Page 126 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

Holly glared at him. “I’m sorry, can I please speak with Anthony Russo, the guy who is desperately in love with my best friend and does not want her to move away?”

“What would you like me to do about it?” he asked. “I tried to give her options, and she brushed off every single one.”

“Go after her? Make her see reason,” Holly said, pointing toward the outside of the tent. “I have been doing my best to show her she belongs here but I need help.”

Anthony’s frustration mounted with every flailing hand gesture and he finally said, “I did help.”

“Well try again.”

Anthony sighed, dragging his hands over his face. “I don’t know what else to do, Holly. I told her I loved her and I asked her to move in with me. I offered to help her find a new place and pay for it until she got back on her feet and she said absolutely not.”

“But you didn’t tell her that she was the one.”

“Have you not been listening? That’s exactly what I did.” What was he missing? Anthony had offered her everything he had and somehow it wasn’t enough to make her want to stay.

“You’re coming to her like a white knight instead of like a boyfriend. What are you willing to do if she leaves? Do you want to be driving back and forth and not spending every night with her? Is what you have here more important than what you could have with her?”

“She’s never been anyone’s first choice,” he whispered to himself, the realization hitting him like a ton of bricks.

“Wait, what?” Holly asked.

“I’m going after my girl.”

Chapter Thirty-four

Delilah sat back and stared at the computer screen. She’d signed in to check the analytics of her book, even though she’d told herself to wait a few more hours, but she couldn’t stand it anymore. Two thousand downloads was not a bad start when she’d only been posting about the book for the last few days on TikTok. Holly had helped her pick certain sounds and trends to hop onto and garner more views. As a result, her first book had gone viral after three videos.

Delilah switched over to the spreadsheet she had worked out with her parents, when someone knocked at the door. Her dad was in the garage and her mom was napping, so Delilah got up from the table and went to answer it. When she pulled open the door, Anthony was on the other side standing on her parents’ front porch. His hair was mussed like he’d had it under a hat all day and he stared at her with big, pleading eyes.

“Anthony, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’ve been thinking a lot, and I know that you think it’s too early for us to live together. So, if you want to take that job in Colorado or live in Boise to see what opportunities you have here, I fully support you and understand.”

Delilah smiled at him, warmth spreading throughout her body. “You drove two hours to tell me that?”

“That, and if you decide that coming back to Mistletoe isn’t in the cards for you, I will sell my property and follow you anywhere.”

He finished, his breathing ragged, and her mouth hung open in shock. “What? Anthony, no, it’s not—”

Anthony cut her off, clearly having more to say. “Delilah, I have never had this before and I don’t know how else to show you that this is it for me. You are it for me.”

“Your property is your dream,” she protested, stepping out onto the porch with him. “You can’t give up on building your house and running Adventures in Mistletoe for me.”

“Delilah, of course, I can,” he said, taking her hands in his. “From the moment we fell in love, you became my dream. Everything else just doesn’t matter if I can’t have you to share it with.”

Delilah’s eyes shone with tears. “You are such an idiot.”

“Well, that’s not very nice after he drove all this way and gave you such a romantic speech,” her mom said, stepping into the doorway.

“Mom, can you please give us a little privacy,” Delilah asked, giving Anthony a wide-eyed expression.

“Sorry, sorry.” Her mom went back to the kitchen.

“What I was trying to tell you,” Delilah continued, “is that I drove down here to talk to my parents about an opportunity I have on a fixer-upper property. The owner of the duplex I’m living in now said he would give me a discount on the rent if I agree to make improvements to the property. I didn’t want to get scammed, so my dad was just telling me to get everything in writing. I thought it would be a good compromise instead of moving into your space. I would have my own space while we spend time together, building a solid relationship. And if you really want me to be a part of your home and future, then it won’t be a situation where we have to live together; it will be because we want to live together. That’s all I was ever trying to do. I didn’t expect you to come and give up everything that you’ve worked so hard for me,” she said, tears running down her face.

“I’m happy to hear that,” Anthony said, bringing her into his arms. “I just want you to know that when it comes to you, everything else is a no-brainer.”

“Even Pike,” she teased.