Page 47 of Score Her Heart

“Yeah?” I asked.

She nodded but then promptly turned on her other side and fell back asleep. I had a feeling she wasn’t going to remember this conversation in the morning. I would, though. I was gonna keep that in the back of my mind. It was one step toward wooing my gorgeous trial wife.

I took off my watch and set it on the nightstand next to my side of the bed. My eyes lingered on the ring on my finger, but I kept that on. If it wasn’t for the risk of breaking my finger while I played, I would never take off my ring.

I scooted closer to Fi and wrapped my arm around her waist. She shifted in her sleep, and I smelled her shampoo, breathing it in. I had definitely missed her scent and her presence in my arms at night.

I was so totally screwed when it came to my wife.

Chapter Fifteen

FIONA

My eyes slanted open in confusion as I stared up at the ceiling of Riley’s bedroom. I didn’t remember coming to bed last night, which was weird for me. The last thing I remembered after Katie and Brad left was sinking down onto the couch to read that hockey romance that Brad’s wife had recommended. Shit, Riley was so going to make fun of me for that.

I ran my hands down my face to rub away the sleep, and my eyes wandered over to the lump on the other side of the bed. On Riley’s side of the bed. I must have fallen asleep on the couch, and he brought me to bed last night.

I found myself staring at him for too long, watching the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed in and out while he slept soundly in the bed next to me. I wanted to slink out of the bed, but something about his warm body being beside me hypnotized me into wanting to lay back on the bed and snuggle up with him. I sat up on the bed, at a crossroad, unsure what to do next.

“Stop staring at me,” I heard his gruff voice say.

It scared me so much I nearly yelped, and I almost saw the sheepish grin on his face without having to look at him. Sometimes it surprised me after all these years how well I still knew the man beside me.

His strong arms pulled me back down so my head was lying on his chest, and his hand stroked my hair. I loved when a man played with or stroked my hair like this. It was so intimate and sweet.

“Hey!” I exclaimed indignantly. It shouldn’t have felt this good being in my best friend’s arms.

His chest vibrated underneath me as he laughed. “Shush, the baby’s sleeping.”

I glared at him, and his blue eyes twinkled with a smile. “What baby?”

“Me!”

I pulled away from him and shoved his shoulder, but he laughed again. “Yeah, you’re a big old baby, that’s for sure,” I scoffed.

His eyes slid closed again. “What time is it?” he asked through a yawn.

I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. “Time for me to get up and get some writing done.”

“So, I didn’t know you were into romance books,” he commented and popped open one blue eye.

The blush rose from my neck and spread across my pale face. He had seen what I was reading last night. God, I hope he hadn’t read the page I was on because there was steamy action about to go down. I couldn’t believe I fell asleep before getting to that! Also, it was a good thing Katie and Brad had been over last night because otherwise, I would have been reading in the bed with my vibrator out on the nightstand, ready to go. God, I hope he didn’t know I had that. Or how much I had used it in the few days he had been gone.

“I read lots of books,” I argued. “Do you want to sleep in for a little longer? I can wake you in a little bit.”

He reached out a hand and found mine on the bed. My chest felt warm at his touch, but I tried to ignore it. “Please. Give me another hour?” he asked.

I pulled away from him quickly and nodded. I practically ran out of the bedroom and quietly shut the door behind me. I had to get out of there, or I would have done something irrational, like make love to my husband.

Make love? Geez, I must have been reading too many romance books lately.

I went into the kitchen to start making my coffee for the day, but I felt out of breath and frustrated. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Maybe I was in the wrong headspace to finish proofreading today. I had calmed down by the time I had a second cup of coffee in me and was sitting down at my desk to proofread the rest of this book. I was at the halfway mark when I heard the creak of the bedroom door. I looked at the clock on my computer and silently cursed. I had told Riley I would wake him in an hour, but I had immersed myself in my book for so long, it had been nearly two. I was finishing my edits on one last chapter when I heard footsteps behind me.

I saw Riley’s shadow in the screen of my laptop. He surveyed the piles of books that were in stacks on the floor and grunted. I cringed and hunched my shoulders, afraid of how mad he might be about the mess I made of his office.

I felt his hands on my shoulders suddenly. “Hey, what is that for?” he asked with a hint of concern at my tense reaction.

I turned to him and tried to form a coherent thought, which was hard when he stood there without his shirt, showing off his lean muscles and his abs for days. The words melted right out of my brain. His finger titled my chin up to look at him from my seated position.