Chapter Twenty-three
D elilah stood off to the side with her clipboard, taking notes as Holly and Merry addressed the room full of bachelors, who were acting like middle schoolers instead of grown men. Several were shoving each other, half of them had their phones out, listening to Merry’s instructions with half an ear, and Delilah was pretty sure Paulie the bouncer was nodding off in the back row. It was almost seven thirty at night and Friday to boot; Delilah understood they were probably anxious to head out and tie one on or sleep off the work week like her.
Delilah had grabbed another latte on her way there to wake up, but she was ready to go home and crawl into bed. It had been a long day researching what and who she needed to self-pub her books and the information out there was overwhelming. There were hundreds of freelance editors, all with great references on their websites, but some of the price quotes were daunting. She didn’t have thousands of dollars in disposable income. Add in the cost of website hosts, formatting software, and cover artists and she had no idea how to justify the cost if she couldn’t at least break even.
If Delilah could cut costs on some of the other items, she might be able to pay for a copy editor at least. She needed to talk to Holly about marketing strategies, but she might have to corner her tomorrow. Tonight, she looked ready to knock a couple heads together and Delilah didn’t want to aggravate her more by making her think. Holly had owned her shop for more than five years and had helped Merry launch her online craft business two years ago. She was a social media genius.
Delilah would bring it up while they set up for the Festival of Trees in the morning. It was an all-day event that didn’t end until seven in the evening, and then it would take several hours to get the place cleaned up and the trees loaded up with each buyer. Plenty of time to pick her brain.
The sensation of someone watching her tickled the back of her neck and Delilah looked up, catching Anthony’s gaze. He sat a few rows back on the end next to Pike and Sam, and that little smile playing across those full lips made her heart race with anticipation. Since their breakfast Wednesday morning, they’d struggled to find time to be alone. Wednesday, she’d been with Holly, helping her organize everything for tonight’s orientation and Thursday, he’d been with Pike and Merry, going over the final details for the winter games. She’d hoped they’d get out of here early enough to go out for dinner, but at the rate it was going, they might have to snag a bag of tacos and head back to her place.
Although that came with its own form of issues. If they were sleeping together, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to spend the night, but they were taking things slow. They both needed that at this point, but when they were together, Delilah forgot that in the overwhelming urge to kiss him senseless and rip his clothes off.
Delilah caught his eye again and the smoldering look on his face made her face burn. God, had he guessed what she was thinking about?
She turned her attention back to Merry, who was trying to bring the rowdy group under control.
“Guys, can we hurry up and get through this so we can go home?” Merry asked, her tone exasperated.
Holly wasn’t so subtle. Putting her fingers into her mouth, she released a high-pitched whistle and the room quieted.
“Listen up!” Holly shouted.
Merry nodded toward her sister, addressing the crowd with a strained smile. “Thank you. Next week after the Parade of Lights, you’ll come straight here and get ready backstage. Please dress appropriately in a coat and tie. We’ll call your name alphabetically and when you cross the stage, smile, dance, show off, whatever you want to do.” Merry pointed to the elevated stage behind her before continuing, “You’ll see on stage we have a backdrop and a camera set up because we want to get everyone’s picture for the program including a brief bio. Delilah, Holly, and I are going to call your names and gather that information while you’re waiting for your picture. Once you are finished with your picture and bio, you’re welcome to leave and enjoy the rest of your evening. I want to thank you again for being here. Your participation is going to make a world of difference for our school extracurriculars this year.” The room erupted in applause and Merry’s smile became a genuine one. “Let’s get started. Trip!”
“Pike!” Holly hollered.
“Brodie,” Delilah called, watching as he stood up from the back row and headed her way. She was glad he’d ended up on her list so she wouldn’t have to track him down to cancel her snowboarding lesson. While she’d been sincere previously about not wanting to ask Anthony, it didn’t make sense now. The lesson gave them the excuse to spend time together, which was something she’d been dreaming about for days.
Brodie ambled over and flashed a wide smile. “Hi, there.”
“Hey.” She tapped her pen against her clipboard nervously, rattling off, “I need full name, age, occupation, height, hobbies, and your idea of the perfect date.”
“Easy enough,” he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his workman’s jacket. “Brodie Williams. Thirty. Roofer. Six foot. I like camping, fishing, hunting, snowboarding. My idea of the perfect date is one where we are enjoying each other’s company.”
“Great,” she said, finishing the last of his bio before she gave him an apologetic smile. “Speaking of snowboarding, I know we were supposed to go on Sunday, but I actually need to cancel.”
Brodie’s face fell. “Oh, man, really?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn,” he said, suddenly flashing a grin that bordered on smarmy. “I was looking forward to teaching you a thing or two.”
How had she ever found his attention flattering? The way he leered at her now made her skin crawl. “I appreciate that but I started seeing someone exclusively and he really wants to teach me.” Delilah’s gaze flicked to Anthony, who was standing with a few other men, his attention fixated on Brodie and her.
Brodie turned around to see who she was looking at and let out a snort before facing her again. “Would that be Anthony Russo?”
Why did he have to say it so snidely? “Yeah, it is.”
“Oh, man, yeah.” He nodded, seeming to lose the attitude. He frowned, his expression clearly crestfallen, but Delilah had a sneaking suspicion it was all an act. For whatever reason, Anthony and Brodie did not like each other and Delilah couldn’t believe it had taken her this long to see it.
“So, you get why I need to cancel.”
“I understand. I’d never want to make things uncomfortable for you.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“One thing, though.” Brodie took her arm gently and led her farther away from the group.
Delilah looked back over her shoulder and saw Anthony watching them and she smiled at him, before whispering to Brodie, “What are you doing?”
“I just wanted to talk to you without anyone overhearing,” he said, stopping in the corner of the room and releasing her. “I don’t mean to overstep, but are you sure that he’s the guy for you? I heard he’s kind of a player. Never stays with the same girl for long. In fact, I thought I saw him out with Pike and two girls that looked like a double date recently.” He put his hands up in the air, his expression earnest. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
A painful doubt settled in her stomach, but Delilah waved it off, along with his words. “I appreciate the concern, but I’m walking into this with my eyes open. We are still getting to know each other and I’m not worried about a potential date.”
Brodie held his hands up. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“It’s fine,” Delilah lied, irritated with Brodie for dampening her mood. Although she tried to see the best in people, she knew this little show of his was about driving a wedge between her and Anthony. If only she’d realized how petty he was before she ever gave him a chance. “I need to get back and finish these interviews.”
“Delilah, one last thing—” He looked up and Delilah realized somehow they’d ended up under one of the sprigs of mistletoe they’d been dispersing through the building for the event. “You don’t mess with tradition, right?”
Delilah had the sneaking suspicion that Brodie had set her up but couldn’t prove it. “Oh, no, we wouldn’t want that.”
He’d either been oblivious to or ignored her sarcasm because he dropped his head and went for it. Delilah turned her cheek and stood still to let him kiss her there but, in a blur, someone wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her off her feet, spinning her away from Brodie’s seeking lips.
Delilah’s squeal of surprise turned into peals of laughter when she realized it was Anthony holding her off the ground. “Anthony! How did you get over here so fast?”
Anthony dropped her to her feet, keeping an arm around her waist and his body between her and Brodie. “Didn’t you know? I’m Superman.”
“No, I guess I missed that.”
“I freaking hate mistletoe,” Anthony said, gruffly. “Too many people using it as an excuse to kiss you.”
Delilah bit back a laugh when she noticed Brodie’s glare and was afraid if she looked toward the crowd that they’d all be staring their way. She squirmed against Anthony, her back wriggling against his front. “Can you put me down now?”
“Not quite. Did you get everything you needed from Brodie?”
“Yes.”
“You heard her, pal. Walk away.”
Delilah couldn’t see the other man’s expression anymore but heard his stream of curses.
Delilah giggled. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Hey now,” he said, pressing his mouth against her ear. “How would you feel if a girl backed me under some mistletoe and tried to kiss me?”
The rush of his warm breath against her skin sent a shiver down her spine. “Point taken.”
“See,” Anthony said, dropping her to her feet and spinning her around. “What’s good for the gander is good for the goose.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means”—Anthony cradled her chin in his hand, stroking his thumb over her bottom lip and wreaking havoc on her libido—“these lips are for me only. I don’t care if he’s got a tree of that green weed in his hand and offers you a million dollars.”
“First of all, I turned my head, so it was going to be a kiss on the cheek. Secondly, a million dollars is a lot of money—eep!”
Anthony’s mouth covered hers, cutting off the rest of her teasing as he kissed her roughly, making her knees weak. He broke the kiss abruptly, keeping his mouth hovered over hers. “Mine.”
That one word rocked her world and she wished that there weren’t eighteen more names on her stupid list to interview because she wanted this man alone so he could kiss her just like that and more.
“Hey, hey, break it up!” Holly hollered at them. “Some of us got places to be! Anthony! Get over here. You’re with me.”
Anthony let her go, skipping backward. “Wanna grab something to eat after this?”
“I do.”
He spun around and sauntered over to Holly, who was shaking her head at his antics, but Delilah couldn’t stop smiling.