Page 63 of Mistletoe Mischief

“No one likes a know-it-all, Pike,” Ryler admonished.

They ate in silence for a few moments, Jo whining in the back seat. When Ryler finally finished her breakfast, Pike stopped her from grabbing the puppy right away. “Wait until she stops whining, please. I’m trying to teach her some patience.”

“Are you keeping her, then?” Ryler asked.

“No, but I think dogs should learn patience at a young age,” he said quickly.

“Mm-hmm.”

Ryler did as he asked, and when at least thirty seconds had passed, he nodded, “You can grab her now.”

“Aw, your daddy thinks he’s a hard-ass, but I think he’s warming up to you.”

Despite the baby talk, Pike’s ears perked at her use of the word daddy, and while he knew it made him a complete perv, he liked the way she said it.

“Speaking of warming up to things, should we talk about last night?” he asked.

“About almost-kisses on moonlit patios?” Ryler asked.

“That would be the subject at hand.”

“It depends on how the conversation’s going to go. Are we saying it should or shouldn’t have happened? If it shouldn’t, then there is no need to talk about it, and we can forget it even happened.”

“And if it should have?” he asked.

“Then I guess we need to explore the subject further.”

Pike chuckled as he took a right onto Hwy 20, opening his mouth to do just that, when a car crested the hill in the distance. As it drew closer, trepidation made Pike’s heart rate quicken. He did a double take as they passed Delilah’s car, recognizing Anthony in the driver’s seat. “Son of a bitch!”

“What is it?” Ryler asked.

“A lying rat bastard.” Pike pressed on the gas, and at the next turnout, flipped the car around, tearing back toward them.

“Pike, what are you doing?”

“I’m going to have a little chat with my business partner.”

Pike whipped his car into the space off the road in front of Delilah’s car and threw it in park. “Just stay put, okay? I won’t be a minute.”

He climbed out and marched back toward the front of the car. He stopped in front of the hood and pointed his finger at Anthony through the windshield. Delilah stared out at him from the passenger seat with wide eyes, while Anthony’s guilty expression told Pike everything he’d already suspected was true.

“I fucking knew it!”

Pike turned away from the car and stomped back toward his, ignoring the opening and closing of a car door. The sound of running feet preceded Anthony’s desperate call. “Pike, hold up. It’s not what you think.”

“I’ll bet,” Pike scoffed, twisting around and shoving Anthony backward. He must have caught Anthony off guard because he stumbled a few feet but caught himself. Pike was beyond caring if he looked like an emotional idiot. His best friend, his partner, had been lying to him for days.

“I asked you point-blank if you were interested, and you said no.”

Anthony held his hands up in a pleading motion. “I can explain everything, but I don’t want to do this on the side of the highway.”

“I don’t want to do this at all,” Pike snapped. “I just had to make sure it was you because I thought I was making myself crazy. Telling myself it was a weird coincidence that you changed your mind about visiting your dad.”

“That was all true!” Anthony protested.

“When did it start? How long were the two of you fucking around and laughing at me?”

“Wednesday night.”