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

by Danica Flynn

  “Sweetheart, you didn’t lose me, not then. Not now. I’m not going anywhere,” he tried to reassure me. “I’m sorry if I made you feel like I abandoned you; that was never my intention. But to be fair, your ex didn’t really want me around.”

  I slid my hands around his neck. “Aaron, I’m sorry I wasted so many years on a man who didn’t appreciate me. I wasted so much time being afraid of my feelings for you.”

  He leaned into me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I didn’t let him get another word in edgewise and instead pressed my lips to his. Kneeling on the floor in front of each other, he wrapped my hair around his hand and kissed me back. When he pulled away, he didn’t look happy like I thought he would; he looked kind of annoyed. I shrank away from him and bit my lip.

  “You so totally stole my thunder,” he finally said.

  “What?”

  He laughed and ran a hand through his blond locks. “I came home right after the game, and I was going to take you out somewhere nice for dinner and do the whole grand gesture thing and tell you how much I love you. That it’s the real reason why I married you.”

  “What?”

  “I wanted to be your knight in shining armor. I thought if we stayed married, you would come to love me like I love you. Like I have always loved you.”

  I laughed. “Oh my God, we suck at communicating.”

  “Truly,” he remarked. He fingered the ring on his own finger. “I only take my ring off when I have to play.”

  “C’mere,” I urged and pulled his face back down to my lips, easing myself on my back on the carpeted floor. Riley hovered over me, his hands on the side of my head and an amused look on his face.

  “Right here?” he asked. “You want to have sex on the floor? When we have a perfectly good bed two feet away?”

  I already threw my shirt over my head and pulled his suit jacket off his broad shoulders. “Uh huh,” I answered and unclasped my bra behind me. I grinned as the fire lit into his eyes at the sight of my naked chest beneath him.

  “Seriously?” he asked again, but he undid his tie and rushed to get the buttons undone on his dress shirt. “Wait.”

  “What?”

  “Why did you get drunk with Dinah yesterday? And why were you crying and apologizing to me this morning?”

  “Fuck, baby, I’m sorry. I got drunk with Dinah because I was scared.”

  “Aw, Fiona. You’re the love of my life; I would never leave you.”

  “The love of your life?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Fiona, I’ve loved you since we were seventeen years old hooking up in your parents’ basement.”

  “Really?” I asked, my voice hitching up an octave in surprise.

  He nodded. “Okay, maybe before that, but that was when I knew.”

  “C’mere, big guy, and show me just how much you love me,” I urged and started to peel my underwear off.

  “Oh, fuck yes,” he breathed as we shed the rest of our clothes, and he did what he was told.

  “Hey, I’m still hungry,” Riley mused later as we laid side-by-side naked and sweaty after having moved to the bed for a second love-making session. That phrase used to make me gag and roll my eyes, but the sex today had been slow and gentle. I usually liked it rough, but there was something nice about the way he cradled me softly and repeatedly told me how much he loved me. No wonder the sex was so good with him; it was because I was madly in love with this man. I regretted not realizing it earlier.

  “Oh yeah, I guess I could eat,” I replied and smiled at him sleepily.

  He pulled me towards his side and wrapped his big arm around me. I sighed and snuggled into his chest. I didn’t understand how it took me so long to realize that I was in love with this man.

  “Never thought you’d ever be my wife,” he said under his breath.

  “Me neither, but I’m glad Eric never showed up. It was a blessing in disguise.”

  He stroked my hair gently. “Yeah, me too.”

  “I should have never told you to ask out Stacey Graves. I should have kept you all to myself.”

  He chuckled into my hair. “I wished you did too because that girl was a drama queen. Nothing like my calm and collected best friend.”

  I pulled away from him reluctantly and swung my legs over the bed. I surveyed the room; it was kind of a mess with clothes everywhere and all the drawers in the dresser opened wide. I was still kind of mad that I had lost my ring.

  “Sweetheart,” Riley stated flatly with annoyance in his voice. “What’s this?”

  I turned to look over at him and saw he was holding my ring in-between his fingers. “Oh my God! Where did you find it?”

  “In the sheets!”

  “What the hell!” I exclaimed. I had searched everywhere for that damn ring.

  He grabbed my hand and slid the ring on my finger with the most intense look on his face. It almost made me want to jump his bones for a third time today. Almost.

  I smiled sweetly at him, surveying the loving look he gave me in return. I never thought I would marry my best friend or fall in love with him, but here I was. Head over heels for Aaron Riley and mad it hadn’t happened sooner. Fate must have been a prankster, that was for sure.

  Riley held onto my hand and rubbed my ring finger. “Will you let me buy you a nicer ring?”

  I recoiled and pulled my hand away, clutching the ring to my chest protectively. “No! It’s bad enough I let you buy me those bookshelves.”

  “You were so happy about that. I want to make you happy. And we bought them from IKEA, so they weren’t that expensive.”

  “You do make me happy, but waving around your money is not something you need to do. I love my plain ring, and I love that we have an interesting story about our marriage.”

  Riley sat up in bed and leaned over to kiss me tenderly. “Me too. I know we kind of did things backward, but I wouldn’t change anything.”

  “Me neither. So are we getting dinner or what? I’m hungry too.”

  He eyed me, still very much naked next to him, and he was certainly enjoying the view. “I think we better put some clothes on. Do you want to go out?”

  I shook my head. “Nah, I’m still very hungover. Let’s order takeout. Indian?”

  “I’m game,” he agreed with a smile. “I have tomorrow off, so I want to spend all of it with you.”

  A smile crept across my face. “Well, in that case, there is this cool used book store in West Chester…”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  RILEY

  “I think I’m too big for this place,” I commented to my wife as I ducked into the doorway and followed her up the steps of the Book Barn.

  “Deal with it, baby!” Fi joked.

  I smirked at her and watched her sweet ass from behind as I followed her further up the steps. I was not complaining if I got to check her out all day while she guided me along in the very old building. The place was legit a barn full of books, and it didn’t appear to have any sort of organization to it, but if I knew Fi, she knew what she was looking for. She had that determined look on her face, a woman on a mission. I didn’t care if she wanted us to drive all the way out to the Main Line to look at old dusty books on my day off; I would do anything she wanted, as long as I got to spend it doing it with her.

  I was aware that I was whipped, and I didn’t give a fuck.

  I watched her fan herself and peer up to the next stairway. She gave me an apologetic look. “It’s kind of hot in here.”

  I smirked. “I think it’s just you.”

  She poked me in the stomach, and I jerked away. She knew I was ticklish there. “Har har har,” she bit back sarcastically. She glanced at the sign in front of the next staircase and started up the wooden stairs. I ducked again and followed her up the steps, enjoying the nice view once again.

  When we reached the top of the steps, she glared at me. “Stop staring at my ass so much. I feel like you’re gonna burn a hole into it.”

  I held up m
y hands, but I couldn’t help a laugh. She slapped my shoulder, but a smile spread across her face. She rolled her eyes and turned around to look at the shelf in front of us. I glanced at the titles on it, noticing some very old looking sci-fi books. “What are you looking for anyway?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “Nothing in particular. Maybe I can find a special edition of Asimov or Le Guin. Or somebody I’ve never heard of.”

  I nodded but didn’t say anything. I had absolutely zero idea what she was talking about, but that didn’t matter.

  She cocked her head at me. “You really don’t mind doing this today? I know it’s your day off.”

  I placed my hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “I want to spend time with you, and if this is what you want to do, let’s do this.”

  She gave me a funny look. “How the hell did I ever get you to marry me?”

  I laughed. “I think it was my idea, remember?”

  She leaned up and kissed me quickly on the lips. “Thank you for letting me do this.”

  “Of course.”

  She looked down at her shoes. “Eric would have been having a fit right now.”

  I narrowed my eyes.

  She held up her hands in surrender. “Sorry, didn’t mean to compare you two; it’s nice to be with someone who actually shows an interest in the things I want to do.”

  I slid my hand in hers and grinned at the blush that crept up her neck and onto her cheeks. “You’re cute when you blush. I’m glad I can still do that to you.”

  “Calm down; we’re still newlyweds,” she teased. “Can you grab that blue book there?” She pointed to the top of the shelf where she couldn’t reach. Fi was tall, but I did have a good couple of inches on her.

  I smiled and did as she asked and handed it to her. I watched her gingerly hold the book in her hands and carefully open the front cover.

  “Whoa, I think this is a first edition,” she commented more to herself than to me.

  “Is that good?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Yeah, very good.”

  “This is a cool building,” I mentioned.

  “I thought so too. I’ve been here once before, but I felt rushed.”

  “No rush, we have no obligations today. I will follow you around all day and watch you look at books.”

  Her eyes got all shiny, and she held the book to her chest. “Oh my God, if I wasn’t already married to you…that was like the most romantic thing you could say to me.”

  “If you say so, sweetheart.”

  She nodded vigorously and leaned up to whisper in my ear, “You’re so getting laid later.”

  “That’s not why I did this, you know.”

  She smiled. “I know, but still.”

  Her gaze lingered on my belt buckle. I tilted her chin up with my hand. “Hey, my eyes are up here.”

  She swatted my hand away and started moving down towards the next aisle. We spent another hour in the Book Barn. It made me so happy to see the smile spread across her face as she explored old books in every nook and cranny of the place. I still couldn’t believe what had happened the other night. Fiona Gallagher was my wife, and she actually loved me. I never thought this day would come.

  She ended up buying a handful of books but absolutely refused to let me pay for them. I did kind of like that she would never give up being a feisty, independent woman; it made me love her even more. At the same time, she was my wife, and there was this patriarchal side of me that had a need to take care of her. To be the provider. I could hold back, though. I just wanted her to be happy.

  We drove back to Philly, and she talked animatedly about all the books she had acquired today. It was so cute how excited she got about it. When we got home, she asked me to give her a couple hours so she could do some work, and I left her alone by heading to the gym. My body was aching from the hits I took in the game yesterday, but I knew I needed to shake it off and get serious.

  I was halfway through my run when I saw a text come through from Benny.

  BENNY: Hey, man. What are you up to tonight?

  ME: Hanging with my lady. Why?

  BENNY: Stephanie broke up with me, so wanted to see if you wanted to get a drink tonight.

  ME: Fuck…sorry!

  BENNY: It’s fine. I guess. But I have to find a new place to live.

  ME: Fi’s pretty cool about that sort of stuff; I think she would understand if you wanted to do something.

  BENNY: Nah. it’s all good. I’ll see if TJ wants to hang. He’s always down to drink.

  ME: Truth. Don’t let him drink you under the table - you’re a lightweight.

  BENNY: DICK!

  I laughed at him and locked my phone screen again. Nothing had come through from Fi, so I knew she was in the zone, and I really didn’t want to bother her. I was finishing up with weight training when she finally texted me.

  FI: Did you get lost?

  ME: Nope, still at the gym.

  FI: why, tho?

  ME: These muscles you love so much didn’t appear out of nowhere.

  FI: K!

  ME: Don’t K me woman! I’m almost done.

  FI: What do you want for dinner?

  ME: Not your cooking. Let’s go out.

  I wiped down the free weights and headed back home. I had made a reservation this morning already because I had no idea how long Fi wanted to spend at the bookstore. The door to the office was still closed when I got home, so I hopped in the shower, not wanting to disturb Fi. I knew how she got when she was in the middle of her writing. I definitely knew that I shouldn’t piss her off.

  She was surveying the closet when I got out of the shower and started getting dressed. She smiled up at me and gave me a quick kiss. “Good workout?” she asked.

  “Mmmhmm,” I answered noncommittally and rubbed my shoulder.

  She eyed me cautiously. “Aaron…”

  “Yeah, sweetheart?”

  “Are you hurt?”

  Of course she would notice that I was favoring one side and kept rubbing my shoulder. “Yeah, I’m hurt. Not injured, though,” I assured her. “I got slammed into the boards hard last night. I’ll live.”

  She didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t push the topic and went to go get her own shower. I was cleaning up in the kitchen when she walked out in that sexy black dress she had worn to dinner in Vegas and black stiletto heels that I didn’t even know she owned. I gulped and adjusted myself below the belt. Her red hair fell down her back, all silky and smooth, and I couldn’t wait to run my fingers through it. That dress did wonders for her lean figure, and I didn’t quite remember it having such a plunging neckline before. It was seriously making me consider skipping dinner altogether.

  “You ready?” she asked.

  I wiped my hands on a hand towel. “Yeah, let’s go.”

  I grabbed my keys at the front door, and we left hand-in-hand. The restaurant was luckily walking distance from our condo, but I was wondering about the shoes she was wearing. She must have noticed the look I was giving her because she laughed and shook her head at me. “It’s fine. Where are we going?”

  “Sushi.”

  The smile lit up her whole face like I knew it would. “Ooh, my favorite!”

  I squeezed her hand. “I know; that’s why I picked it.”

  Her other hand, the one not interlaced with my hand, squeezed my bicep. “You really do know me so well.”

  “Well, we have been best friends since...well, birth.”

  She giggled but stopped when we arrived at the restaurant and saw her ex Eric and some leggy blonde walking out the door. Her grip on my arm tightened, and I squeezed her other hand reassuringly. I was hoping maybe the dumbass would not notice us and walk away so we could pretend we didn’t see him either. The hockey gods weren’t on my side because he glanced up and looked at her in surprise.

  “Oh…” Eric trailed off when he saw the two of us. He pointedly looked at our interlaced hands. His date looked confused.

  Fi was
pissed, and I could tell because she was damn near crushing my hand by gripping it so tight. She gritted her teeth, so I decided to be the bigger man about it. “Eric, hey, long time no see.”

  “Riley, Fiona,” he gritted out.

  His date whipped her head back and forth, and when he said “Fiona,” her mouth formed a little ‘O.’ She seemed to shrink back and swallow her question.

  “Eric,” Fi seethed.

  “Hmm. I thought for sure you two would have been divorced by now,” Eric snarled.

  I was actually pretty proud of Fi for not punching the douche in the face, but she was probably going to tear off my arm at the rate she was gripping it.

  The blonde looked at Eric. “Is this your ex who ran away with someone else on your wedding day?” she asked, confused.

  Fi barked out the most sarcastic laugh I had ever heard. “Is that what he told you?”

  “Fi,” I warned.

  The blonde looked even more confused. “Yes…”

  I shook my head at her, hoping she would get the message to drop it so the two of them could go off on their merry way. Of course, Fi couldn’t leave well enough alone. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

  “Amelia,” the blonde offered.

  Fi nodded. “Amelia, sorry. No, actually Eric left me at the altar,” she explained. She looked up at me and smiled. “But I found someone else to marry me instead. Probably the person I should have been with in the first place.”

  I beamed at that, and a warmth spread across my chest. But I also knew it was time to get the fuck out of there. “Nice seeing you, Eric, and meeting you, Amelia, but we have a reservation to get to.”

  Amelia waved to us, and I pulled Fi inside with me before we caused any more drama. I knew her ex still lived in the city, but I was hoping we would never run into him, like ever. Goddamnit, I really hoped the night wasn’t ruined now.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  FIONA

  Who the fuck did he think he was? I figured you would be divorced by now. I was seething. I wanted to walk back there and punch the little turd right in the dick. Riley, my very patient husband, had been right to speed me along inside so I didn’t do that.