Page 65 of Score Her Heart

“Riley!” he greeted me. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”

I put the vehicle in gear. “Sorry, man.”

“You’re never late for anything; I was kind of worried,” Steve admitted.

Steve had been my agent since I was drafted into the NHL as a kid. He had been in the business for a long time, and he knew what he was doing. He was kind of a father figure to me when I was coming up and was always there for guidance. He was also TJ’s agent, so I knew that was why he was in town. Also, with our season almost over, there was some worry about my contract being up in July. I liked Philly, but I was even more nervous about the possibility that the Bulldogs might not want to re-sign me now that I had Fi with me. I didn’t want to have to uproot her entire life because of my career. I knew that was something she was worried about, too, even if she never voiced it. I was afraid if Philly didn’t sign me and I had to go somewhere else, ripping Fi from her life here could cause her to rethink giving this marriage a chance.

“I’m sorry, man. I’m on my way now.”

I ran a hand through my blond hair and hung up the phone. It was not like me to forget about a meeting, but when I walked in today and saw Fi sitting there on the couch, all rational thoughts fell out of my head. All I wanted was to take her in my arms and show her what she had been missing. Which I totally did, so it was worth it being late for this meeting. I just had to think up a good excuse for my agent. The “sorry, I was too busy pleasuring my new wife” wasn’t exactly the type of thing I could lead with. Plus, Fi probably would have murdered me if I told Steve that. Steve had been Cillian Gallagher’s roommate in college, and he’d known both of us since we were small children.

I got to the restaurant in no time and found Steve in a booth in the back. I slid into the seat across from him and quickly ordered when the waitress came over. I looked up at Steve, and he had this smirk on his face that I couldn’t place. I scratched my jaw, feeling the itchiness of my facial hair coming in. Steve’s eyes landed on the ring on my finger, and he furrowed his brow in confusion, and then it turned into an even bigger smirk.

“I thought TJ was joking,” he commented.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Uhh…”

“That explains you being late.”

The color drained from my face, and I knew he could probably see the mortification from what he was implying. Thankfully the waitress came back with my beer, so I was able to take a sip of it without having to answer the question.

When I set it down, Steve gave me that stern fatherly look. “What?” I asked.

“Did you get a prenup?”

I sighed. Yeah, I was not going to bring that up with Fi at all. “Um…”

“Riley!” he scolded.

“I don’t need one with her.”

He stared me down and shook his head. “Okay, who is this woman that you up and married with no plans whatsoever?”

“Fiona Gallagher.”

I swear Steve’s eyes bulged out of his head. He took a huge sip of his own beer. “Does Cillian know about this?” he finally asked.

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, he was there. I got his blessing if that’s what you’re asking. Although, if Fi knew that, I think she would be pretty pissed about it.”

“Damn it. I owe your mom money.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

Steve laughed. “Oh, we’ve had a bet going on about if you two would ever get together.”

My mother had failed to mention that to me when I visited her a couple weeks ago. That was odd since she kept trying to talk me into letting Fi go. “Huh. Well, it’s kind of complicated, so I would hold on to that money,” I told him.

“How is it complicated? You look really happy.”

I sighed. “Well, she was left at the altar, so we got married instead, and we’re kind of trying to see if this will work between us.”

Steve nodded. “Marriage is tough. If you really want to make it work, you’ll find a way. Still pissed at you that you didn’t get a prenup, but I know Fiona. She’s good people.”

I smiled. “She is.”

“Oh man, she has you ensnared, doesn’t she?” he asked, amused.

I smiled again. “Yeah, she does. But did we come here to talk about my weird marriage or to talk about contract stuff?”