“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?”
He shook his head. “I DO NOT want details. Okay, let’s talk about negotiations I want to put in front of the Bulldogs in the postseason.”
“I want to stay in Philly.”
“Okay, I figured. So here’s what I’m—”
I cut him off, “No, Steve. I have to stay in Philly.”
“Riley, I get it. We’ll put numbers in front of them, and if they don’t bite, we can consider our options. You could make a lot of money in a different city.”
I shook my head. “I don’t care if I have to take a pay cut. I literally do not give a shit about how many zeroes are on my check. I want to play hockey, but it has to be for the Bulldogs.”
He frowned. I frustrated him all the time because I played hockey for love of the sport. But there was no way I was going to a different city when my marriage was still so fragile. I couldn’t tear Fiona from her home or her friends.
“Riley, you’re the weirdest client.”
“I can’t do that to her,” I admitted.
“To who?”
“Fiona.”
“Oh.”
I nodded. “Do whatever you can, but I want to stay in Philly. I have to stay here for her, for my marriage.”
His eyes widened, and he nodded in understanding. “Okay, I get it.” He took a swig of his beer. “You really love her, don’t ya?”
I nodded and twisted my ring around my finger. “She was the one that got away. I need to prove to her that this thing between us is real. I can’t do that if I have to move to a different city come next fall.”
“Okay. I’ll get it done, but don’t say I didn’t warn you when it’s not enough money.”
“I don’t care about that. I only care about her.”
He shook his head. “Christ, kid, you’re lovesick.”
I gave him a dopey smile. I was, and I didn’t fucking care.
Chapter Twenty-One
FIONA
“Do you think you could talk to Dinah?” Riley asked me as he stood at the door about to leave for another game on the road after only being home for two days. This hockey wife thing was harder than I wanted to admit. Having him home for a few days for him to only be back on the road again did kinda suck.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I’ll try. Is Noah really torn up about her breaking up with him?”
He grimaced. “She did it via text.”
I cringed. “Oh, that’s bad. I liked them together. I’ll see what I can do.”
Riley smiled at me and leaned down to give me a long, lingering kiss goodbye. I was starting to wonder why my heart fluttered whenever he kissed me or why it banged deep in my chest whenever he left me.
“Please don’t hole yourself up here when I’m gone,” he told me sternly. His hands gripped my waist and pulled me flush against his chest.
“I have to work on edits!” I exclaimed.
He squinted his eyes at me. “I better not hear from Katie while I’m away again.”
Damn her. I rolled my eyes at him and shoved him away. “Go on, get out of here.”
“Not like these games matter now,” he muttered.
Despite their best efforts, the team had found out that they were officially out of the playoffs. So even though they needed to finish out the season, there was no drive left in the boys.
I frowned at him. “Riley, I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault, sweetheart. It’s just hard to go and have to play more games when we know there’s nothing at the end of the tunnel.”
I kissed him quickly. “I know it sucks.”
I felt bad for my husband. He worked so hard to be good at the sport he loved. He spent a lot of
