Page 43 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

“Cash is faster if you want to chase after her,” Wally said. “Just don’t forget to put in your club card.”

Anthony punched in his number aggressively, looked at the total and thumbed through his wallet, pulling out a hundred-dollar bill. “Keep the change.” Anthony gathered up his bags and hustled toward the exit.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Anthony!”

“You, too, Wally,” he called over his shoulder. Anthony made it out to the parking lot as Delilah was pulling out of her parking space. He dropped his groceries next to his truck and ran up alongside her. “Stop the car or I’m jumping on the hood.”

Delilah rolled her window down but didn’t stop the car. “Have you lost your mind?”

“No, I’m just not afraid to finish our conversation.”

“Ha! You’re a few days too late to be so brave.”

“When could I talk to you about it, Delilah?” He asked, grabbing her back passenger door and climbing inside. She slammed on the brakes and he grabbed on to the seat as to not pitch forward.

“Get out,” she ground out.

Anthony ignored her, continuing on topic until he got it all out. “After my best friend walked in and started mooning all over you? Would that have been a good time to discuss our misunderstanding? Or how about at the gym? I guess I could have asked you to go outside and talk, but I didn’t want to cause a scene if you refused. Or better yet, should I have interrupted your kissing situation with Pike to tell you that I definitely think you should seek out dynamite men in bed because, of course, you deserve good sex? Would that have sealed the deal with him?”

Delilah turned around to glare at him. “This has nothing to do with Pike and everything to do with you!”

Anthony had enough. “Stop the car, Delilah, and have an adult discussion.”

Delilah whipped the car into a circle and ended up next to his truck. They both got out and while he bent over to pick up his dropped groceries, she let him have it.

“You want to have an adult conversation?” She slammed her hands on her hips, and he could feel her eyes burning a hole into his back as he put the groceries away. “How about apologizing to people immediately when your actions could be misconstrued as hurtful? Who cares if it was in front of Pike? At least I wouldn’t have sat with the idea of you being the biggest asshole in the world.”

“Oh, sugar, I’m not even close to the top ten.” He’d hoped to break the tension with the joke, but it seemed to set her off more.

“Fine. Well, I guess there’s nothing else to discuss,” Delilah said, making a move to get back in her car. “Clearly, you’re not really interested in working through this.”

Before she got far, Anthony picked her up by the waist and tossed her over his shoulder.

“What are you doing? Put me down,” she hollered, pounding her fists against his back.

“Not until we get a few things straight.” Anthony unlocked his truck and opened the passenger side door, keeping his arm locked around Delilah’s calves to hold her in place. He deposited her onto the seat and followed her inside, forcing her to scoot across the bench seat to make room. He closed the door behind him, leaning over her.

“What are you doing,” she snapped, shoving his shoulder.

“I want to know why Pike didn’t fit the bill for your ‘sexually experienced man,’” he said, his voice low and warm, like a caress across her skin, but she would not be seduced by him.

“Why does it matter?” she asked.

Anthony grinned. “Call it overwhelming curiosity.”

“I answer this question, and you’ll drop it?”

“Yes.”

Delilah sighed. “Part of what makes someone good in bed is being attracted to them. It’s why I didn’t press the issue with you after last year.”

Anthony reeled back. “What is that supposed to mean?”

She looked away, refusing to reveal how much his disinterest affected her. “I know that you don’t find me attractive.”

Anthony took her chin in his hand and turned her toward him. “How did you figure that?”

Delilah swallowed hard as his eyes bored into hers. “You stopped our kiss and walked out of the room.”