Page 110 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

Delilah nodded and he kissed her like they had all the time in the world.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Lillianne came running out. Anthony had seconds to release Delilah and catch his niece on the fly, holding her in the air with a laugh.

“You better be careful, Lil! You keep trying to catch me off guard and one of these days you’re going to get dropped.”

“You won’t drop me,” she said, her young voice sure. Lillianne looked over at Delilah, her voice sweetly curious. “Who are you?”

“I’m Delilah.”

Lillianne looked at Anthony, her forehead furrowed and her tiny pink lips pursed thoughtfully. “Is this your girlfriend?”

“She is,” Anthony said, balancing his niece on his hip. “I thought it was time for my two favorite girls to meet.”

Lillianne seemed to consider this with her head cocked to the side and finally broke the silence by asking, “Do you like dolls?”

Delilah smiled. “I love dolls, although it’s been a while since I’ve played with them.”

“Mom got me a new one because my mean cousin broke my first one, but Unca Antney got her back. He stole her game.”

Anthony burst out laughing at Delilah’s horrified look. “Stole is such a strong word.”

“My little brother is like Robin Hood,” Bradley called from the doorway. “Only he steals from the naughty and gives to the nice.”

Anthony took her hand with his free one, leading her up the walkway. “Har har.”

“So, he’s Santa Hood?” Delilah quipped, squeezing his hand.

Bradley chuckled. “Exactly. My wife is going to love you. You two have the same sense of humor.” Bradley leaned inside, calling, “Audrey! Anthony is here with his guest.”

Bradley stepped back and let Anthony and Delilah pass by. Lillianne squirmed out of her uncle’s arms and took off for the back room. “I’m going to get my doll.”

Audrey leaned out of a door down the hall, calling after her in a stage whisper, “Don’t wake your brother!”

“I won’t,” the little girl responded loudly.

Audrey shook her head and padded down the hallway in bare feet, holding out a hand to Delilah as she drew nearer. “Hi, I’m Bradley’s wife, Audrey. You’re Delilah?”

“Yes. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Audrey shot Anthony a wicked smile, her eyebrow arched. “Not sure I’ve ever met one of Anthony’s girlfriends before.”

“That’s because he hasn’t brought one around,” Bradley said, grinning. “You must be pretty special.”

“She is,” Anthony said, pulling her closer to his side.

“Well, come on in and sit down,” Audrey said, leading the way into an open living room to the left of the entrance way. “I want to hear all about how you two met.”

“Oh, boy, that’s a weird one,” Delilah said.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Anthony argued. “The first time we met was at Holly’s … sixth birthday?” Anthony took a seat on the couch, pulling her down with him. “Pike and I were spending the night with Nick and his mom told us to leave you girls alone.”

“You remember that?” she whispered.

“Well, you were wearing that fluffy blue dress with the different color bows on the skirt. It was such an eyesore, it was hard to forget.”

Delilah pinched him and he playfully whimpered, “Ow, be gentle! I’m injured.”

“I noticed the bruise, although it looks like it’s almost healed,” Bradley said, pointing to his cheek. “What happened?”