap. My eyes widened at what appeared to be a pretty intense sex scene. I glanced at the cover, a little surprised to see a naked man’s chest on the front of it. Okay…didn’t expect that from Fi. I found her bookmark on the coffee table and put it in the book before setting it down on the table. There was no way I was dealing with her wrath if I dog-eared her book.

  The couch was comfortable, but I knew our bed would be way more comfortable to sleep in. Plus, I really missed having her next to me. Which was wild because we had barely been married for a week!

  I bent down next to her ear. “Fi,” I whispered, but she didn’t move.

  I wasn’t a stupid man, so I wasn’t about to shake her awake. Instead, I kneeled down and slid my arms underneath her body. I pulled her tight against my chest, gripping the back of her knees under one arm and her shoulders with the other arm.

  I felt her stir against me, and she wrapped her hands around my neck, so I wouldn’t drop her. Like I ever would have done that. I felt her eyelashes flicker across my neck, giving me ticklish butterfly kisses. “Riley?” she asked sleepily. “What are you doing?”

  “Shush,” I whispered to her. “Go back to sleep.”

  I crossed the doorway of the bedroom and gently laid her down on her side of the bed. I felt warmth spread across my body at the sight. Before we recklessly got married, I didn’t sleep on one side of the bed but rather sprawled out like a starfish, stretching my big body across the bed. Now, with her here, she had wormed a place into my home and into my heart, and I didn’t want her to leave.

  She was still half-asleep, and I couldn’t help but think about how cute she looked. I tip-toed into the bathroom to do my normal night-time routine. When I came back into the bedroom, she was asleep again. I pulled my shirt over my head and changed into a pair of pajama pants before I quietly sunk down onto the bed next to my beautiful wife.

  “Riley?” she whispered, still half-asleep.

  “Shush, go back to sleep,” I whispered back.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. Her green eyes opened in the dark of the bedroom, but she peered at me seriously.

  “What do you mean?”

  “That asshole hit you right in the numbers!”

  I chuckled. “What are you gonna do, fight him?”

  “Maybe,” she mumbled. “Fucking asshole better stay away from my man.”

  “Your man?” I asked with a laugh.

  She lifted her left hand up to my jaw and pulled me down towards her lips. I grinned at the feeling of her wedding ring on my face as I kissed her properly. She pulled away sleepily.

  “Missed you, baby,” she sighed sleepily.

  “Yeah?” I asked.

  She nodded but then promptly turned on her other side and fell back asleep. I had a feeling she wasn’t going to remember this conversation in the morning. I would, though. I was gonna keep that in the back of my mind. It was one step toward wooing my gorgeous trial wife.

  I took off my watch and set it on the nightstand next to my side of the bed. My eyes lingered on the ring on my finger, but I kept that on. If it wasn’t for the risk of breaking my finger while I played, I would never take off my ring.

  I scooted closer to Fi and wrapped my arm around her waist. She shifted in her sleep, and I smelled her shampoo, breathing it in. I had definitely missed her scent and her presence in my arms at night.

  I was so totally screwed when it came to my wife.

  Chapter Fifteen

  FIONA

  My eyes slanted open in confusion as I stared up at the ceiling of Riley’s bedroom. I didn’t remember coming to bed last night, which was weird for me. The last thing I remembered after Katie and Brad left was sinking down onto the couch to read that hockey romance that Brad’s wife had recommended. Shit, Riley was so going to make fun of me for that.

  I ran my hands down my face to rub away the sleep, and my eyes wandered over to the lump on the other side of the bed. On Riley’s side of the bed. I must have fallen asleep on the couch, and he brought me to bed last night.

  I found myself staring at him for too long, watching the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed in and out while he slept soundly in the bed next to me. I wanted to slink out of the bed, but something about his warm body being beside me hypnotized me into wanting to lay back on the bed and snuggle up with him. I sat up on the bed, at a crossroad, unsure what to do next.

  “Stop staring at me,” I heard his gruff voice say.

  It scared me so much I nearly yelped, and I almost saw the sheepish grin on his face without having to look at him. Sometimes it surprised me after all these years how well I still knew the man beside me.

  His strong arms pulled me back down so my head was lying on his chest, and his hand stroked my hair. I loved when a man played with or stroked my hair like this. It was so intimate and sweet.

  “Hey!” I exclaimed indignantly. It shouldn’t have felt this good being in my best friend’s arms.

  His chest vibrated underneath me as he laughed. “Shush, the baby’s sleeping.”

  I glared at him, and his blue eyes twinkled with a smile. “What baby?”

  “Me!”

  I pulled away from him and shoved his shoulder, but he laughed again. “Yeah, you’re a big old baby, that’s for sure,” I scoffed.

  His eyes slid closed again. “What time is it?” he asked through a yawn.

  I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. “Time for me to get up and get some writing done.”

  “So, I didn’t know you were into romance books,” he commented and popped open one blue eye.

  The blush rose from my neck and spread across my pale face. He had seen what I was reading last night. God, I hope he hadn’t read the page I was on because there was steamy action about to go down. I couldn’t believe I fell asleep before getting to that! Also,
it was a good thing Katie and Brad had been over last night because otherwise, I would have been reading in the bed with my vibrator out on the nightstand, ready to go. God, I hope he didn’t know I had that. Or how much I had used it in the few days he had been gone.

  “I read lots of books,” I argued. “Do you want to sleep in for a little longer? I can wake you in a little bit.”

  He reached out a hand and found mine on the bed. My chest felt warm at his touch, but I tried to ignore it. “Please. Give me another hour?” he asked.

  I pulled away from him quickly and nodded. I practically ran out of the bedroom and quietly shut the door behind me. I had to get out of there, or I would have done something irrational, like make love to my husband.

  Make love? Geez, I must have been reading too many romance books lately.

  I went into the kitchen to start making my coffee for the day, but I felt out of breath and frustrated. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Maybe I was in the wrong headspace to finish proofreading today. I had calmed down by the time I had a second cup of coffee in me and was sitting down at my desk to proofread the rest of this book. I was at the halfway mark when I heard the creak of the bedroom door. I looked at the clock on my computer and silently cursed. I had told Riley I would wake him in an hour, but I had immersed myself in my book for so long, it had been nearly two. I was finishing my edits on one last chapter when I heard footsteps behind me.

  I saw Riley’s shadow in the screen of my laptop. He surveyed the piles of books that were in stacks on the floor and grunted. I cringed and hunched my shoulders, afraid of how mad he might be about the mess I made of his office.

  I felt his hands on my shoulders suddenly. “Hey, what is that for?” he asked with a hint of concern at my tense reaction.

  I turned to him and tried to form a coherent thought, which was hard when he stood there without his shirt, showing off his lean muscles and his abs for days. The words melted right out of my brain. His finger titled my chin up to look at him from my seated position.