Page 64 of Mistletoe Mischief

“After she rejected me?” Pike scoffed. “So, while I was waiting at the bar for you to show up, you were together?”

“It wasn’t like that—”

“Then explain it to me, man, because I knew you liked to razz me, but I always thought you respected me.”

“I do respect you, which is why I didn’t tell you about us over the phone. It’s why I said I wasn’t interested when you asked, even though I’ve been into her for almost a year.”

That was something he hadn’t been expecting to hear.

“The fuck are you talking about?” Pike asked.

“We kissed last year at Merry and Clark’s party. I knew she liked you so I stopped it, but I didn’t forget.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that when I was going on and on about dating her?”

“Because I thought she wanted you, too!”

“And the minute you found out she’d turned me down, you made your move.”

Anthony hesitated. “I honestly didn’t expect you to be so invested, man. It had only been a couple of days.”

Pike laughed. “I can’t believe you’re trying to turn this around on me. Forget the fact that you made a move on her behind my back, you’re my business partner. My brother. And you fucking lied to me. That’s what I can’t get over.”

Pike opened up the driver’s side door and slammed it shut, regret seizing him at the ill treatment of his car, but he was too furious to care at the moment. Pike checked to make sure it was clear and pulled back onto the highway, flipping around at the closest turnout.

Ryler and Jo sat quietly in the passenger seat, and he hated that she’d witnessed his humiliation. She probably thought he was having a jealous meltdown, when it had nothing to do with Delilah and everything to do with Anthony going behind his back and lying.

Trust was everything in any relationship, and if you were doing something that would hurt someone you cared about, you shouldn’t be doing it.

“I’m sorry if I scared you,” he whispered.

“It’s okay. I’m more concerned with how you’re feeling now that you’ve put some distance between you and him. I was afraid for a moment you were going to get into a fistfight.”

“I wanted to hit him, but not because he was with her. It was that he lied rather than just came clean.”

“Maybe he wanted to tell you in person.”

“They hooked up on Wednesday before he met me at Brews and Chews.”

Pike saw Ryler wince out of the corner of his eye. “Ouch.”

“Like I said, not about her. This is about him and me.”

“Are you going to be okay taking us around today, or would you rather take a mental health day?” she asked.

“No, I want to hang with you guys today. Being around people who are genuine and honest will do me some good.”

Chapter Eighteen

Ryler kept glancing over at Pike as he drove, her hand stroking the puppy’s soft fur. She wasn’t sure what to say to Pike, especially since he hadn’t spoken a word for a good ten minutes. While the situations were different, Ryler couldn’t help comparing Alia’s confession about Neil to Pike discovering his best friend hooked up with the woman he was interested in. Although Neil and Ryler had dated, she had no lingering romantic feelings for him, and the only concern she had was one or both people she loved getting hurt.

Pike’s best friend had lied and snuck around behind his back because he hadn’t wanted to hurt him. Or get caught. Either way, Ryler could only imagine what was going through his head.

“The historical site is just over this hill,” Pike said.

“Okay. Where to after this?”

“I thought we’d head west, check out the lake and maybe get some lunch at the lodge. It will be cold, so I don’t know how the rest of the group will feel. I could also take you east to Ketchum. It’s about an hour out of the way, but there are lots of shops and restaurants. Plus, it’s the winter destination for lots of celebrities, so you might get to see one or two. The only issue is a lot of places are closed because it’s Sunday.”