by Toni Aleo
Clutching his buzzing phone, he headed for the recently vacated area he'd spotted near the entrance. It was quieter there, and it would be easier to see Vince when he came back from the restroom.
The flashing lights and pulsing beat brought back dozens of memories of good times spent. But he was ready for new places and creating new memories with Vince and the Bedlam crew.
As much as he missed living by the ocean, he couldn't wait to get back to Buffalo. Because Buffalo meant one thing: life with Vince. And for Vince, Joseph would do anything.
Including waiting to have the wedding until hockey season was over.
His phone screen lit up with texts from Slater, Leo, Celek, and Noah offering their congratulations on the engagement. Grinning, he responded to each one.
A new email alert popped up.
From Ben.
Steeling himself in case of rejection, he opened the message.
Read it.
Blinked.
And then read it again.
"There you are. Brought you a drink." Vince, wearing a matching band of silver on his left hand, came to a stop at his side. Blond hair tousled and blue eyes twinkling, the love of his life carried two tumblers of Scotch. His smile faded as he studied Joseph's face. "You okay?"
"Absolutely. One hundred percent. And I really mean it this time." He held out his phone. "Ben emailed. I got the job. Good salary, good benefits. He wants me to stop in later this week."
"Congratulations!" Vince set the drinks down on a nearby empty table and then pulled him into a hug. "I knew it."
Warmth radiated through his body, and he couldn't contain his grin. "I can't believe it."
"Everything is working out."
His smile grew even wider. "True. And no matter what happens, it'll be amazing because you'll be there."
"Always."
He traced his finger over the band on Vince's finger. "I can't wait to marry you."
"Same here." Vince's smile slowly softened his features. He laced their fingers together and drew Joseph into one of the shadowed spaces along the wall.
Joseph licked his lips and lowered his head. His heartbeat pounded in time with the beat. Vince leaned into him and cupped a hand on the back of his neck. Strong fingers held him in place, and Joseph gladly gave in to the kiss. He could happily spend the rest of his life kissing Vince.
Surrounded by the circle of Vince's arms, there wasn't any other place in the world he'd rather be.
He and Vince might not have had a picture perfect Christmas. But they had each other. And together, they'd handle anything that came their way.
~ THE END ~
Books by Susan Scott Shelley
Buffalo Bedlam series
Making His Move
Fighting For More
Taking His Shot
Skating On Chance
Holiday Hearts series
Kiss Me Again
More Than Words
All I Want
Marry Me
Game of Love series
Rekindled
Captivated
Enamored
Rocked by Love series
Love Notes
Love Song
Philadelphia Frenzy series
Mad Scramble
Hometown Hero
About Susan Scott Shelley
USA TODAY bestselling author Susan Scott Shelley writes stories with heat and heart where love always wins. Her romances give readers lighthearted and emotionally satisfying escapes into happily ever after. In addition to crafting stories, she is also a professional voice over artist and enjoys lending her voice to a wide range of projects. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and is an avid fan of her hometown sports teams. Her favorite things include coffee, sports, running, and hard rock.
You can email Susan [email protected] or find out more at her website.
Kate Willoughby - His Christmas Cinderella
When Gideon Aguilar mistakes Bailey Peng for his Uber driver, it leads to a night he can't forget. But after she disappears the next morning, will he be able to find his perfect fit?
Chapter One
Bailey Peng couldn’t believe it when professional hockey player Gideon Aguilar made eye contact with her and waved.
The mall parking lot was a total zoo and she should have known not to come here this close to Christmas, but she’d procrastinated so long on getting a dress for tonight’s party, she’d had to wear the new dress out of the store and get her face done up at one of the makeup counters. Even considering these desperate timesaving measures, she was still barely going to make it in time.
But worry over her lateness disappeared when Gideon Aguilar flagged her down.
His handsome Latin features included a gorgeous bronzed complexion that complimented his jet-black hair and deep-set brown eyes. And that swoon-worthy beard…it wasn’t a bushy lumberjack tangle. No. It was a finely-groomed, masculine thing of beauty that somehow still managed to show off his square jaw.
Simultaneously confused and thrilled by his greeting, she waved back and he smiled.
“Hi, are you my ride? Cindy?” he asked after she pulled over and rolled the window down. His voice was deliciously gravelly and low and it did things to her insides.
OMG. He thinks I’m his Uber driver.
Her first instinct was to set him straight, but if she confessed, he would wait for his real driver and the encounter would be over before it started. She’d watched a few videos of him taking part in practical jokes, so she decided to go along with it to see how far she could get. At the very least, she could give him an actual ride wherever he was going.
‘Yes, but my phone is on the blink,” she said. “Remind me where you’re going…?”
As he got into her Prius, he pretty much filled the whole interior and her heart raced at being in such close proximity to the hockey star who just signed with her hometown NHL team, the San Francisco Dragons. She very quickly checked her appearance in her sun visor mirror. The makeup counter girl had done a great job accentuating her almond-shaped eyes and even lined her upper lid with a moderate cat-eye. Her other best feature was her mouth. She had a small mouth but plump upper and lower lips and the makeup girl had brushed on a gorgeous shade of red that matched the cocktail dress she’d ended up buying. She’d also splurged on a pretty headband with tiny poinsettias on it.
“Hi,” Gideon said, seemingly distracted by the gift bag he was holding that had somehow gotten caught up in his scarf. “I’m going to a restaurant called Willow and Aspen.”
“Willow and Aspen,” she echoed.
She’d lived in San Francisco her whole life but didn’t know where that restaurant was. She’d never even heard of it.
She picked up her phone intending to GPS her way but saw a text from her friend, Indigo Williams: Girl, where are you? Are you on your way?
Bailey was supposed to be going to her own work Christmas party with Indigo. They both worked as a cable car conductors. Their party, dubbed “Sausages, Suds and Santa,” was being held at a bar and grill that boasted twenty kinds of sausages and fifty brands of beer on tap. It sounded like fun, except for the fact that the only co-worker she genuinely liked was Indigo. As the only two females on the crew, she and Indigo had naturally gravitated toward each other, but now they were great friends. Their senses of humor meshed beautifully, they were both twenty-five, they both had overbearing families.
Because of the sausage party theme, they had planned to keep a tally of penis jokes. Two points if they made the joke themselves. One if they heard an innocent remark that could be taken as a penis joke. Whoever won had to treat the other to a spa pedicure and Bailey had intended to win. But that was before Gideon Aguilar got into her car.
Bailey replied to Indigo as fast her thumbs could tap: Gonna be criminally late. Huge apologies. Will explain later.
Glancing back, she saw Gideon putting on his seat belt.
“Oh, look. My phone’s working again,
” she said as she entered Willow and Aspen into her navigation app. She got a travel time of twenty minutes, medium-to-heavy traffic, even though the place was only three miles away.
Twenty glorious minutes with Gideon Aguilar. Somebody pinch me!
“So hot date?” she asked in a jovial tone she thought an Uber driver might use.
“Nah. A Christmas party. For work,” he added.
“Is the party going to be fun or a total bore?” she asked.
Gideon shrugged. “Something in between, I think. I’m not a big party guy and it’s a party where I don’t know that many people.”
“I hear ya. What would you rather be doing than enduring a night full of awkward?”
He ran a hand through his luxuriously thick, wavy dark hair and Bailey shivered, wishing she could do the same. “Stay at home. Pour myself a whiskey and finish the book I’m reading.”
“I’ve never had whiskey before. What are you reading?”
“Don’t laugh.”
“Promise.”
“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”
“I’ve read that one three times. It’s great that you’re not afraid to admit you like children’s stories.”
“I don’t make a habit of it. I just…someone dared me to read the first one and I, ah, got hooked.”
“Who dared you?”
“My little sister. She’s thirteen.”
“Did you see the movies?” Bailey asked.
“No. But I might after I’m done reading the books.”
“So, this party…is it your team party?” she asked.
Their eyes met in the rearview mirror.
“Ah, so you know who I am.”
“I do. You’re Gideon Aguilar, the top defenseman on the Dragons.”
And sperm donor to my fantasy baby, whom I would name Addison, boy or girl, and who would be the most beautiful Chinese-Hispanic baby in the history of the world.
She imagined for a moment what it would be like to pull over, climb into the backseat and jump his bones. There might be enough room back there if they were careful. And yet, Gideon Aguilar was not someone a woman wanted to be careful with. Gideon Aguilar was a man you took risks with, a man you let see your wild and wanton side. Not that Bailey had a wild, wanton side.
“Well, that’s my name,” he said with a chuckle, “but the rest of that is about as untrue as it can get. In case you didn’t know, I just got traded here. Bowes is the top defensive dog on the Dragons."
“You’ll have your day,” she said, confidently. “It actually annoys me how everyone is so fixated on him. Did you see that travesty of a game last week? It’s because he got engaged, I think. Every time a player gets married or has a kid, his game goes to shit. He’s just starting his downward slide early. If all the players just stayed single, we’d have a Cup-winning season.”
Bailey’s love for hockey started two boyfriends ago. Kyle had season tickets, so their dates often consisted of meeting at a restaurant near the Pei Industries Arena and then attending the game. Wallowing in his alleged masculine superiority, he mansplained the sport to her for the duration of their relationship. By the time they broke up, she’d become a fan of the Dragons with a fair working knowledge of the game.
He chuckled. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’ll pass on your strategy to the coaching staff.”
“Don’t you dare. I wasn’t serious.” She cast him a quick look over her shoulder and he was grinning.
“Don’t worry. I wasn’t either.”
A few minutes later when Bailey pulled up to the curb, Gideon unfastened his seat belt and got out of the car. “Thanks for the ride, Cindy. Have a good night.”
“G’night,” she said.
She watched him walk into the restaurant, happy that the meeting had happened, but sad that it was already over.
Chapter Two
Willow and Aspen was a Victorian townhouse converted into one of the most sought-after restaurants in the city.
“Allow me take your coat,” the maître d said.
Gideon shrugged it off and the man hung it in an actual coat closet. It wasn’t often he saw that here on the West Coast. He could hear his new teammates in the rooms beyond, but he found himself turning to look out the window back at the street. To his surprise, his driver, Cindy, was standing on the sidewalk and arguing with the valet.
She had been the prettiest Uber driver he’d ever had. Asian, obviously, but anything more specific than that, he wasn’t sure. He’d found her eyes especially arresting. Probably because that was the only part of her face he could see in the rearview mirror.
Wondering if he could help, he went back outside.
“Oh, good,” she said. “I’ve been trying to tell this guy you forgot your bag in my car and that I needed to come give it to you.”
“Thanks,” Gideon said, taking it from her. “I didn’t realize I’d left it. Here, buddy.” Gideon handed the valet a twenty. “Leave this nice girl alone.”
Mollified, the kid went back to his little valet stand.
Now that she was out of the car, he realized Cindy had more than just a pretty face. She wore a long sleeved red dress that shimmered slightly when she moved. Her legs were slim and shapely and her mouth… Drenched in lipstick the same shade as her dress, her lips were full and sensual and he seriously wanted to see if they were as soft as they looked.
“You dress pretty snappy for an Uber driver,” he remarked.
She blushed. “I’m, ah, not actually an Uber driver. And my name’s Bailey, not Cindy.”
“Wait. What?”
“I’m a big fan,” she said quickly, “so I didn’t say anything. No harm done, right?” She held out her hand.
After a moment, he laughed. “Nah. No harm done.”
They shook hands and a zing of awareness raced up his arm so he didn’t let her hand go right away. She really was quite beautiful. Her skin looked as soft as satin and her hands were delicate, yet she had a spirited grip. And her wit…sharp as a skate blade.
She gave him a questioning look and because he didn’t want to appear creepy, he let go, reluctantly.
“Are you doing anything right now?” he asked, spur-of-the-moment.
“Other than freezing my patootie off?”
She made him laugh and he liked that about her.
“Because I was wondering if you wouldn’t like to come to the party with me.”
Besides the fact that he wanted to spend more time with her, he wasn’t keen on going to this party alone. He had literally just flown into San Francisco this morning. Marilyn, the woman in charge of team services, had told him he was welcome to attend the Christmas party, or he could just meet the guys at practice in a couple of days.
Wanting the best start possible with his new team, he elected to go to the party, even if it was out of his comfort zone. He really hated parties at which he didn’t know anyone, but he had a coach once who advised him to go out of his comfort zone as much as possible because that was the only way he was going to win at life. If Bailey came with him, he’d have at least one person to talk to.
She laughed. “Come on. Me crash the Dragon Christmas party? Give me a break.”
“It’s not crashing if you come as my date. Come on. It’ll be fun. At the risk of sounding like a bad cliché, I’ll make it good for you.”
One corner of her red mouth quirked up. “I don’t know…because, I was actually going to my work party called ‘Sausages, Suds and Santa,’ which sounds pretty awesome. Does your party have a name?”
“I don’t think so.”
“And it’ll be a bunch of jocks too.”
“Guilty,” he said, but gave her his most charming smile. “But you should give us a chance. We clean up nice and even use utensils when we eat.”
Laughing, she said, “Give me a minute.”
She went to her car and, after giving a look to the valet, got in and made a phone call. She talked animatedly for a couple of minutes and whe
n she glanced at him, he gave her a little wave and a smile of encouragement. When she got out of the car, she handed her keys to the valet and his heart leapt.
“You’re staying?” he asked.
“Yes. For a little while, anyway,” she said.
He grinned. “Excellent.” He turned to go but she tugged on his sleeve.
“Hey,” she said with an adorably shy smile. “To quote my roommate’s favorite movie, ‘In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight.’”
Chapter Three
This was going to be a night Bailey would want to relive over and over. She was going to the Dragon Christmas party with hottie hockey player Gideon Aguilar. It was incredible.
Even though she understood the extraordinary circumstances, Indigo was furious with her for standing her up, but there was no way Bailey was going to pass this up, not even for her bestie.
“Welcome back, sir,” the maître d said. “Each room has different food offerings. There are several open bars. I’m told the gift exchange will be at eleven.”
Hungry, Bailey turned to Gideon, but he didn’t seem to be inclined to move.
“You okay?” she asked, boldly taking his arm.
He glanced over and gave her a wan smile. “Yeah, I just…I’ve been traded before and it’s always tough, but this is the first time I don’t know anyone on the team. Usually there’s at least one person I’ve played with somewhere. And honestly, like I said, I’m not big on parties. I don’t like crowds.”
“You prefer smaller gatherings then.”
He lifted one brawny shoulder and for a moment she could picture him as a small boy, unsure about the first day at a new school or at summer camp. Her heart melted.
“You know,” she said. “I used to hate parties too. I would shy away from meeting people because there would always be these unbearable awkward silences and I would panic inside, not knowing what to say to break the silence.”