Page 30 of Mistletoe Mischief

“No,” Alia said, her gaze shifting away. “None worth mentioning, at least.” Alia squeezed her hand and gave it a tug. “Come on, let’s get our tree.”

Ryler let Alia drag her along, curious about her shifting moods. Was it the holidays making her cousin act so out of character? Maybe she was asking too much. While Ryler had warm memories of her parents during Christmas, Alia didn’t.

“It really is pretty here,” Alia admitted.

When they reached the white canopy, Ryler poked her head inside. It was bustling with people getting their trees flocked and shoved into cocoons of netting, and Ryler kept her eye out in case a familiar redhead popped up.

Alia gave her a little shove from behind. “Are we going in or what?”

“Yes, I was just trying to figure out who to talk to.”

“Isn’t that the dude from Instagram?” Alia asked, resting her arm on Ryler’s shoulder, her finger stretched out past Ryler’s nose. She followed Alia’s finger, and sure enough, Pike was standing next to a taller man with brown hair, a saw in his hand. Pike wore a gray beanie and a navy work jacket, looking like a sexy hipster lumberjack or whatever the equivalent was. Ryler’s mouth suddenly went dry as she imagined him peeling off his jacket and shirt to chop wood bare-chested.

Mmm, that beanie’s working for him. He can keep that on, too.

Ryler shook herself, gritting her teeth against the lustful thoughts. “Yep, that’s him.”

“So, why aren’t we asking him for help? He’s the whole reason we’re here, right?”

“Hmmm, debatable,” Ryler grumbled, backing out of the tent, which meant pushing Alia with her butt.

“Hey!” Alia griped, stumbling back.

“Oops, sorry.”

When her cousin got her bearings, she crossed her arms over her chest. “What did you do?”

“What?” Ryler feigned shock. “I did nothing!”

Alia watched her with narrowed eyes. “Then why are you being all squirrely?”

“Because I don’t want to bother the man? He’s busy.” Ryler studied the landscape, the sky, but after several moments of avoidance, she couldn’t stop herself from meeting her cousin’s suspicious gaze. “Fine, something happened between me and him at the bar on Wednesday after you Ubered out.”

“Really?” Alia went back to the tent opening and poked her head in. Ryler imagined Alia’s blue eyes traveling all over Pike, probably imagining what he looked like naked.

Ryler clenched her jaw. “Stop being obvious.”

Alia came out grinning. “You gonna tell me what happened, or should I guess?”

“I flirted. He seemed interested.” Ryler’s cheeks burned as she continued vaguely, “Things got hot fast until I told him my name.”

“Why did your name cool things off?”

Ryler grimaced. “Because he recognized it from the email I sent as your assistant. He was afraid hooking up with me would ruin his chance to get to show you around Mistletoe.”

“Except the person he should be trying to impress is you,” Alia said, tapping her perfect French-tipped nail to her bottom lip. “Good kisser?”

Ryler couldn’t lie. “Phenomenal.”

Alia’s eyebrows rose. “A man with a good mouth should never be wasted. Maybe you should tell him the truth.”

First Neil and now Alia, telling her to out herself. Were they secretly conspiring against her and only pretending to hate each other?

“I think not,” Ryler said.

“Hello.” A cheerful blonde stepped out of the tent, shifting her dazzling smile between them. “Can I help you ladies?”

Alia seemed to be staring at her adorable pregnant belly, which pushed out the front of her gray sweater dress. Ryler stepped forward, shooting her cousin a warning look. Whatever Alia was thinking, Ryler hoped it wasn’t completely tactless, and if so, she’d better keep it to herself.