Her Hockey Superstar Fake Fiancé: A Strong Family Romance Companion Novel Read online

  Her Hockey Superstar Fake Fiancé

  A Strong Family Romance Companion Novel

  Cami Checketts

  Copyright

  Her Hockey Superstar Fake Fiance:

  A Strong Family Romance Companion Novel

  Copyright © 2019 by Cami Checketts

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Free Book

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  Don’t Fall for a Fugitive

  Her Christmas Wedding Fake Fiancé

  About the Author

  Also by Cami Checketts

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  Prologue

  Faith Summers dodged around slower-moving fans, who were simply trying to leave the hockey arena after an exhilarating win by the Vail Mountaineers, 4–1. Faith had a much higher purpose than exiting the rink where Vail High played their games. She had to get to the glass so her boyfriend, Jag Parros, would see her as he did a victory lap. She always waited on the other side of the plexiglass with her gloves pressed against it, ready for their tradition.

  At the bottom of the bleachers, she squirmed past a few people and slammed herself against the glass. There he was. Jag had his helmet off, and he and his teammates were making their way around the outside of the ice, waving to fans as they went. As center and captain of the team, Jag was loved and respected by his teammates and high school fans alike.

  He drew closer, and her stomach did that funny roll every time she saw him. Her smile grew as she pressed her gloved hands to the glass, waiting impatiently for him to spot her. His dark hair curled slightly from the sweat, and his handsome face was approaching. It wasn’t just his incredible looks that drew her in. Jag was crazy fun and made her feel like the most important person in the world.

  He spotted her and his face broke into a huge grin. “Faith,” she could see him mouth. He skated right next to the plexiglass, slamming into it and making her jump.

  She laughed and cussed him. “Jag!”

  He put his gloves right where hers were on the glass. It was their sign that nothing could come between them, neither the glass nor the distance he would have to travel to make his hockey dreams come true. She could see his lips form the words, “Love you.”

  “Love you back,” she said.

  They were only seventeen years old, and her parents had expressed concern that she was not only too young to know what love really was, but that Jag was going to leave the valley soon and never look back. They were wrong about the former and right about the latter. Well, hopefully he’d look back for her, but she knew he was destined for greatness.

  “Wait right there,” Jag mouthed carefully, his body pressed against the glass as his teammates had skated on without him. Some fellow high school students were watching their exchange, but she didn’t care.

  “Right here?” she asked back.

  He nodded and mouthed, “Don’t move.”

  Faith returned the nod, acting very serious. She kept her gloves on the glass as he skated backwards, watching her with a mischievous grin. Finally, he turned and zipped to the team’s exit and locker room. Faith let out a breathy sigh. How she loved him.

  “You two are ridiculous. You know that, right?” Blaine Grainger, Jag’s closest friend, was standing next to her, giving her a wide grin. Blaine was a well-liked, good-looking guy who always seemed to be one step ahead of the rest of the crowd, and that had helped him become the student body president. Faith didn’t have an issue with him, but quite often felt like he was too brilliant for her to keep up with. She aspired to be a hairdresser, while Blaine aspired to be a lawyer and a judge. Different paths. She only hoped she and Jag weren’t on different paths as well.

  “Yep. Ridiculously in love,” Faith shot back.

  “I hope deeply in love.” He smiled, but something in his voice unsettled her. She had no clue why. Blaine was a great friend to Jag, but a few times he’d gently reminded Faith that Jag would be moving on without her. An unsettling look in his eyes made her wonder if he looked forward to that day.

  “What do you mean?” She took her gloves off the wall and turned to face him. The stadium was emptying now, and she and Blaine were almost alone.

  “Faith …” His smile disappeared. He looked out at the empty arena and muttered, “I’m sure Jag will tell you tonight. I told him he needs to.”

  Her stomach pitched and she pressed a gloved hand to her abdomen. “Did he get in?” She’d been hoping and praying for Jag to achieve his dream of attending the Patriot Academy, an exclusive hockey prep school in Massachusetts. They all knew he was too good of an athlete for their small high school in Vail, Colorado. Jag and Faith actually lived twenty minutes away in the picturesque valley of Lonepeak, but they came to the larger high school in Vail so Jag could play hockey and she could be on the swim team.

  Blaine nodded shortly. His gaze swung to her, as if wondering if she’d collapse.

  Faith’s legs did feel weak, and her head swirled with the warring emotions of happiness and despair. She wanted Jag to have his dream of playing in the NHL, wanted it so badly for him, but as she’d feared, she was being left behind. Jag’s parents could afford to relocate to Massachusetts to be close to him. Faith’s parents were dairy farmers and couldn’t even afford her swimming fees. She worked all summer to pay her fees and to buy a few school clothes so she didn’t look as poor as they were.

  She didn’t know how much time passed as she tried to process it all. Jag would leave her next fall. She’d miss him, but someday, somehow, they’d be together. She knew it. Jag knew it.

  The compassionate look on Blaine’s face said he definitely didn’t know it. Blaine wrapped a comforting arm around her, and she leaned against him. It felt like one of her rowdy brothers calming down enough to hug her and support her. “Sorry, Faith. I know how it feels.”

  “Being left behind?” she murmured.

  “Yeah.”

  He didn’t say any more, but she knew the story. His mom had ditched his dad when Blaine was only five. His dad had worked hard to become a successful businessman and was now the mayor of Vail. He’d remarried recently and seemed happy. Blaine appeared successful and well-adjusted also, but Faith had seen something in his eyes, something that made her hurt for him. He often went with Faith and Jag on double dates, always bringing a different girl. She hoped he found someone who was right for him some day.

  “I’m sorry,” she muttered.

  Blaine pulled her into a full-on hug, rubbing his hands up and down the back of her thick sweatshirt.

  “Hey!” a loud voice roared from behind them.

  “Jag!” Faith yelled happily, tearing herself from Blaine’s embrace, turning an
d running pell-mell at her favorite person in the world.

  Jag’s face was full of concern, probably from seeing his girlfriend in his best friend’s arms, but it quickly changed to his normal wide grin as she flung herself at him. He caught her easily and swung her off the ground. Faith wrapped her arms tight around his neck, holding on and planning to never let go. Not until he left her in the fall.

  Her smile slipped and she clung to him, burying her head in his neck. She smelled his warm, musky cologne. How would she survive without him? Senior year was bound to be lonely, as would the years following, until he established himself, they could get married, and she would move wherever he had committed to play hockey. The thought of leaving her little valley, her parents, and her younger siblings hurt, but nothing hurt as much as the thought of being apart from him. A rogue tear slid out and escaped down her cheek.

  Jag set her on her feet and leaned down to kiss her, but stopped short. “What’s this?” He gently lifted the tear off her cheek, then looked to Blaine for an explanation. “What did you do?” he demanded.

  Blaine held up his hands and backed away. “It was time, dude. Man up and tell her the truth.”

  Jag’s brow furrowed. His blue eyes turned stormy. “I was planning on it, but not like this.”

  Blaine rolled his eyes and turned to go, throwing a parting shot over his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Jag. I’ll watch out for her.” He turned and strode out of the arena.

  Jag held her more tightly, as if the thought of anyone but him watching out for her cut deep. “I’m sorry,” he breathed against her cheek. “I was planning to tell you tonight.”

  Faith tugged off her gloves, dropped them, and wrapped her palms around his smooth jawline. “Jag, don’t be sorry. I’m thrilled for you.”

  “You are?” His voice sounded uncertain and husky.

  “Of course I am. This is your dream. Go get it.”

  “You’re amazing, Faith. Of course you’d be happy for me.”

  “Why shouldn’t I be? I’m the proudest, most obnoxious girlfriend you’ve ever seen.”

  He grinned. “I wish I could watch you in the stands while I play.”

  She ran her hands up into his hair, loving its soft wave. Truthfully, she loved everything about him. “You’d be embarrassed for me. I scream like an out-of-control Jag junkie.”

  “I love it.” He let out a low groan. “If I could just take you with me, everything would be perfect.”

  She laughed, though her gut churned when she thought about leaving the valley and the people she loved. “I think both our parents would object to that.”

  “Mine wouldn’t,” he insisted. “They adore you.”

  “What’s not to adore?” She winked sassily.

  Jag chuckled and bent down close. He tenderly kissed her, making the now-deserted stadium seem to light up with fireworks. She savored each kiss they shared, and they’d shared plenty.

  Jag put their hands together and said, “Nothing will ever come between us. Nothing.”

  Faith believed him. She smiled and nodded, willing the tears to stay away. She was happy for Jag, and she wouldn’t hold him back, no matter how it hurt.

  Jag released her hands, lifted her off her feet again, whirled her around, and pressed her up against the glass.

  She grinned. “I might have to give you a penalty for boarding, Parros.”

  He chuckled. “It’d be worth it.”

  He claimed her mouth with his, pushing all worries over him leaving far away. Long, wonderful minutes later, the janitor had to pull them apart and ask them to leave, not for the first time. The janitor grinned and teased with them as he did so.

  Jag took her hand and led her from the stadium and to the bonfire party waiting for them up the canyon. They loved each other. No matter how many miles and years separated them, that wouldn’t change. Just like their gloves on the glass, nothing could separate them. She wouldn’t let it.

  Chapter One

  Ten and a Half Years Later

  Faith rushed out the door of the spa at Angel Falls Retreat, only briefly stumbling as the brisk winter air threatened to knock her backward. She zipped her coat and upped her pace. She’d had a walk-in haircut come in at the last minute, and now she’d be late for practice; she was the coach of a competitive youth swim team in Vail, but it was twenty minutes away and practice started in eighteen minutes. Pulling her phone out, she started typing quicker than she walked, asking the assistant coach to start warming the team up without her.

  “Oof!” She slammed into something hard and large. Bouncing back, she hit the pavement on her rear, pain radiating up her backside and her phone skittering away underneath a parked car. Glancing up, way up, she saw a man towering over her. The sun was bright reflecting off the snow, so she couldn’t quite make out his face, but his body was tall, lean, and beautifully muscled under a fitted long-sleeved shirt.

  “Faith?” he asked.

  Her stomach did a funny flip-flop it hadn’t done in years. When that voice said her name, she found herself diving back into dreams she’d long since stored and tried to forget. Those dreams were nothing like reality, as she’d buried her husband Blaine a year ago. Her life for over ten years now was far removed from Jag’s deep, husky, beautiful voice saying her name.

  The man bent down low and swept her off the ground. Thankfully, her thick coat dampened the impact, but excitement and heat still shot through her as she was lifted face to chest with the man who dominated her night dreams, no matter how many times she’d prayed to stop dreaming about him. If she had any money, she’d hire a therapist or voodoo witch doctor to exorcise him from her memory.

  “Faith,” he repeated, saying the name this time almost reverently. Jag’s handsome face looked all lit up. He appeared for all the world like the boy she used to adore, grown into an irresistible man with hard lines and firm muscles and yet a softness in his eyes as he gazed at her.

  He lifted her off her feet, without her permission—and much to her body’s happiness—and swung her around like he used to do. Setting her back down, he was still grinning at her. “Faith.” How many times could he say her name in different ways? This time it was a husky groan. She knew exactly what was coming when he said her name in that way, and she wanted him to capture her lips more than she wanted her swim team to win state this year.

  He bent down close, his blue eyes taking her in as if she were his entire world. His muscular body surrounded her, and for the first time in years, she felt safe. Any moment now their lips would connect, washing away all the pain and misery she’d been through these past ten years, and Jag would make everything right in her world.

  “And who is this?” a snarky voice asked from his side.

  Jag wrapped Faith tight and turned her, as if to shelter her from the woman standing next to them. Faith peeked over his muscular arm to see a gorgeous redhead in a tight business suit that pushed her well-endowed front out for the world to enjoy. Faith worried that the woman would get frostbite on her beautiful front alignment. It was chilly out here.

  “What are you doing here?” Jag demanded.

  The woman smiled silkily. “You know exactly why I’m here: to finish the story I was promised an exclusive on.”

  “You weren’t promised it by me. Butt out of my life, Sheryl.”

  “Oh, but I can’t. You’re my ticket, Jag, and we both know you owe me much more than a story.”

  “I don’t owe you anything.” Jag looked back down at Faith. The tightness in his brow and mouth eased, and he said, “Sorry about the interruption. Give me a second, and we’ll continue.”

  Faith had been so enthralled by his presence, followed by the intriguing conversation between him and this picture-perfect woman, but now all the memories and the pain came rushing back and she squirmed to be out of his embrace. With a rush of horror, she realized she’d almost let him kiss her. They weren’t going to simply pick up where they left off. Never. Jag had ditched her ten years ago. She had moved
on—well, as much as a woman desperately in love could move on. She now loathed him almost as much as she’d adored him.

  “I’m late for swim practice,” she grunted out, thinking of something that he would respect so he would let her go. She didn’t have the time or the energy to tell him off properly for leaving her and never so much as writing her a letter.

  Well, that wasn’t true. He’d written her the one letter asking her to let him go so he could be successful, but she hated that letter too much to think on it. His prep school had been very strict and not allowed any electronics. He’d been able to write handwritten letters, though, and by the time he’d been there one week, she’d sent him a dozen. When the long-awaited letter from him arrived a week after he’d officially left her, she’d ripped it open and his words had ripped her heart in two. She’d sent him a final letter and never heard from him again, even on breaks when he could’ve tried to at least call and remedy the rift between them.

  “I’ll follow you there,” Jag told her, as if he had any right to follow her anywhere.

  Faith shook her head in frustration, dropped to the ground to fish her phone out from under the car, and then practically ran to her beat-up Corolla.

  “I’ll be there soon!” Jag called after her.

  She ignored him, unlocked her car with trembling fingers, and dropped into the seat. Typing out a shaky text to the assistant coach to start without her, she managed to start the engine and putter away. As she glanced back in her rearview, she could see Jag watching her go, even as the redhead chattered away at him a mile a minute. Faith tried to focus on the road, but the look of longing on his handsome face about had her running into a service truck.