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

She didn’t push the issue further but helped clean up once she was done.

“So, Benny seems nice,” she started.

I grinned. “He’s kind of my best friend.”

She put her hands on her hips. “I thought I was your best friend.”

“Oh, Fi, you are, but Benny’s like my best bud on the team.”

She laughed. “I was just teasing you. So what’s the deal with his girlfriend?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. I think they’re about to break up.”

Her face got sad at that. “Oh…that’s too bad.”

I shrugged. “I don’t think they’re meant to be.”

She hummed as she rinsed off the plates and loaded up my dishwasher. I didn’t try to tell her not to do it because I didn’t want to get into another fight.

I leaned against the counter. “Hey, I want to talk to you about something.”

She closed the lid of the dishwasher and started it. “What’s up?”

I reached out to push her hair behind her ear. My hand lingered on her cheek, and I wanted to kiss her again. I wanted to do a lot of things to her, but I was exhausted from not getting a lot of sleep last night and a rough practice today. “Fi, this is not just my place.”

She pulled away from me and crossed her arms. “It is, and I feel bad moving in here so soon.”

“Sweetheart, I want you here. I want my wife to live with me, not live in hipster Fishtown away from me.”

She rolled her eyes at my hipster comment, but we both knew it was true. Not that I could say anything; I lived in the ritzy side of the city.

“What are you trying to say?” she asked.

“I want this to be your home, too. I should have asked you if it was okay to offer Benny to stay here.”

“I wouldn’t have minded.”

“I know, sweetheart, but I should have asked you first.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “I need a shower.”

“Yeah, you stink!” she teased.

I headed into my bedroom to take a shower. When I came out, she was on the floor in the bedroom, trying to figure out where to put all her clothes.

“Oh, leave it for the night,” I told her.

I dropped the towel from around my waist and put on a clean pair of boxers and pajama bottoms to sleep in. I hated sleeping with a shirt on, and it seemed like Fi didn’t mind it by the way her gaze scanned over my body. I grinned at her, but as much as I wanted nothing more than to wrestle with her on my bed and hear that sexy moan of hers again, I was too damn tired for that. I slid into the bed and patted the empty side next to me. She closed the lid of her suitcase and walked over to the bed. She sat on the side next to me timidly, and then swung her legs over the length of the bed and finally laid down. I flicked the lamp off and plunged us into darkness.

She shifted onto her side, and I ran my hand down the length of her arm to finally rest against her hip. “Night, Fi,” I breathed on her neck.

She craned her head to look up at me. “Night, Riley.”

I bent down to kiss her softly goodnight. “I’m glad you came home with me. I really want this to work between us. Though I’m sorry about your ex.”

“That’s not your fault,” she sighed.

I shifted so I was leaning over her and brushed her hair out of her eyes. My dick was definitely lifting up in interest again, but I was way too tired for that, and by the look on her face, I knew she was too. We had a lifetime of that ahead of us; I could wait.

I smiled at seeing my wedding ring on my finger as I caressed her cheek.

“Sweetheart, I know it’s not my fault, but I was glad to be there for you.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She leaned into my hand and kissed it sweetly. “Thank you.”

“Fiona, I’m going to do everything in my power to make you happy. I promise you that.”

She didn’t look convinced. “Ri, can we talk about all this heavy stuff later? It’s been a long day.”

I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her gently goodnight. “Okay, sweetheart, let’s get some sleep. I have to fly out tomorrow, and there was a Succubus who kept me up all night last night,” I joked.

She playfully slapped my arm, and this time her smile was for real. I rolled her onto her side and pulled her towards me. I fell asleep, cradling her smaller form in my arms. I could get used to this. If only she would let me.

Chapter Eleven

FIONA

I woke to a rustling of the drawers and slid my eyes open to see Riley getting dressed in the dark. I still felt like a stranger here in his entirely way too modern and nice condo. It was like his wealth was smacking me in the face, and I didn’t think I deserved to live here with him. Even if the ring on my finger told me that I should.

My hand went to my phone to check the time, and it wasn’t that early. I probably should have already been awake. I had some more drafting to do, and I needed to get going on all the unpacking. I wanted everything to be done when he got back into town.

I sat up in bed. “Why are you getting dressed in the dark like a weirdo?” I asked.

He flinched at my voice. “Jesus, Fi, you scared the shit out of me.”

I smirked but flipped on the lamp on the bedside table next to me. “Turn on a light!” I got out of bed and walked over to him. He stood in front of his massive walk-in