Page 9 of Doc Defence

Glancing at the table of men sitting in front of her, there wasn’t much chance of being set up as most of the players were at least ten years younger than her and ‘occupied’ with ladies who were equally young. Frost was the only one close in age and he was taken.

“Great. Wait a minute, and I’ll take you over and introduce you to everyone.” Frost gestured over to the table of hockey players. “And make sure they pry their lips off their dates before you arrive.”

He added the last bit so quietly that Hel wasn’t entirely sure she was meant to have heard it.

Frost picked up the cocktail and wrinkled his nose at it, looking faintly disgusted.

“I’m assuming the frou frou drink isn’t for you?” Hel enquired dryly. Trying not to let her eyes stray to his forearms, where she could see rippling cords of muscle tensing under his tattooed skin.

“Yes, it’s mine,” he responded equally dryly with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Ah, yes. I did pick you as a fancy cocktail man. The umbrella, in particular, is a very manly touch,” Hel joked back at him.

She was about to say more, but realisation hit her. Was she flirting with him? Why was she trying to flirt with him? He had a girlfriend. He had literally told them he wasn’t single. And the drink was quite clearly for said girlfriend, who was less than ten meters away.

Hel clammed up and dropped her gaze from his arresting green eyes. Feeling suddenly very awkward.

“It’s okay. Maybe we should leave the boys to their fun tonight. I can see them at the next game,” she muttered and turned away from him. “Sadie, there’s a table over there.”

Hel pointed to a table on the opposite side of the pub to the hockey team.

“Okay,” Sadie said, glancing between her friend and Frost.

“No,” Frost exclaimed so loudly both girls turned to stare at him. He dropped his voice to normal levels. “They’ll want to meet you. Trust me.”

And without waiting for any further objections, he strode off through the pub, the crowd of people parting before him as he manoeuvred his giant frame back to the table.

Sadie waggled her eyebrows suggestively, “That is one attractive man.”

“He has a girlfriend,” Hel responded flatly.

“And I have a husband. I was merely making an observation.” Sadie giggled. “Do you think if I ask, he’ll let me look at his tattoos? I wonder how many he has.”

“George.” Hel rolled her eyes at her friend, who tended to be a little bit distractible when handsome men were around, and Frost was handsome.

He had the physique that could only be achieved by someone who spent a serious amount of time working out, and his square jaw, covered in just the right amount of stubble, had Hel itching to stroke his cheek.

No, she wasn’t. What on earth was she thinking? She didn’t want to stroke his cheek. She didn’t want to touch him. The only one allowed to touch him was his girlfriend, who he had placed the colourful concoction the bartender created in front of.

Staring harder, she saw his girlfriend was at least ten years younger than she was, with the dewy skin and fresh look which could only be achieved by someone in their twenties. And she was absolutely stunning, with lustrous black locks, which hung in a shiny curtain down her back, and not a single hair out of place. As Hel watched, the other woman flicked her hair so it fanned out, then settled back into a smooth, inky sheet.

She reached up and touched her ginger curls without thinking. Well, they would be curls if she bothered to do her hair properly, but between working her full-time job and taking on hockey as an extra duty on her days off, she didn’t have time to do too much hair care.

Oh, who was she kidding? Even if she had all the time in the world to do her hair, she still probably wouldn’t bother, it had never particularly struck her as a priority.

And the other woman’s makeup was total perfection. It was clear she was wearing an absolute truckload of cosmetics, but it was done so well that men would likely stop her and tell her she was a natural beauty and not realise the time and effort which had gone into the look and the fact she was wearing enough products to season a wok.

She was so envious of this stunning woman. She was absolute perfection, she was—

“Babbbbeeeeeee,” Frost’s girlfriend exclaimed. “You know I can’t have anything green near my face, it totally washes out my complexion. You need to fetch a different-coloured umbrella for me.”

And suddenly, she wasn’t so attractive any more, as her grating, nasally voice pierced the ears of everyone in the pub.

“It’s fine.” Frost’s raised voice had a growling quality which made Hel’s stomach turn over until she once again reminded herself about the young, hot girlfriend.

Hel turned to the bartender. “Hey mate?” she called to get his attention. When he walked over to her, she asked, “Any chance I can grab a cocktail umbrella in each colour?”

“Ummmm,” the bartender hesitated, then cringed when even he heard Frost’s girlfriend’s high-pitched demands.

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