Page 37 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

Anthony frowned at her. “Why do you say that?”

“I can’t agree with you about someone’s character?” she asked.

Anthony leaned onto the table, his eyes boring into her intensely. “Did they say something to you?”

“Not lately, but I know how they are,” Delilah said, her nose scrunched in distaste. “They’re dogs.”

Anthony glanced over at Nick, who shook his head as Clark ushered him out the door. Delilah watched Anthony’s jaw clench at the silent warning and wondered, What was that about?

“I’ll be back in a bit, Mer,” Clark called over his shoulder before the door shut.

“Okay,” she said weakly.

“It’s an auction, not a popularity contest,” Holly muttered, tapping the dry-erase pen against her palm. “I still say we include them.”

“Any other suggestions?” Delilah asked, refusing to get into a debate with Holly about this without Merry as backup.

“What about Shane Hill?” Pike offered.

Delilah brightened. “Oh, yeah. The new firefighter. He’s nice. We had an issue when the heaters kicked on at school, and a mouse nest caught fire in the vents. They had to call the department, and he came out to tell us we were all good.”

“Doing his job makes him nice?” Anthony asked with an obvious ’tude in his tone.

She raised her eyebrow. “He also introduced himself to the teachers. When I told him I was just a sub, he commented about me being a superhero because I can tackle any age or subject.”

“At least we know he’s got game,” Pike joked.

Delilah swatted him playfully. “He wasn’t flirting with me.”

“Oh, he was. You just didn’t appreciate it.” Pike’s blue eyes sparkled, leaning his elbow on the table and cradling his head in his hand. “Not the way you do me.”

“Hey, Romeo, court my bestie on your own time. If you want to stay, then get your head in the game.” Holly wrote down his name. “Alright, Shane is on the list. Who else?”

“Let me think about it while I hydrate,” Delilah said, getting up and walking around the dining room table to where Merry was lying on the couch. “I’m going to get a glass of water. Are you sure you don’t want something to drink or a cool compress?”

“Actually, I’d like both,” Merry whispered, flashing her a small smile. “Thanks, Delilah.”

“Of course.”

“I’m tapping out to use the restroom.” Pike got up and headed for the bathroom but suddenly spun around, snapping his fingers. “Ollie Vincent. He worked the road crew with us and is divorced now. Good guy. Carry on.”

“I’ll be right back,” Delilah said, heading into the kitchen. Growing up, she’d been in the Winters home enough times that she knew where everything was. She watched Pike disappear into the bathroom, wondering at his overzealous flirtation. If he asked her out, how would she explain that she was no longer into him?

While Delilah grabbed a glass from the cupboard, she heard Holly ask from the other room, “Do the rest of you have anyone else in your back pocket?”

“If I give up eleven names, can I sit this out?” Anthony asked.

Delilah was surprised that Anthony didn’t want to do it. She’d never heard that he was the shy type.

“Absolutely not,” Holly snapped.

“Whoa, I was just asking.”

“You’re like a white whale, Ant,” Holly said, and Delilah could tell by the glee in her voice that Holly was grinning. “Especially now that we know you’re a love virgin. Every girl is going to be clamoring to be the one to steal your heart.”

The image of women rushing the stage, possibly chucking panties at Anthony like he was a rock star, soured her stomach. Delilah reentered the room in time to overhear Anthony grumble, “Hey, I didn’t share that for you to use it as public information. I don’t like that.”

Neither do I. Delilah handed Merry the glass of water and the cool compress she’d collected and went back to her seat.