Page 92 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

“Perfect,” Merry said, picking up Delilah’s papers and adding them to the stack. She leaned a palm over them, facing Delilah with a sweet smile. “Will you type them up and send them to Holly in a Google form? She’s going to make the brochure and it will be easier for her to copy and paste the info under the pictures.”

“Absolutely. When do you need them by?”

“Would Sunday morning be alright?” Merry asked. “No need to dive into them tonight. With the Festival of Trees tomorrow, I doubt Holly will have time to look at them until then.”

“Sounds good.” Delilah picked up the papers and clutched them to her chest, anticipation making her antsy. Anthony had texted her several times, asking when she was going to be finished and Delilah couldn’t wait to get some quality time with him. “If you don’t need anything else, I’m going to head out.”

“Oh, yeah?” Holly said, appearing beside her with a sly grin. “Doing anything special? Or should I say, doing anyone?”

Delilah’s face burned and she elbowed Holly in the ribs. “Shut up. We’re just going to dinner.”

“Before he has you for dessert?” Holly teased.

“You’re a monster.”

“If I’m lying then why are you blushing?”

“If you want to hit her, by all means, go right ahead,” Merry said, rubbing a hand over her stomach. “I’d help you hold her down, but I have precious cargo.”

“Delilah loves me,” Holly said.

“Do I?” Delilah responded, feigning surprise.

Merry chuckled. “I’ll leave you two to hash out your friendship status. Thanks for your help, Delilah. I’m going to find my husband, put my feet up, and hopefully convince him to rub them. I’m beat.”

“’Night, sis.”

“Good night, Merry,” Delilah called, watching Merry waddle away. When they were alone, Holly grinned in the most unsettling way at Delilah.

“What?” she asked suspiciously.

“Nothing,” Holly singsonged. “I just love how he is with you.”

“Who? Anthony?”

Holly snorted. “No, Santa Claus!” She hopped up to sit on the table, that smile widening. “I’ve never seen him with a girlfriend—at least, not that I can remember—but he is like a kid. Less serious. And you look happy.”

“It’s early still,” Delilah said, hesitantly. The last thing she wanted to do was jinx this, especially since they really hadn’t been dating long in the scheme of things.

“Why are you so afraid of being happy?” Holly asked.

“I’m not afraid.” Delilah gripped the stack of papers against her chest like a defensive shield. “I’m just cautious. I’m afraid if I’m too excited, he’ll dip.”

“I just watched that man rush across the room like a bus was headed straight for you to keep another guy from kissing you. That should make you jump up and down like a kangaroo.”

“With all the stress I’ve got going on, I’m living in the moment. No pressure, no hype.”

“You sound like that car dealership ad they play every commercial break,” Holly said, reaching for her hand. “Talk to me. I know things didn’t go well with that editor and you think your only option is to move to Colorado or find another job elsewhere, but what about self-pubbing your book? Have you thought any more about it?”

Delilah sighed, setting the papers down next to Holly and leaning her hip against the table. “I’ve been researching, but it’s a lot of money up front. It would demolish my savings and the editors I’ve contacted are months out.”

“You said your agent read through it and already pointed out major plot holes, right?” Holly asked.

“Yes?”

“That should work as your main content editing. What about one of the teachers you work with? Could they read it and just look for grammatical errors?” Holly shrugged. “That’s one way to cut down on costs. Or an online editing program? Something you can use for each book.”

“How do you know about this stuff?” Delilah asked.