Page 4 of Sleepless Nights and Hockey Fights

She doesn’t even look up from her phone. “How many times do I have to tell you? Age is a mindset, darling. Ifeelforty-six, so it’s not a lie at all.”

I suppose she has a point. Coco Farnsworth, owner and realtor extraordinaire here at Farnsworth Luxury Realty, looks and acts much younger than her sixty-two years. And, while some of the credit must go to her plastic surgeon, the rest is undeniably Coco.

“Ah!” she exclaims. “Here it is!” Her blue eyes positively twinkle as they meet mine across the desk. “We’re signing you up for a dating app.”

We’ve all heard the expression,the blood drained from her face, but I can’t remember another instance where I could literally feel the blood inside my skull ducking for cover and hauling ass out of Dodge. “I might faint,” I mumble before dropping my head down between my knees.Deep breaths, Molly.

“Oh, don’t be such a drama queen. That’s my job,” Coco says, amusement suffusing her words.

I give myself a good twenty seconds before slowly lifting my head again. No white spots in my vision, so that’s a good sign, right? “I’m not taking out a billboard offering free booty calls to strange men.” Just the thought of a handsome man flirting with me is enough to make me blush after all this time.

“Oh, it’s easy to weed the weirdos out, I promise.” Coco is now typing with both thumbs clacking away on her phone screen.

“You’ve officially lost the plot, boss.” I shake my head and stand, both hands gripping the chair arms in case my head decides to get light again. “I’ve got to go.”

I only get two steps.

“There. You’re all signed up. I’m texting you the app’s link plus your username and password.”

“I’m deleting it,” I reply, quickening my pace. “I’m too old for dating apps.” Hell, I feel too old for dating in general. It’s a young person’s game. I wouldn’t know what to do.

“Bite your tongue, Molly Sparks. Besides, have I ever steered you wrong?”

I groan this time since she knows the answer to that question as well as I do.

Coco took me under her wing from the moment I walked through her agency’s door two years ago to inquire about a receptionist job. I wouldn’t have ever thought to pursue my real estate license if it hadn’t been for her encouragement and support. Her belief in me is unwavering, and I have the deepest respect for her business sense and savvy. Coco’s entire attitude and outlook on life are something to aspire to.

So, yeah, her advice is never a thing to be tossed casually aside. Still, there’s an exception to every rule.

I reach the doorway and open my mouth to throw a teasing “No comment” her way before I stop short, only now remembering why I knocked on her door in the first place. “Oh. I forgot to tell you. I was driving by that gorgeous Victorian on Newland Boulevard and saw a man hammering a “For Sale by Owner” sign into the yard.

Coco’s eyes widen, her lips stretching into a blindingly white smile. “That’s my girl.”

I can’t help grinning to myself all the way to my car. My phone pings from inside my giant handbag just as I shut the driver's side door, and I rifle through various bits and bobs until I locate the device.

My grin dies on my face when I see the new text from Coco, accompanied by a link.

Coco: Your username is @SparkleIsMyStripperName and your password is MamaNeeds2GetSome. You’re welcome.

Chapter Three

Bobby

“How’s that new asshole working out for you?” Benny–otherwise known as our first-line center Banks Bennet–asks, flopping down on the bench next to me with his skates in hand. He’s one of the senior players on our team, a fact I bring up as much as humanly possible.

I give him my best scathing look, when what I want to do is punch something. Coach has been riding me hard since our chat about straightening up my shit, though I didn’t think anyone else noticed.

“The ladies seem to like it,” I quip. Benny doesn’t smile.

“Kaitlyn says she has a plan for you.” He looks out at the ice where Chloe is setting up brightly colored cones before her rec league practice starts. He’s engaged to my agent, Kaitlyn, which probably means she’s filled him in on the gory details of my ass chewing from Coach. “She’s tough as nails, but I can speak from experience: her plans work. If you give her shit and make her go into labor, I swear your new asshole will be the least of your problems.”

I put my hand up in the scout’s honor salute, but we all know I’ve never been a Boy Scout. I’m just not promising anything until I hear this plan of hers. I want to clean up my act and keep my spot on the team, but I also know my limitations. Benny laces up his skates and heads off to the ice without another word.

Chloe didn't ask for my help with her practice today, but I have a meeting scheduled with Kaitlyn at six. Practice got out at three and since I can’t go to a bar to pass the time like I normally would, I might as well help out the youth of America. Hopefully Coach looks out his window and sees me doing a good deed. Kids start streaming in and the volume inside the rink goes way up. Benny’s Little from the Big Brothers program, Eli, comes swaggering in with another boy hot on his heels. I perk up, realizing the other boy is the kid spawned from that hot mom I always notice.

At that exact moment, Chloe skates by and snaps at me. “You gonna help, or sit and pout all day?”

Since children are present, I have to clench my hands into fists to keep from flipping her off. Did I say we’re friends? I lied. She’s dead to me. Which isn’t true, because I get my ass off the bench and skate out onto the ice to help her, telling myself it's for the kids and bolstering my reputation. Eli and the other kid come whizzing past me, warming up on the side of the rink I’m on, which is where the older kids practice.

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