Page 108 of Against The Boards

If I had walked out today when she asked, it would have been the end of us. But Rox was my end game, even if she didn’t know it yet.

Chapter Thirty-One

ROXANNE

I was exhausted. After all the moving and all the lovemaking and then fighting with Benny, I wanted to sleep for the rest of the day. He seemed to want to do that too, but reluctantly, he got out of bed and started getting dressed.

“You got somewhere to be?” I asked.

“Unfortunately. Riley and I were gonna get some ice time in.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Do you ever quit? Can’t you enjoy your off-season?”

He smiled at me. “Yeah, I could, but I gotta keep training. Plus, I think Riley needs to get out of his condo.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Are things bad with him and Fi?”

Benny shook his head. “No, they’re great. She just gets into her moods when she’s in the middle of revising. So he knows to give her space.”

“That’s… Wow, Aaron Riley with a wife, I never thought I would see the day.”

“Did you ever think the two of us would get together either?” he asked with a grin.

I shook my head with a laugh. Definitely not. “Fuck no! I hated you for years. YEARS!”

He sat on my bed while he pulled on his shoes and tied them. “I thought we went over this. You loved fighting with me.”

He ducked when I threw a pillow at his head. “I did not!”

He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss. “You’re literally getting off on arguing with me about it right now.”

I grumbled at him. Damn this man for being right.

“Do you want to come?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I’m exhausted, and I need to finish unpacking.”

He kissed my forehead. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Love?”

“Yeah, angel?”

I chewed on my lip. “Is your family gonna hate me now?”

He furrowed his brow. “Why would they hate you?”

“For keeping you in Philly. That’s why you asked for a trade to Boston, right?”

He leaned down and kissed me again. “I didn’t ask for a trade, remember? I just told the team if they wanted to trade me, I wanted to go to Boston.”

“I know how important your family is to you; it’s one of the reasons I love you. But I don’t want them to hate me if I keep you here.”

“No, angel, my family’s not gonna hate you. They’ll nag you about us getting married and having lots of babies, though.”

I made a face, and he laughed. I was glad we were on the same page about that.

“You know why I didn’t hide out in Boston while you were living in my condo?”