Page 48 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

Anthony held up a hand. “Did you say knitting?”

“Yeah, it relaxes me.” She stepped onto the porch and closed the door on her dog. “I’ll put this in the car, come back for Leia, and lock it.”

“If you want to leave them by the trunk, I can put them in after I load mine. I just need to set these down.” Anthony held up the pastry bag with a sheepish grin. “I don’t know why I thought we’d have time to eat before we hit the road.”

Delilah rolled her eyes with a huff. “I told you I wanted to be gone by eight.”

“So you did.” Anthony followed Delilah down the walkway toward her car. Despite his protests on the ridiculous dress, he enjoyed the view. He set the bag and the coffee cups on the driver’s seat and shut the door. When he looked at the back of the car, Delilah was trying to lift the massive suitcase into the trunk. “What are you doing? I told you I’d get it.”

“Maybe I don’t like being bossed around?” she grunted, setting the suitcase back down.

“That’s funny,” he said, passing her to grab his duffle from his truck. When he returned to her side, Anthony dropped his bag into the space and took the handle of her suitcase from her, lifting it into the trunk easily. “The night I took you home wrapped in my blanket, you liked it fine. You disobeyed me and came running back to me so that I’d carry you inside again.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Yeah, well, that was before.”

Anthony shut the trunk and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest as he grinned down at her. “I also remember you doing exactly what I said last night.”

“That is in a completely different capacity and has nothing to do with right now,” she said, setting the tote bag in the back seat. “Can you start the car while I get my dog?”

“Someone woke up feisty today.”

“I’m just trying to stick to a schedule,” she said, pulling out her phone and tapping the screen. “I had us leaving five minutes ago, and in an hour or so, we’ll stop for a bathroom break and continue to Boise.”

Anthony ate up the distance between them and plucked her phone out of her hand, studying the detailed chart. “This is very type A of you. I would have never figured that.”

“Only because my parents expect me at a certain time,” Delilah said, hopping up to grab her phone, but Anthony held it just out of reach, “and they start calling if I don’t arrive within a ten-minute window.” Finally, she gave up her ridiculous retrieval mission and asked, “Can I please have my phone?”

“Of course, you just needed to ask,” he teased, ignoring her fuming. “Better get your little dog so we can get back on track.”

Anthony heard her grumble something about impossible men, but he didn’t take offense. He’d rather have Delilah griping and sarcastic than ignoring him any day of the week. He moved the food bag and coffee onto the passenger seat and tried climbing into the driver’s seat, but his knees wouldn’t fit under the wheel. His head hit the ceiling and he scrambled for the seat adjustments on the side when his leg got stuck. The seat was so close to the steering wheel that he couldn’t climb back out and kept pressing the seat adjustment frantically, taking deep, calming breaths as he was able to adjust slowly.

When Delilah came into view holding Leia’s leash, Anthony continued holding the button. “Jeez, I didn’t realize how short you were.”

“Excuse me?” Delilah said, placing one hand on her hip.

“I’m just saying, I’m not sure if this seat goes back far enough for me.” Anthony pressed down on the other button and the seat dropped slowly. Finally, he could sit up straight instead of keeping his head at a painful angle.

“If you need me to drive, I will,” Delilah said sweetly.

“Nope, I think I’ve got it.” He tilted his seat back a tad and when he was finally comfortable, he moved the coffees into her cup holders and placed the pastry bag on the middle console. Delilah opened the back door and pulled a folded cube out of the pocket on the passenger chair. She hooked the two straps on the cube into the back seat before picking up Leia and setting her inside, attaching a short leash in the cube’s center to her harness.

“Is that a car seat for your dog?”

“Yes, why? She needs to be safe, too,” Delilah said.

Anthony didn’t comment, as she already seemed to be on guard with him. He’d hoped that texting her to say he’d made it home safe and adding the number of hours before Anthony would see her again would soften her to the fact that he was being genuine, but apparently not.

When she climbed into the passenger seat, Anthony cleared his throat. “Delilah, do you not want me to drive you? Because I can take off now if you want nothing to do with me.”

Delilah ran a hand over her head with a small laugh. “I’m not angry with you. I’m nervous. I will be stuck in a car with you for two and a half hours, and I have no idea what you’ll say.”

“Do you want me to go through the highlights, and you can decide if I’m worth the drive?” he asked, turning in the seat to face her. “Your mom and dad will understand if you’re a few minutes late.”

“You’re probably right.” Delilah reached for the coffee closest to her and twisted so she could watch him. “Go ahead. Lay it on me.”

No point in pussyfooting around it. “I haven’t had sex with you because I’ve been celibate for almost two years.” Delilah’s mouth opened, most likely in shock, and he chuckled. “You probably weren’t expecting that, huh?”

“No, I wasn’t,” she said, studying him. “Why are you celibate?”