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

hand. His six-foot-four frame towered over everyone, so it was amusing to see my five-foot-nine wife look small next to him. Fi was not a tiny woman, but Benny made everyone else look petite.

“I hear you’re Mrs. Riley now,” Benny teased.

She made an annoyed face, and I covered my face in embarrassment. She shook off the look. “I guess I am, but I’m not changing my name.”

I smiled at that. That, at least, was not a surprise. “Okay, what all in here needs to get packed away?” I asked, changing the subject.

“The books.” She pointed at a standing bookshelf in the corner.

“All of them?” Benny asked.

She grinned. “All of them.”

I took a box and started packing books into it. “Okay, let’s get to work.”

It took nearly all day, and it was around dinner time when we got all of Fi’s stuff into the SUVs. In the end, she left behind her old bookcase because it was in really bad shape and her writing desk. I had a pretty decent desk in the second bedroom that I used as my office/guest room, and I told her I could get her some nice bookshelves. The majority of the stuff she had was books and some glassware that she wanted to keep. I noticed she left a pair of underwear and some paperwork on the kitchen counter, but I’d ask her about that later.

She ordered a pizza when we got back to my condo and started bringing in all the boxes. Benny was a champ and such a good friend for helping us out today; I think I owed him three beers.

I saw her starting to unpack all her boxes while Benny and I chowed down on the pizza. “Sweetheart, come on, leave it for tomorrow,” I chastised her.

Benny gave me a sly look at the pet-name that had slipped out, but I ignored him.

She glared at me. “I need to get all my research books out.”

“Fiona,” I warned sternly.

“Aaron,” she snapped back in the same tone of voice.

Seemed like she liked to use my first name either in bed or when she was mad at me. This was very confusing for me. Especially since my dick thought the angry tone of her voice meant it was time to come out and play. I shifted in my seat, uncomfortably.

Benny raised his eyebrows up at the sound of my first name. No one really used it, like no one ever really called him Michael. I wasn’t even sure his girlfriend called him by his first name.

Benny scowled at his phone, so I nudged him. “What’s up?”

He shook his head. “Fucking Stephanie.”

I raised my eyebrows at that. “Huh.”

He glared dark eyes at me. “What does that ‘huh’ mean?”

I shrugged. “I thought you broke up.”

“No…it was just a disagreement.”

I nodded and decided not to butt my nose into it anymore. I had already given him my opinion on that, and he didn’t want to hear it anymore.

Fi stood up from her crouched position on the floor, where the moving boxes were now scattered around my living room. She walked over to the table in the kitchen and finally took a seat, and grabbed a slice of pizza.

“Who’s Stephanie?” she asked Benny.

“My girlfriend…I think?” he explained with an unsure shrug.

Fi eyed me in question, but I shrugged. At this point, her guess was as good as mine. “You guess?” she asked.

Benny ran a brown hand down his face and stroked his beard. “We’ve been fighting. A lot. It’s complicated.”

“Buddy, you need to stay here tonight?” I asked.

Benny’s brown eyes slid over to Fi, who was shoveling pizza in her mouth. “Um…no. Also, maybe you should talk to your wife before you ask me that?”

Fi shrugged. “It’s his place.”

“Sweetheart…” I sighed. I didn’t want it to just be my place anymore.

She shrugged. “What? It is. What’s going on with the girlfriend, Benny?”

Benny tipped back his head and laughed. “You two are perfect for each other, annoying and all up in my business.”

Fi held her hands up in surrender. “Hey, I just met you. I don’t even know your girlfriend.”

He sighed. “Sorry, you’re right. We got into another argument. I should probably get home and defuse the situation.”

I gave Fi a warning look to drop it. If I couldn’t get Benny to talk about his weird relationship, I didn’t think she could either.

Benny went to go clear his plate, but Fi waved her hand at him. “No, leave it; you were such a big help today.” She put a hand on his arm. “Thank you.”

He smiled at her. “It was nice meeting you, Fi.”

She waved at him through mouthfuls of pizza.

I laughed and stood up to walk Benny to the door. He grinned at me. “I guess you’re all in, huh?” he asked.

I nodded and fist-bumped him. “Thanks, man. I really owe you.”

He pointed at me. “Several beers.”

“You got it. Are you sure you don’t need to stay here tonight?” I offered again.

Sometimes Stephanie needed time to cool down, so Benny stayed in the guest room. It had been happening with more frequency, and I didn’t understand why they were still together.

He shook his head. “Nah, but maybe you should clear that with your wife before offering in the future. You’re not a bachelor anymore.”

I nodded. He was right about that. I had to remember that it wasn’t just me anymore. I had Fi here now, and I didn’t like that she referred to it as my place. I wanted it to be her home too. I didn’t want her thinking that this was temporary. Not when she had been living rent-free in my heart since we were seventeen.

He was out the door without another word, and I started cleaning up the empty plates and boxes.

“Oh, leave it,” Fi said to me. “Or at least let me help.”

“No,” I argued and looked at her pointedly. “I got it. Finish your food.”

She frowned at me. “You already helped me out so much today. I have to imagine you’re as exhausted