Page 25 of Score Her Heart

Her eyes lit up when I waved the coffee in her face. “Oh, I really need that,” she told me with relief as she took it out of my hands. She took a sip of it and practically moaned at the taste. I had to adjust myself in my jeans at that sound, the man downstairs perked up in interest at that noise.

I raised my eyebrows and nodded while taking a small sip of my own coffee. “Uh huh,” I grunted.

“Sorry, I’m being a bitch,” she offered.

I put an arm around the back of her neck and lightly massaged her there. I felt her straighten up at the neck grip, and I filed that away for later. “It’s fine.”

I handed her the egg and cheese bagel, keeping the yogurt for myself. She had her computer out again and was typing away at something, so I tried not to bother her. I cracked open the big hardback and started to read the second book in her sci-fi series. It kind of amazed me that every word she wrote was something that popped into her head. Her name was here on the cover, and she would have that forever. Pride beamed in my chest at this woman accomplishing her dreams. I was so damn proud of her.

I flipped to the dedication page.

To all the girls with stars in your eyes, this one's for you.

I sipped my coffee and flipped to the first chapter, but felt her nudge me with her shoulder. I looked at her with a questioning look. “Is that my book?” she asked, nervously.

“Yes. How did you come up with this stuff?”

She shrugged. “It’s a gift.”

I cocked my head at her. “That’s not an explanation, Fi.”

She shrugged again. “I don’t know, man. It’s easy to come up with stories inside your head when that’s all you have.”

I didn’t know what she meant by that.

She went back to her computer for a few minutes but then reluctantly closed it down and put it back in her carry-on bag. I looked up at the gate when I heard them start to call for boarding. I closed the book and held out my hand to take her bag from her.

She glared daggers at me. “I’m fine, Riley.”

I held up my hands in surrender and let her be on her own. Nobody ever got to tell Fiona Gallagher what to do, not even me, her husband. Once we got settled on the plane, she dived into writing again. I was still tired, so I ended up falling asleep for a little bit. I woke to the sound of her sighing in frustration.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

“I think this is awful,” she explained.

I frowned. “I thought you figured out the problems yesterday?”

She gripped a pen in her hand angrily. “Ugh! Everything I write is a pile of garbage. Why did I even try to do this? It’s not like I am fooling anyone here!”

“I think maybe you could use a break. Take a nap. We still have a couple hours left until we get home,” I suggested.

I totally expected her to blow up on me, but she saved her doc and shut the lid to her laptop. She reached down below the seat in front of her and put it away. “Maybe you’re right,” she sighed.

“C’mere,” I ordered.

I pushed the armrest between us up and pulled her into my chest, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. Her head rested on me, and I stroked her hair until she fell asleep. She claimed she didn’t sleep on planes, but I called bullshit. Or else she was really tired. I couldn’t remember what time she had climbed into bed last night, but it had been pretty late, and we got preoccupied for a while. I was not sorry about that.

The flight attendant walked by asking if we wanted any drinks, and she smiled as I whispered, trying not to wake Fi. She eyed the ring on my hand and then looked at Fi. “Vegas wedding?” she asked.

I nodded and absent-mindedly continued to stroke Fi’s vibrant red hair.

She smiled. “You two look cute together. I hope it works out.”

Me too. I hoped that as soon as we landed in Philly, my new wife wouldn’t throw it all away and decide a divorce was the right course of action for us. I wanted forever with this woman, but I didn’t know how to prove that to her.

* * *

As soon as we landed in Philly, I felt something shift between us. The tension was in the air again. Just like on the morning after our wedding when she ambushed me into asking for a divorce. It was like the past couple days had been a vacation from real life, and now we had to face the consequences that we were married. There were a lot of logistics to work out, and I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject with her yet. I had already tried about the living arrangements, and she nearly bit my head off about that.