The Bad Boy Hockey Collection: A Collection Of Single Daddy Romances

As the coach signals for me to get off the phone, I say, “I don’t doubt it. I’ll see you inside.”

She laughs. “We’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it. See you soon.”

I hang up, feeling like a hormonal teenager. And I don’t know why. I stand on the stairs to get off the bus, knowing I would enjoy this flight a lot more if she were sitting by my side so we could finish that kiss from the hotel room. The one interrupted by Darcy.

Next time I kiss her—because I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a next time—I’ll ensure there are no interruptions. Just Faith and I.

Chapter 10

Faith

The whole flight, it felt like something out of a storybook, because I’d never been on a plane. I could tell that both Darcy and Ferguson were experts, despite being kids. Dad’s always been scared to fly, and it was only due to my grandmother’s insistence that I’d need it one day that I even got a passport.

I listened intently to the instructions given by the stewardess, but the kids took it all in stride.

The team was only a few rows ahead of us, but Tristan may as well have been a million miles away. He’d come over once the stewardess announced we could leave our seats, offering up his seat with the team if I’d rather he sit with the kids, but I declined, much more content with Darcy and Ferguson than a slew of men I didn’t know. He would turn and wave once in a while, though, and the kids did the same.

It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep on the flight, and by the time Darcy woke me up, I realized, much to my dismay, that we were landing in Colorado.

“I tried waking you when they were handing out the meals,” the little girl exclaimed. “But you were dead!”

Darcy laughs at her own joke, and I open my eyes to see the last few seconds of the plane landing through the little round window to my right. I didn’t want to tell her that I didn’t sleep much last night. Or, that I spent most of my time on the Internet searching for anything on her father that I could find. Once again, it amazes me how someone can come into your life one day, and then take over your body and mind the next.

“I must’ve been more tired than I realized.” I smile at her, ensuring they both still have their seatbelts on.

“Yeah,” Darcy says apologetically. “Sorry about that. You were waiting for Daddy to get home, weren’t you?”

I nod, then quickly change the conversation. I do not need to be broaching this subject with her. “Did you see any more movies?” I ask instead. That’s the last thing I remember doing before sleep took over, and part of me is disappointed that I slept through the whole flight. I’d never been on one before, and had only managed to occupy the kids with the in-flight entertainment before I’d stared out the window, mesmerized by the clouds, then fell into a deep sleep.

I’d meant to only close my eyes for a moment, but my mind had taken over, and I’d dreamed of Tristan, asking me up to his room and doing all sorts of sexy, erotic things to me.

The type that my father once said a girl like me should never want from a man like Tristan.

To be touched and not seen as just poor Faith, who lost her mom at a young age and works in a hardware store.

There was a time when I had the eye of every boy in school, when every girl aspired to follow in my footsteps. At least, until I lost my mother and withdrew from everything I loved, including hockey. I just couldn’t play at the level I’d been able to when she was alive.

She’d been so proud of me back then. Now, I wondered if she’d even be able to look me in the eye.

I feel like crying as I stand up and get the kids ready to leave the plane. My eyes dart ahead a few rows to Tristan. He’s looking at me, too.

I yearn to know what’s going through his mind. Was he on the flight thinking about me, the way I was thinking of him? Or, maybe this is all just something that’s going on in my mind. Maybe I’m delusional, and ridiculously naïve, and he just kissed me to make me want to stick around and look after his kids?

Either way, it worked. I wonder what kind of person that makes me. And the deal we struck—was that a delusion of mine, too? That I’ll ever bounce back and not just be able to play the game well, but adore it like I used to?

“Guys, are you ready?” I stare down at the two faces on either side of me.

They both nod, and it occurs to me again that they’re good kids. Sweet. And I need to focus on them. Tristan’s entrusted me to look after them, and I have to stop acting like a kid myself, with my head in the clouds. I can’t just look after them; I need to take good care of them. I know what it feels like to lose a mom, but in their case, they were too young to know her that well. It doesn’t make the pain go away, though, I’m sure.

I vow to try and make them feel cared about. They deserve that much. Even if I’m just with them for a few weeks, a lot can happen in a short amount of time. All I can do is try.

***

We arrive at the hotel, and check-in is a breeze to get through. I unpack the kids’ things after calling room service. Another one of those storybook moments, since I’ve only ever witnessed room service in the movies.

Once they’ve had something to eat, I have to admit, I’m at a loss as to what we should do next. We’re sitting in the room, and I realize then that Tristan didn’t give me clear instructions regarding extracurriculars. He’s busy, and I get that. He’d only stuck around long enough to make sure we got into the room okay before he was whisked off to a practice. I know he’ll get in touch when he’s able to, though, because I’m pretty sure he hasn’t even checked into his own hotel room, the one adjoining this one.

I stand, beginning to pace up and down the carpeted floor at the foot of the beds, trying to figure out ways to entertain the kids. One glance out the window gives me the answer I need.