Page 8 of Mistletoe Mischief

Noel nodded. “I just know you’ve had a tough couple of years with dating and relationships, and I don’t want you to jump into something that could cause complications later.”

Anthony sat quietly drinking his beer, and Pike turned to him expectantly. “Is this what you think, too?”

He held both hands up in surrender, his beer clutched in his fist. “Hey, your love life is your business.”

Pike snapped his fingers and pointed at Anthony. “Uh-uh, none of that shit. You said something Saturday about me just liking her because of a dress. You’ve got opinions. Share with the class.”

Anthony took a long pull of his beer, finally admitting, “I think that you’re looking for something, and Delilah happened to catch your eye at the right moment. You two are a lot alike.”

“Shouldn’t that be a good thing? We’ll have things in common.”

“Except,” Noel interjected, reaching out to take Nick’s hand, smiling sweetly. “I’ve found that opposites tend to attract.”

Pike made a face. “And sometimes being too different leads to friction.”

“We just don’t want you to settle, regret it, and then someone gets hurt,” Noel said.

“Well, despite your low opinion of me, I’m not using Delilah.” When Noel started to interject, Pike held up his hand. “Let me finish. I think she’s beautiful and funny and sweet. It just took me a little longer to wrap my head around it because she is Holly’s friend and the timing was off.”

“And that’s fine,” Noel said quickly. “We just wanted to check in and make sure that was where your head was at.”

“Fine.” Pike picked up the notepad and pen off the coffee table where he’d left it and settled back into his couch. “If we’re done dissecting my romantic motives, maybe we can get this list started for the winter games.”

“Sure,” Nick said, snatching another piece of pizza from the box. “What about a holiday baking cook-off, like they had in The Grinch? I volunteer as fudge judge.”

The group collectively made a sound between a chuckle and groan, breaking the tension.

“I do agree that food is a must,” Noel said, patting her husband’s knee. “What about food trucks? You’re having it at the park, right?”

Pike nodded. “Yeah, we could have a line of vendors along the edge. I’ll reach out to them tomorrow.” Pike started writing down the ideas and to-do list. “And despite his dorky-ass comment, I do like the holiday food contest. What about games and activities?”

“I think it should be an accumulation of events,” Anthony said, finishing off his beer and getting up to throw it away. Over his shoulder, he said, “We can have some strange demonstrations, like chainsaw ice sculpting or something, in one tent. Maybe a hockey game.”

“We definitely want to do a winter relay,” Pike said, the wheels already turning.

“What do you have in mind? It will be too cold to swim,” Nick said.

Noel nodded. “You could sled for one leg.”

“Maybe that hill past the elementary school?” Pike offered.

“I’ve seen people ski on roadways. We have to hope for fresh snow, but that could be fun,” Anthony said.

They sat quietly for several beats, before Noel laughed. “We have lived here our whole lives and can’t come up with winter activities? Lame! What are some other things you do when it’s cold outside?”

“Make snowmen?” Nick said.

“Snowball fights?” Anthony added.

“Maybe the skier could dodge snowballs while picking up snowman supplies.” Pike saw Noel’s skeptical expression and pressed on, “Hear me out. The last leg could be a sprint to a designated finish line where they have to build their best snowman.”

“It has to be more than just a sprint,” Nick said.

“What if they have to suit up in a Grinch costume?” Noel joked.

Pike stroked his chin. “That’s not a bad idea.”

“You can do that!” Anthony laughed.