Chapter Twenty-four
A lthough Anthony presented Holly with a winning smile, he was still seething on the inside at Brodie’s audacity. How dare that asshole try to kiss Delilah. Didn’t she cancel the snowboarding date? Could the idiot not take a hint? It had taken everything in him just to move her out of the line of lip-lock and not deck the guy.
“Alright, Romeo,” Holly said, breaking into his thoughts with her sharp tone. She tapped her pen rapidly against the clipboard, watching him with piercing dark eyes. “What is going on with you and my bestie?”
“We’re dating. Didn’t she tell you?”
“She did but I wanted to hear from you what your intentions are.”
Kiss every inch of her body before I make her scream my name?
Not that he would ever say that to Holly. She’d be liable to kick him in his family jewels.
“My intentions are to date her and see how things go. Nothing more or less than that.”
“Oh, yeah?” Holly crossed her arms, the clipboard tucked beneath them against her chest. “Then what’s with the jealous display of affection I just witnessed? If this was casual, you wouldn’t have sprinted across the room like the Flash to take her away from another man.”
“Lila is not a toy,” he grumbled.
Holly’s eyes widened. “Did you just call her Lila?”
“So?”
“Nothing,” she said, smirking, “the plot just thickens.”
“No, it doesn’t. We’re dating. Ergo, I don’t want her kissing anyone else.”
Holly arched a brow. “I’m sorry, did you just ‘ergo’ me?”
“Er—” Anthony said slowly, snapping his fingers with each syllable. “Go, no kissing other guys.”
Holly uncrossed her arms with a huff. “I assume the rule applies to you, too?”
“Of course.”
“Good,” she said, grinning. “Then we won’t have a problem. Now, I need your full name, age, occupation, height, hobbies, and your idea of the perfect date.”
Anthony scoffed. “Really?”
Holly scowled. “What? It’s basic dating profile fodder.”
“I just got through telling you I’m dating your best friend and you still want me to go through with this farce?”
Holly burst out laughing. “I can’t believe you still do that thing.”
“What thing?” he asked.
“Where you use fancy language when you get frustrated,” she said, shaking her head. “You did it a lot when I’d annoy you as a lowly freshman in high school.”
Anthony crossed his arm. “And a decade later, you haven’t learned not to irritate me?”
“Please, it will only get worse now that you are dating my girl.” She tapped that pen twice on the wooden clipboard and Anthony fought the urge to take it away from her. “Now, name.”
“Anthony Russo.”
“Age?”
“Thirty-one.”
“Wunderbar. Occupation?”
Her rapid-fire questions were making his head ache. “You’re really going to go through this like you don’t know the answers?”
“I’ve got all night, Ant.”
“Business owner.”
“Three more. Height, hobbies, and perfect date?”
Anthony caught sight of Delilah laughing at something her interviewee said and his fingers flexed. “Six foot three. I like fishing, camping, hiking, anything outdoors.” She was still talking to the guy and his jaw tightened. “Punching idiots who think they’re funny.”
Holly looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. “Would you get a grip on your alpha maleness? Delilah is crazy about you and has no interest in anyone else. Now, perfect date?”
Anthony continued to watch Delilah give the funny guy she’d interviewed a little wave and the next man stepped up. She was a ray of sunshine whose smile exuded warmth and he wanted to be the one basking in it, instead of sharing her with a roomful of people.
Suddenly, something hard smacked against his bicep and he realized that Holly hit him with a clipboard. “Ow! What?”
“Perfect. Date! I’d like to go home some time tonight.”
“Fine, you wanna know what my perfect date looks like? Just me and my girl, eating a meal, and spending time together. Alone.”
“Was that so hard?” Holly asked, scribbling rapidly with her pen across the paper. Finally, she pressed the top with an aggressive click. “Now, go away! I have twenty more people on this list and you took forever. Next!”
Anthony turned and headed to the back of the room where Pike waited for him. He pulled up next to his friend, shaking his head. “Has Holly always been mean?”
“She once added glitter glue to my body wash when I spent the night at Nick’s house. Yeah, she’s mean as fuck,” Pike said.
Anthony chuckled. “I guess dating her best friend makes her extra mean.”
“Could be. I’ve never been in your position, so I have no idea. Or maybe she’s afraid that you’re going to drop out of the bachelor auction now that you’ve got a girlfriend.”
Girlfriend. It was a foreign word that he hadn’t used for anyone in a long time but Delilah could definitely do justice to that moniker. Since their first kiss, there had been a lot of doubt and misunderstanding between them. Maybe this was the time to put all that to rest and show her how special she is.
“I’ll be right back,” Anthony said, heading back toward Holly.
“Dude, where are you going? I’m starving!” Pike called after him but Anthony ignored him. He reached Holly before her next victim and she rolled her eyes.
“What do you want now?”
“I want to change my answer.”
“To what?” she asked.
Anthony grinned. “My perfect date.”
The rest of the interviews went smoothly, and when Delilah finished her last one a little over an hour later, she was ready to collapse. She walked over to Holly and Merry, who were stacking up their bios in a neat pile on the front table. Delilah set her own pile next to theirs with a smile.
“All interviews complete and accounted for.”
“Perfect,” Merry said, picking up Delilah’s papers and adding them to the stack. She leaned a palm over them, facing Delilah with a sweet smile. “Will you type them up and send them to Holly in a Google form? She’s going to make the brochure and it will be easier for her to copy and paste the info under the pictures.”
“Absolutely. When do you need them by?”
“Would Sunday morning be alright?” Merry asked. “No need to dive into them tonight. With the Festival of Trees tomorrow, I doubt Holly will have time to look at them until then.”
“Sounds good.” Delilah picked up the papers and clutched them to her chest, anticipation making her antsy. Anthony had texted her several times, asking when she was going to be finished and Delilah couldn’t wait to get some quality time with him. “If you don’t need anything else, I’m going to head out.”
“Oh, yeah?” Holly said, appearing beside her with a sly grin. “Doing anything special? Or should I say, doing anyone?”
Delilah’s face burned and she elbowed Holly in the ribs. “Shut up. We’re just going to dinner.”
“Before he has you for dessert?” Holly teased.
“You’re a monster.”
“If I’m lying then why are you blushing?”
“If you want to hit her, by all means, go right ahead,” Merry said, rubbing a hand over her stomach. “I’d help you hold her down, but I have precious cargo.”
“Delilah loves me,” Holly said.
“Do I?” Delilah responded, feigning surprise.
Merry chuckled. “I’ll leave you two to hash out your friendship status. Thanks for your help, Delilah. I’m going to find my husband, put my feet up, and hopefully convince him to rub them. I’m beat.”
“’Night, sis.”
“Good night, Merry,” Delilah called, watching Merry waddle away. When they were alone, Holly grinned in the most unsettling way at Delilah.
“What?” she asked suspiciously.
“Nothing,” Holly singsonged. “I just love how he is with you.”
“Who? Anthony?”
Holly snorted. “No, Santa Claus!” She hopped up to sit on the table, that smile widening. “I’ve never seen him with a girlfriend—at least, not that I can remember—but he is like a kid. Less serious. And you look happy.”
“It’s early still,” Delilah said, hesitantly. The last thing she wanted to do was jinx this, especially since they really hadn’t been dating long in the scheme of things.
“Why are you so afraid of being happy?” Holly asked.
“I’m not afraid.” Delilah gripped the stack of papers against her chest like a defensive shield. “I’m just cautious. I’m afraid if I’m too excited, he’ll dip.”
“I just watched that man rush across the room like a bus was headed straight for you to keep another guy from kissing you. That should make you jump up and down like a kangaroo.”
“With all the stress I’ve got going on, I’m living in the moment. No pressure, no hype.”
“You sound like that car dealership ad they play every commercial break,” Holly said, reaching for her hand. “Talk to me. I know things didn’t go well with that editor and you think your only option is to move to Colorado or find another job elsewhere, but what about self-pubbing your book? Have you thought any more about it?”
Delilah sighed, setting the papers down next to Holly and leaning her hip against the table. “I’ve been researching, but it’s a lot of money up front. It would demolish my savings and the editors I’ve contacted are months out.”
“You said your agent read through it and already pointed out major plot holes, right?” Holly asked.
“Yes?”
“That should work as your main content editing. What about one of the teachers you work with? Could they read it and just look for grammatical errors?” Holly shrugged. “That’s one way to cut down on costs. Or an online editing program? Something you can use for each book.”
“How do you know about this stuff?” Delilah asked.
Holly shrugged, reaching out to take Delilah’s hand. “I don’t want my best friend to leave me so I’ve been doing my own research.”
Delilah tugged Holly off the table and hugged her, grateful that this sweet, wonderful woman was her person. “Thank you.”
“Like I said, I’m selfish and can’t live without you.” Holly pulled back, squeezing Delilah’s shoulders. “We will figure something out. You’ll see.”
“Hey!” Delilah’s heart lurched, recognizing Anthony’s voice. She turned and watched him cross the community center, dressed in a button down with his hair wet and swept back off his forehead. He must have gone home to take a shower while she finished and the fact that he cleaned up for her kicked her pulse into high gear. Was he ready to forgo his vow and take the next step with her?
She almost scoffed aloud at her wishful thinking. They’d agreed to slow, yet here she was rushing him in her mind.
Holly stepped back when Anthony reached them, allowing him to slip an arm around Delilah’s waist and kiss her cheek. “Ready to go?”
“Yep.” She smiled at her bestie, hoping Holly recognized how much her support meant to Delilah. “Thanks again, Hol.”
“Always, babe. You two have fun.”
Anthony squeezed her against him. “I hope so.”
“Oh, girl,” Holly laughed, backing away from them. “Enjoy.”
Delilah shook her head. “She is so transparent.”
“No,” Anthony said, leaning over to kiss her neck. A sizzle of heat zigzagged down her spine in response to the warm brush of his lip and her eyes closed. “She just understands that I’m anxious to get you alone.”