Page 5 of The Hat Trick

“It’s okay, I’ll carry them to wherever you are headed.”

“No, really, I’m sure you have an actual girlfriend to get back to.” I try to take them again, but he doesn’t let me.

“Nope, no girlfriend, I’m just here with my sister and her family.”

“Oh, okay, um, yeah, well then if you really want to, sure. Let me just find my friend, Audrey.”

As I’m walking through the Christmas village, looking for my best friend with the hottest man I’ve ever seen in my life, who also happens to be an NHL player. I think maybe running into my asshole ex might have been the best thing to happen to me.

3

Ican’t stop looking at her. I don’t know where we are going, but I don’t even care, as long as I can keep looking at her. She looks so unsure as we look for her friend. I want to ask why she doesn’t just pull out her phone to call or text her, but I don’t want my time with her to end any time soon.

My sister, her husband, and their two daughters are around here somewhere, but I can catch up with them later. I noticed the beautiful brunette who looked absolutely terrified and two seconds away from dropping everything in her hands and running. So, I didn’t think about what I was doing, I just went over to her.

The fact that the asshole then had the audacity to act like a fan of mine when he’d clearly made Chandler uncomfortable instantly pissed me off. I want to ask her more about it, but she doesn’t look ready to talk.

“You don’t think your friend left do you?” I finally ask.

She shakes her head, her long chocolate hair swishing over her shoulders. It looks so soft; I just want to run my hands through it. And maybe wrap it around my fist and yank her head back so I can taste her mouth.

“No, she wouldn’t leave me. I think she’s just distracted.”

“Can you call her?”

“No, I don’t have my phone with me,” she cringes.

I start to ask her why, when her name is called behind us. We turn around and see a woman with short black hair and glasses walking toward us. She’s looking at Chandler, the question of who I am written all over her face.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Chandler says to the other woman.

“Yeah same.” Her friend looks between me and Chandler. “Who’s this?”

“Audrey, this is Vince. We just met.”

“I kind of saved her, and then she used me as her pack mule,” I joke.

“That is not true, I tried to set you free, and you won’t leave me alone.” She narrows her eyes at me.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Audrey asks.

“I’m Vince, I saw Chandler look like a deer in headlights in front of her ex and swooped in to help.”

“What?” Audrey practically screams, looking at Chandler.

“I’ll tell you later,” she mutters.

“It’s okay, I think I’ve bothered you both enough.” I smile, setting down everything I’ve been carrying for her on the table we’ve come up to.

“You’re not bothering us, it’s okay. Thank you.” Chandler looks up to me. She’s probably around five-foot-four to my six-foot-one.

“It’s no problem, but I do think as your new boyfriend I should at least get your number,” I wink at her, and hear Audrey make a surprised sound.

Chandler blushes at that before nodding, “Yeah, okay.”

I pull out my phone, handing it to her. She hands it back, and I see the contact she made for herself, and can’t help but laugh because it says “Chandler (my girlfriend)”. She probably expects me to change it, but I’m not going to.

“I’ll text you,” I tell her before going off to find my sister. Knowing, the first thing I’m going to text her is information about our game tomorrow because I have the sudden need to see her there.

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