How the Hitman Stole Christmas - Sam Mariano Page 0,5
much and they don’t even know me, so…” She looks at the steering wheel a little awkwardly. I think she’s trying to convince herself as much as me. Looking back at me with a deliberately bright smile, she concludes, “He gave me his credit card, though, so at least I didn’t have to foot the bill.”
I ignore her light-hearted attempt to excuse her boyfriend for being a selfish prick. “Well, better get that credit card out because there’s no spare in the trunk. You’re gonna have to have the car towed.”
Her face falls. It’s not my fault, but I still feel like an asshole. “Oh, no. Seriously? Brady’s going to kill me.”
She mutters that last part to herself as she covers her face with her gloved hands, but I pick it up and it makes me dislike her boyfriend that much more.
Thinking over everything she’s said, I glance at the bags full of Christmas gifts in the backseat—at the evidence of how hard she’s trying. Every bag is overflowing. A couple different tubes of wrapping paper are poking out of one shopping bag, and I see a bag of bows, too.
An idea occurs to me. A fucking crazy one, but that’s never stopped me before.
This woman is all set to go home for the holidays to meet her boyfriend’s family—maybe she’s just got the wrong guy.
I have a family expecting me for Christmas. I need bags full of presents to give them. I need festive paper to wrap those presents in, and I guess it couldn’t hurt to throw on a few bows.
Hell, I could even use a girlfriend to bring home with me.
This girlfriend is technically already spoken for, I guess, but the guy she’s with sounds like a dick.
I shift my gaze back to her just as she uncovers her face. She’ll never have to worry about me getting pissy with her for breaking down by the side of the road. There’s no reason he should, except that he’s an asshole—it’s not like it was her fault.
I’m practically doing her a favor.
“You know what, maybe there is another option.”
The girl looks up at me, her big blue eyes brightening with hope. “Really?”
I nod, looking her over and liking my plan more by the second. “I know a guy who owns an auto repair shop. Why don’t we take a ride to his place and get you a new tire? If they don’t have this model in stock, I can ask him to tow it for you as a favor to me. He won’t make you pay.”
Her eyes widen and I almost feel bad at how excited she gets. “Oh my gosh, really? You’re amazing. You really are my savior. Thank you so much!”
I flash her a smile I hope isn’t too sharkish and take a step back so she can open her car door. “Why don’t we load all this stuff into my car and take it with us? We don’t want to risk anyone breaking in and stealing it. Plus, this way, if the car has to be towed, I can just give you a ride to your boyfriend’s place and you’ll have all your things.”
I overexplain my fake motive to cover all my bases and make sure she does what I want her to without skepticism, but it appears I didn’t need to. This girl is not the suspicious type, and she’s already typed me as a good guy since I stopped to help her when she was stranded by the side of the road. Maybe it was the desperation of the situation, maybe she’s young, or maybe she’s just exceptionally trusting. Whatever the case, I can tell it never once occurred to her to be wary of me.
“Thank you so, so much,” she says, grabbing her purse and phone, then grabbing a bottle of water out of the cup holder in the center. She flashes me a bright, grateful smile as she climbs out of the car.
Now that I’ve decided she’s mine, the sight of her smile warms me a little.
I look forward to getting to know this pretty little snowflake. I don’t think she’s anything like my usual type, but I’m open-minded. Just because she’s not what I’m used to doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy her.
And I will enjoy her.
For now, I play the knight in shining armor. I smile back as non-threateningly as I’m able, then I help her move the bags of Christmas goodies from her ex-boyfriend’s rental car into mine.