Page 113 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

“Hmmm,” Delilah said, making a face in the truck dome light, “blue and orange are not my colors.”

Anthony stuck his tongue out at her and closed the door on her laughter, going over the conversation he’d been practicing for hours in his head as he walked around the truck bed. He was going to ask her if she really had a plan for a new place to live or if she was putting on a brave face, because either way, he wanted to be a part of her decision. To let her know he was here to support her because he had plans.

Anthony hopped into the driver’s seat and started the truck up, rubbing his hands together as the heater kicked on with cold air. “That temperature really dropped, huh?”

“It sure did.” Delilah didn’t offer up anything else, staring out the window at the darkened street.

He put the truck in drive, heading toward her home, which was only a few streets over. There wasn’t much time to have the conversation he’d been dreading for hours, afraid he was going to say the wrong thing and piss her off.

It’s now or never, man.

“Delilah,” he said, clearing his throat nervously, “I need to ask you something and I want you to be honest.”

“Okay,” she drawled, turning in the passenger seat. “Shoot.”

“Are you in trouble?” Anthony asked.

“You’re going to need to be more specific, since trouble is a euphemism for any number of issues, including unplanned pregnancy, which I am not since we haven’t—”

“I mean are you in a tight spot?” There. Not as tactful as he’d planned to be, but the Band-Aid was ripped off. “You’ve been on edge the last couple days and then you bring up losing your rental tonight out of blue.”

“I didn’t want to put a damper on the evening.”

“I appreciate that, but I hope you know that if you need help, you just have to ask.”

“What do you mean by help?” she asked slowly, a wary edge in her voice.

“I mean, if you need to borrow some money to get by—”

“I am not going to take money from you,” she said curtly.

Anthony looked away from the road at her stiff posture and set jaw, cursing himself for not saying the right thing. “Lila, I love you. I’m not trying to insult you. I just want to help you.”

“I don’t need you to take care of me, Anthony.” Her tone was sharp and precise, leaving him with the impression that he had definitely crossed a line he hadn’t known existed. “Like I said, I have options. They might not be great options, but if it means not owing anyone or taking advantage of my friends, then that’s what I’ll have to do.”

“What do you mean, taking advantage of your friends?” he asked.

“Holly already offered to let me stay with them, but I’m not going to do that.”

“That seems like a temporary solution that works perfectly for now, so why not?”

“Because they deserve to have their privacy without me invading their space.”

You can invade my space.

It was on the edge of Anthony’s tongue to tell Delilah that his trailer was hers, but if she reacted so heatedly to him offering to loan her money, he was afraid asking her to move in would send her over the edge.

Proceeding cautiously, he queried, “What are your options then?”

“I could always stay with my parents for a little while. Just until I got back on my feet.”

“In Boise? You would rather move two hours away from your friends and me than accept help when it’s offered?” Throwing caution to the wind, he continued, “What about my place?”

Delilah sucked in a breath. “You want me to stay with you?”

“Why not?” he said, warming up to the idea. “I’ve been including you in plans for my house and you’re into that.”

“Anthony, deciding to move in together because we want to is different than doing it because we’re afraid our relationship can’t survive a little distance.”