Page 33 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

“You’re right, I don’t.” Merry tickled her sister’s ribs and Holly moved out of the way, giggling. Merry took the opportunity to erase the names again. “Therefore, we agree. No jerks.”

“Delilah, help me out.” Holly flopped into the closest chair, clasping her hands in front of her. “Even if we don’t like someone, other women in town will fall all over themselves to bid on them.”

Delilah shot Merry an apologetic smile. “She isn’t wrong.”

“Fine, we’ll come back to them. Who else do we have?”

“I think we should ask other women of different ages. We’re limiting ourselves to men in our age group and above. At the gym …” Delilah’s face burned. She tried to think of the right way to word what she wanted to convey, or Holly would be all over her.

“What about the gym?” Holly asked.

Delilah tucked a hair back behind her ear. “I saw some men I didn’t recognize that were interesting looking.”

“Interesting how?” Holly asked, watching her squirm.

“It should not be this hard to fill a bachelor auction roster,” Merry muttered, taking the seat next to Holly.

“I just mean that there were men from their early twenties to their mid-sixties, and we shouldn’t just assume that every woman wants what we do. We must broaden our search.”

There had been several men at the gym she’d noticed since she started going Monday, but she didn’t want to admit to herself there was only one she was looking for. When she’d bumped into Anthony after her explosion at his shop, Delilah had expected him to approach her to talk about it. Instead, he’d left without a word, and she couldn’t decipher if she was relieved or disappointed.

“Good point. Maybe we should put it out on social media? It would be a good way to garner interest, and the men can come to us,” Holly said, crooking her finger. “Come here, big boy. You know you wanna be auctioned for charity.”

Delilah laughed. It had been a long time since she’d hung out with both Winters sisters, but it was lovely to be invited. Even if she wasn’t a Christmas enthusiast, this time of year was essential to the town, as were all the events leading up to it. She wanted to do her part.

If only she hadn’t noticed Anthony’s truck by the tree tent outside. Delilah knew that Anthony and Pike came out to help the Winters family prepare for the rush of townspeople who picked up their trees the day after Thanksgiving. Instead of a family business, they should call the tree farm a family and friends business. She hoped he’d be too busy setting up for the post-Thanksgiving crowds to come to the house and would stay out in the flocking tent.

“On another note, do we want them to come out in casual, evening, or costumes?” Holly asked.

Delilah laughed. “Costumes? Like what, the Village People?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of a lumberjack. Handyman. Cop,” Holly drawled out each word seductively, waggling her eyebrows.

“You’re getting a little extra there, Hol, and I’m going to need you to dial it back,” Merry said.

“I’m a saleswoman and fantasy sells.”

The front door opened, and Clark came through with Nick, Pike, Anthony, and Declan trailing behind. Delilah’s stomach dropped as she took in Anthony’s disheveled appearance before he disappeared into the bathroom. Pike waved at her before he headed into the kitchen. The faucet turned on, and several of the men joined him, presumably to wash their hands.

“You look like you’ve been rolling on the ground,” Merry said, lifting her face for a kiss from Clark. He leaned down to oblige her. He pulled away, holding his hands up. “I’m disgusting, or I’d hug you, too.”

Merry’s Great Pyrenees, Daisy, got up from the bed in the living room corner and trotted around, greeting each man, starting with Clark.

“Hey, Daisy Mae,” he said, his gaze traveling over the room. “Where is Jace?”

“He went with Mom to grab pizzas,” Merry said, referring to their son. “With tomorrow being Thanksgiving, she didn’t want to cook.”

When Anthony returned to the room, Delilah tried to look anywhere but at him. She’d already noticed too much about him, like how the green of his flannel was the same color as his eyes or that his neck was streaked with dirt before he’d headed into the bathroom. Delilah busied herself with reading the list of men who had agreed to participate in the bachelor auction so she wouldn’t accidentally catch his gaze. Or Pike’s.

After Anthony awkwardly threw her under the bus by mentioning his blanket at the shop, she’d made up a story about locking herself out of her car and Anthony letting her use his blanket to stay warm. Pike hadn’t pressed her for more, especially after she ducked out when she spotted Holly, but he had followed her to get her number. It should have thrilled her, but she’d been impatient, itching to escape him.

Delilah wasn’t sure how it had happened, but her interest in Pike had fizzled like an antacid in a cup of water.

Ironically, she’d instigated changes in her life meant to catch the attention of sexually confident men, and the one she had wanted for so long was there for the taking, but now she found his interest insulting. Everyone knew how she felt about Pike, and he first noticed her because of a shiny dress like a ferret and a set of keys. Delilah hadn’t considered how frustrating it would be if her plan worked on men who had known her for years. Or it could be his overexuberant attention that turned her off? Sex-gods were supposed to be relaxed and commanding.

Like Anthony ordering you to stay in the truck so your feet wouldn’t get cold?

Nope, she wasn’t thinking about Anthony in that capacity. He’d stopped their kiss last year because he wasn’t interested. He’d laughed at her when she admitted the truth about her wardrobe upgrade. Plus, the way he’d disappeared at the gym after seeing her? He was a coward, and she didn’t have the patience for his games.