Score Her Heart: A Marriage of Convenience Hockey Romance (Philadelphia Bulldogs Book 2) by Danica Flynn (free novels .TXT) 📕

was a hockey player, so I was superstitious, and taking it off made me think she would know and she would want this to be over. I didn’t want to ever take it off, but I knew I had to when I was playing. Like most teams, the bulldogs had banned wearing rings when we were on the ice. It was too risky to take a puck to the hand that at best led to you having to get the ring cut off, but at worst led to a gruesome, career-ending injury. No way I would risk an injury like that.

“So where’s your new bride anyway?” he asked. I flipped off the lights in my condo, and we walked out to the parking garage together.

I scratched the back of my head. “Um…”

“Did you agree to a divorce already?”

I shook my head and climbed into his SUV. “It’s complicated.”

He put the car into drive and started off. “How so?”

“Well, for one, she was with someone else for five years and then up and married me,“ I explained with a sigh.

“Okay…” he trailed off and frowned.

It was clear that Benny didn’t have words for this situation, and I honestly didn’t blame him. Who marries someone after the person they were supposed to marry left them high and dry? Me. That’s who.

We drove to the practice facility in the suburbs in silence for a few minutes. I ran a hand across my still unshaven jaw, now rough from stubble since I didn’t have time to shave. “She asked for a divorce the next morning,” I revealed.

“Oh, Ri. I’m sorry.”

“I convinced her to give me a couple months. I can make her happy.”

He furrowed his brow as he got on 95. “Okay…so why isn’t she with you now?”

I sighed. “She was really distant when we landed. She wants to keep her apartment,” I explained with a grumble.

I wasn’t happy that Fi didn’t want to move in with me. How was our marriage supposed to work if we lived separately?

“She probably wants to have it to fall back on it. I know you don’t want to hear that, but maybe she’s scared it won’t work out. Marriage is a huge deal, man.”

“Says the man who never wants to get married,” I scoffed.

A frown etched across Benny’s face. Benny’s girl had been dropping mad hints that she was ready for the next step, but he was like the president of the anti-marriage club. And the anti-kids club. Stephanie was a sweet girl, but when you had fundamental differences, it wasn’t going to work out, and I thought Benny knew that but didn’t know what to do about it. I thought he really cared about her but knew they wanted different things.

Honestly? I didn’t think she was the right girl for him. I thought there was a curvy Canadian woman who was perfect for him, but they were stuck in a three-year feud neither of them would stop. A dumb feud because he took one look at the woman and was star-struck by her beauty. Okay, he might have said, “Holy shit, are those real?” and stared at her tits and maybe drooled a little bit, which was super bad, but he apologized for it. Too bad that Roxanne Desjardins knew how to hold a grudge like nobody’s business and was also our teammate TJ’s twin sister. Family members tended to be off-limits, but I’ve never seen two people more suited for each other than Roxanne and Benny. If they ever figured out how to stop fighting over nothing.

“I’ve never seen you this twisted up over a girl,” he mused.

I sighed. “It’s not just some girl; it’s Fiona Gallagher.”

“You’re so messed up over this woman!” he laughed.

“I know.”

He grinned. “But the sex is good?”

“Oh, for sure.”

“Damn. Well, she might be interested in you, you never know. This marriage of yours might actually work.”

I didn’t know about that. I wanted her as my life partner, my equal, the person I told everything to. Once upon a time, we were inseparable, and I knew even when I was seventeen that she was the girl for me. I wished she saw the potential of us. I wished I hadn’t been such a coward back then, and instead of asking Stacey Graves out, I asked Fiona out instead. Maybe we would have been married with a couple kids already.

I ran a hand over my jaw again. “I don’t know. Her and her ex hadn’t had sex for a while, so maybe she just needs it right now.”

It certainly would have explained why she basically woke me up last night and begged for sex. I kind of felt like a dick about it because I felt like she was thanking me for giving her time to write. Her work was important to her, which made it important to me. I’ve seen Fi lose her writing track by getting distracted, and last night, I didn’t want to be that distraction. I didn’t want her to feel like she owed me or some shit because I was being a nice guy either, though. I was starting to wonder how bad her last relationship had been.

Benny laughed. “Are you saying that your new wife doesn’t really like you but just craves your dick?”

I smiled at him and shrugged.

“I always thought you would never settle down.”

I furrowed my brow at him. “What does that mean?”

“You seem to enjoy the single life.”

“I did, but it got tiring. It’s nice to come home to someone, but most women can’t handle me being away half the year. Don’t you want someone to come home to?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean that I have to get married. You think Fi could handle it? Do you wonder if maybe that’s why she thinks this is a bad idea?”

I shrugged. She didn’t seem like the type of woman that would be bothered by it. Fi was more the woman that actually liked to be left alone most of the time.

“No. Fi has been