Page 96 of Mistletoe Mischief

“Hey, Ryler, welcome back!”

“Thanks. My cousin hadn’t seen your shop, and we’ve had a pretty awful day, so we figured it called for shakes and some Christmas cheer.”

Holly laughed. “Well, this is my support system, Erica Pace. She keeps me from losing my mind.”

“Unless I start talking about hockey, and then all bets are off,” Erica said, grinning at them.

“Maybe Neil should play hockey,” Alia said, an evil glint in her eye. “Then some big, burly enforcer could knock him into the wall.”

Ryler smiled. “Her special friend is being a douche.”

“A total d-bag,” Alia agreed.

“If you’re looking for somewhere to get away from your worries and blow off some steam, you should come to book club with us,” Holly said.

“Don’t we need to have read the book to attend?”

“No, it’s not that kind of book club. We all read something different and then come together to enjoy wine and conversation and talk about the books.”

“Holly came up with the idea because my dark romance picks would scare some of the older ladies. But if you’re into the morally gray heroes, I got some book recs that would blow your mind and break your vibrator.”

Ryler laughed. “Now that sounds intriguing.”

“We’ll talk later,” Erica said with a wink.

Ryler glanced over at Alia, who was examining a Baby’s First Christmas ornament. “What do you say, Alia? Want to go have a girls’ night?”

Alia nodded rapidly, dropping the ornament back on the tree. “More estrogen and less testosterone, yes, please.”

Chapter Thirty

Pike sat on his couch with Jo sprawled across his lap, holding his phone in his hand. He should text Nick at least and rap out how he was feeling after Delilah’s truth bomb. Pike dialed Nick, but he sent him to voicemail after one ring.

“Fine, jerk, I’m calling your wife,” Pike said aloud. Jo lifted her head and looked up at him, staring at him with unblinking dark eyes. “It’s not what you think. She’s just a friend.”

Jo laid her head back down again, and Pike dialed Noel.

“Yello,” she said brightly.

“Well, you sound like you’re in a super mood.”

“I am. I get to go to book club at Delilah’s tonight instead of heading into work. What’s not to be happy about?”

“Well, great,” Pike said, stroking Jo’s fur. “Listen, I tried calling your husband first, but he sent me to voicemail, so you’re my backup plan.”

“Insulting, but continue.”

“I bumped into Delilah at the store, who told me that Anthony broke things off with her because of what happened with me.”

“I heard something similar,” Noel said.

“Which I can’t understand, because if he wanted her so badly it was worth lying to me, why lose the both of us?”

“Maybe he couldn’t be happy with her until he fixed things with you?”

“That is ridiculous,” Pike grumbled.

“I’m also pretty sure it happens to be true,” Noel said. “Listen, I don’t want to end up on your bad side, but Delilah might be on to something. Anthony is miserable, and although I think losing you is a big part of it, I don’t think it’s the only thing that’s making him a wreck. I think he knows that his feelings for Delilah are real, and he doesn’t know what to do about them.”