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

by Danica Flynn

He must have felt my gaze on him because he looked up and saw me giving him a warning look and mouthing, “Don’t,” from the other side of the glass.

  He winked and blew me a kiss. To which I rolled my eyes.

  “Aw! You guys are so cute!” Lacey squealed.

  I chewed my lip in worry while I watched Noah get taken down the tunnel. I would have been losing my mind if that was Riley, so maybe it was a good thing that Dinah wasn’t here to see her man like that. Especially when he never returned to the ice.

  Noah getting taken out of the game must have rallied up the rest of the boys because, after the second period, they were out for blood. TJ Desjardins, in particular, was ready to go; I saw the chirps coming out of his mouth when he was on the ice. Riley was trying to be safe and not trying to take too many penalties but was getting in the corners and protecting the net as much as possible. I loved watching that big man play the game he loved, and seeing him do it in person again made my heart soar with pride. Watching him be successful at the sport he loved made my soul do a little dance. I was so proud of my best friend for all he had accomplished. When the Bulldogs won the game, I was practically beaming.

  “Are you going to come to Noah and TJ’s place tonight?” Lacey asked.

  I nodded.

  She squeezed my hand. “You know, us WAGs aren’t all scary.”

  I smiled at the younger girl. “Thanks, Lace.”

  “If it makes you feel better, none of us like Stephanie.”

  I smiled at her. As petty as it was, it did make me feel a little better.

  Chapter Eighteen

  RILEY

  “Are you sure you want to come with me to Noah and TJ’s? We could have a night in,” I suggested to Fi when I got home after my game.

  I had actually been surprised last night when she sent in her book and said she was going to come to the game and then later to TJ and Noah’s place with me. I was also secretly really glad because I had heard from G that Stephanie was trying to start drama with her at the game, and Fi was so cool and collected about it. Metzy’s girl Lacey ended up hanging with her all night, and that made me happy. Lacey was a great girl and smart like Fi.

  I was also happy Fi was at the game tonight because we actually had a win! Mostly because Noah got taken out of the game early when he took a puck to the face, so we all fought to win the game for him. And, of course, the big goof’s first question was if he blocked the shot or not. Sometimes us hockey players could be a bit thick.

  Fi stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, applying dark lipstick on her lips. I felt my pants tighten at it. Damn, did my wife look hot.

  “I already put lipstick on; we’re going,” she replied with a stern look on her face.

  The lipstick was good because it kept me from pulling her into my arms and spending the night in bed with her. Not that I didn’t want to, the tent in my pants definitely wanted that, but after our talk the other day, I didn’t want her to think I only married her for the great sex. Although it occurred to me that keeping her at arm's length might not be the best. There had to be a reason she had been reading that very steamy romance novel the other night. I was hoping she would make a move on me again, but so far, it was like we were each holding out for each other.

  I wanted this marriage to be a real partnership, a real relationship, but it still felt like she was holding it in her head as a business relationship. We were just roommates who had fucked a couple times and now chastely shared a bed. I didn’t know what to do about it.

  I watched her part her lips and then rub them together; my mouth went dry at seeing her do that. Once satisfied, she flicked off the light and walked out of the bathroom. She was still wearing the Philadelphia Bulldogs jersey with my name on the back. Something dug into my heart at that...like her wearing my jersey meant she was finally mine. She might be wearing her wedding ring, but it didn’t feel like she was mine yet. Not by a long shot.

  She turned around when she saw I wasn’t following her. “Hey, am I going by myself?” she asked, amused.

  I shook my head and took a deep breath. I was totally caught foaming at the mouth while I stared at her delicious ass. I adjusted myself in my pants when I noticed a stack of papers on my bedside table. I picked it up. “Hey, what’s this?” I asked.

  She looked back at me and had a nervous look on her face. “Um, book three? You said you wanted to read it.”

  I set it back down and walked over to her. I slid my hand in hers, and we walked together out of the condo. “I do. How are you feeling about it?”

  She grimaced. “I’m not satisfied with it.”

  I led her out the door and down to my SUV in the underground parking garage. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

  She bit her lip and was quiet the whole ride to my teammates’ place. When we got there, TJ greeted us at the door since Noah was still at Dinah’s next door. We slapped hands in greeting. “Yo, dude,” I greeted.

  “Wild game today. You ready to get lit?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I’m driving tonight, so you can.”

  Fi’s face fell. “Oh, Riley, I can drive if you want.”

  I squeezed her hand. “No, it’s okay; I know you need to celebrate finishing your first draft.” TJ’s head kept wiping back and forth between the two of us, and I realized that I was rude and hadn’t introduced them. “Fi, this is my teammate, TJ. TJ, this is my wife, Fiona.”

  I swear TJ’s eyes bugged out of his head, and he stared down at my left hand. “I thought you wearing a ring was new. Wait, haven’t we met before?”

  Fi nodded. “Yeah, we did! Nice meeting you again.”

  TJ shook his head. “Riley, man, never thought I would see you of all people settle down.”

  I glared at him when I saw the sour look that crossed Fi’s face. She shifted to neutral when I turned to her, but I saw it, and I wanted to know so badly what she was thinking inside that brain of hers. Probably nothing good.

  I guided Fi into the kitchen to get a drink, where we bumped into Noah, who was coming back from next door. He was just as surprised as TJ was when I introduced Fi as my wife, but he slunk away when Benny came over to us.

  “Hi, Fi,” Benny greeted her.

  “Hey. So you and your girl got back together?” she asked.

  Benny nodded, but I noticed Stephanie wasn’t with him. “Sorry, I heard she was really rude to you.”

  Fi waved him off. “It’s okay. I ended up hanging with Metzy’s girl, Lacey.”

  Benny frowned. “Still, I’m sorry.”

  Fi shook her head at him.

  Benny wandered off when Hallsy called him over to the other side of the room, and I walked off when Noah’s girl Dinah came in, and she and Fi got to talking shop. I walked over to TJ and Noah with a grimace on my face, not really wanting to explain the situation to my younger teammates. Noah and I got to talking about my weird marriage, and when I looked across the room, I shook my head at seeing Mia, Fi, and Dinah all doing shots together.

  “Oh, no. I smell trouble,” I groaned out loud.

  Noah glanced in the direction I was looking in. “Was it a good idea to leave those two together?”

  “Hence, why I offered to drive tonight,” I commented and raised my glass of water to him.

  Noah shook his head and clapped me on the back. “I don’t understand this whole marriage of yours. “

  I shrugged. “I don’t think either of us do.”

  I heard TJ groan as he sunk a ping-pong ball into a red solo cup. “You two are kind of insufferable lovesick puppies.”

  I gave him the finger. I wondered if TJ would ever come to the dark side with us, but he seemed like a guy who would never settle down. Although, I guess a lot of people said that about me too.

  After our game of beer pong, I watched Dinah come over to the couch, where she and Noah looked so disgustingly cute. He pulled the tiny woman into his lap and whispered sweetly to her. I had never seen the kid look happier. I wanted what they had, but I was
n’t sure if Fi would ever feel like that about me. I went into the kitchen to find her alone and nursing a glass of water, which I guessed was good. She side-eyed me from behind the glass and put it down on the counter.

  “You were right,” she stated.

  “Yeah? What was I right about this time?”

  Her eyes slanted into slits of annoyance at my cockiness. “That I would get along with Dinah. I’m not good at friendships.”

  My heart softened at that, and I grabbed her hand. “We’re friends.”

  “True, but I’m not good at keeping friends,” she explained with a sigh, and she squeezed my hand. I smelled the alcohol on her breath, so I wondered if these were melancholy drunk thoughts. “I guess that’s why it really hurt when Eric didn’t show up. It was yet another person who left.”

  I cupped her face in my hands and looked into her eyes. “You know I’m not going to abandon you, right?”

  She shook her head. “You already did.”

  “When I left for the NHL?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Everyone always abandons me. So what’s the point in getting close to anyone?”

  My heart broke for the woman standing in front of me. I couldn’t believe she thought that I would ghost her out of my life. I didn’t realize it bothered her that we weren’t as close as when I left for the NHL and she left for college. She had wormed her way inside my heart when we were seventeen. Probably even way before that. She wasn’t just always on my mind; she practically lived inside my brain. It now made a lot of sense why she was so hesitant about this marriage between us. She was convinced that I was going to leave her. I didn’t know how to explain to her that was never going to happen.

  “Hey,” I said to her softly. “I’m sorry you felt like I abandoned you. I’m sorry we haven’t been as close.”

  She shook her head at me and looked down at the floor.

  “Fi, that’s not going to happen again, okay?”

  She refused to look at me and pulled away to sip her water almost coldly. Maybe keeping her at a distance had been a bad idea. She shook her head suddenly and looked up at me with a worried look. “I’m sorry.”

  “What are you sorry for?”

  She shrugged.

  I glanced at my watch and noticed it wasn’t too late, but I could see the party starting to peter out. “Do you want to head home?” I asked.

  Her eyes got shiny then. “Do you mean to your home?”

  “Fi, we talked about this. It’s our home. I want it to be our home, okay?”

  She nodded. “Okay, yeah. I think vodka was a bad idea; it put me in a bad mood.”

  I smiled and raised my eyebrows but didn’t say anything. We headed home in silence, Fiona thinking about whatever was rolling around in her brain, and me silent because I didn’t even know what to say. What did you say to your wife, who didn’t even want to give your marriage a shot because she was afraid she was going to lose you in the end? I never meant for her to feel like I abandoned her when I got drafted into the NHL. I knew we weren’t as close as we used to be, but part of that had been because her ex hated me and never wanted me around.

  Upon our return to the condo, she got ready for bed while I cracked a beer in the kitchen. She sauntered back into the kitchen in shorts and a tank top that did nothing to hide her figure and grabbed another glass of water.

  “I think I drank too much; I’m still a little drunk,” she mused.

  I raised one eyebrow in response. “You want to go to bed?”

  She yawned. “Yeah. I kind of have the spins.”

  I abandoned my beer and led her into the bedroom. “Let’s go to bed.”

  She climbed into bed while I got undressed. I slipped into the bed beside her, and I smiled when she crawled over to rest her head on my chest.

  “Baby?” she whispered.

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “For getting too drunk tonight and picking a fight.”

  I tilted her chin up to look at me, and it crushed me to see the downcast look etched across her face. “I’m sorry if you felt abandoned when my career took me away from you.” I lifted my left hand up for her to see. “You see this?”

  “Your wedding ring?”

  “It means I’m not going anywhere. Okay?”

  “Promise?”

  “Promise, sweetheart.”

  “I’m sorry you always have to take care of me.”

  I cupped her face and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “I like taking care of you. I’m always gonna do that, okay?”

  She nodded and curled up against me again. I stroked her hair while we cuddled in our bed, loving the feeling of this woman at my side.

  I should have told her then that I loved her. It would have assuaged the insecurities that were bubbling to the surface for her. I didn’t know she felt that way when I left for the NHL, and I had a feeling that being left at the altar had brought back those feelings. I had to do everything in my power to prove to this woman that I wasn’t gonna be like him. That I was here to stay and I was gonna fight for her.

  “Fiona,” I whispered, but when I looked down at her, she was already asleep in my arms.

  I needed to tell her how I felt, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready yet. I wasn’t sure if either of us were ready for that. Deep down, I was scared that if I told her, she would ask for a divorce again because I was afraid she didn’t feel the same way. I couldn’t bear it if I lost my best friend.

  Chapter Nineteen

  FIONA

  I was sexually frustrated. Riley had been gone playing hockey for an entire week on the road. It was the longest we had been apart since we got married a few short weeks ago. It wasn’t until he was gone that I realized we hadn’t had sex since Vegas. I knew I was in more trouble than before because my whole body ached for him. I was not good about letting a man know when I wanted him, but it was clear to me that he was leaving everything in my court.

  In Vegas, we had been so in-tuned to each other’s bodies. It felt like even though we were living together, there was a wall in between us. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been reading a lot of smutty romance books while he was gone. Or that I didn’t dial the pink telephone a lot thinking about his hands on me. Or his mouth. Or his co—

  “FIONA!” Katie yelled at me and threw her straw wrapper at me.

  I blushed at the thoughts in my head and turned to Katie, who sat on the couch beside me. I had holed myself up in here all week, working on outlining new stories while my editor worked on notes for my third novel. It had gotten so bad that Katie texted Riley to ask him to make me respond to her texts.

  “Sorry, what?” I asked.

  She rolled her eyes at me. “Girl! What are you thinking about?”

  “Um…”

  She laughed. “Oh my God! The sex must be real good if you’re daydreaming about it. Isn’t Riley supposed to come home tonight?”

  I sighed. “We haven’t had sex since Vegas.”

  She sat up and looked at me in shock. “Seriously? Why?”

  I threw my hands up in the air. “I don’t know!”

  “Have you asked?”

  I blanched. “No.”

  “Fi! Sometimes guys don’t get subtlety. He’s probably worried you think he wants sex all the time. You have to talk to him.”

  I shrugged and put my hands in my hair with a sigh. “I don’t know how!”

  She patted my knee. “In all the years you dated my brother, I’ve never seen you like this before. If you two want this thing to work, you really need to work at it and talk to each other. You need to communicate your needs.”

  I stared at her, impressed by her advice.

  She shrugged. “Brock and I were in therapy for a long time.”

  “Katie, I had no idea.”

  “We didn’t work, but I see the smile on your face whenever Riley texts you, and I can see how much you miss him.”

  I bit my
lip. “Is it that obvious?”

  She smiled at me. “Why are you so hesitant to admit that you actually like your husband?”

  I shrunk down on the couch. “Because it’s a marriage of convenience. Yeah, he’s my best friend, but why should I think he’s not out there fucking other women?”

  “Honey, have you two talked about that?”

  I went to open my mouth to answer, but then the front door opened, which alarmed both of us because I always made sure to lock it. I leaned over the couch to see Riley drop his bag down at the front door. We locked gazes, and I saw the fire in his blue eyes. Heat pooled low in my belly at the sight of him in that immaculately tailored suit. My husband was FIIINE. His eyes shifted slightly to the left of me to see Katie on the couch beside me. His face shifted in confusion, but then he smiled.

  “Hi, Katie!” he greeted.

  “Hi, Riley!” she greeted back cheerfully. She turned to me with a smirk. “I think that’s my cue to leave.”

  I grabbed her arm. “What? No, you don’t have to leave.”

  Her eyes glanced between me, and Riley and then she laughed. “Um, yeah, I think I do.”

  She gathered her things and patted Riley’s arm on the way-out. “Bye, Riley!”

  He smirked. “Leaving so soon?”

  She laughed her way out the door. I slunk down into the couch, but Riley crossed over to me and sat beside me. He put his arm around me and pulled me toward him. I swear I nearly purred. I had missed his strong arms pulling me towards him and the smell of his scent on the sheets. Shit, I had really missed him. Like I missed him so much, I was sleeping in his old t-shirts at night to feel like he was there. Shit, maybe Katie was right. Maybe Riley wasn’t just my best friend anymore; maybe he was something much more, and that scared me.

  I leaned my head on his shoulder, and he stroked my hair. “How was your week?” he asked.

  “Fine. Waiting on edits, trying to work on new things,” I answered truthfully. Not what I wanted to say, which was, “Shitty, because you weren’t here, and I’m mad that we haven’t had sex since we got married, and can you please throw me down and tear off my clothes?” Although, if I said those things out loud, he probably would have loved it.