Mistletoe Mischief (Falling in Mistletoe #2)

Chapter Seven

T here was a ringing in Pike’s ears, making his whole head vibrate with pain, and as he blinked his eyes opened, he let out a strangled cry. What the hell had happened last night, and why did he feel like death?

He remembered having a couple drinks at the bar while he was waiting for Anthony to meet him at Brews. He went outside to get some air, and that woman followed him out …

Ryler.

Pike rolled onto his back, gripping his throbbing head. He’d kissed the assistant to the woman who was going to change all their fortunes—hell, he’d been about to do more than kiss her. If she told her boss, Alia would think he was a womanizing, philandering lout and probably take her podcast and business elsewhere.

Damn it, what had he been thinking?

That you were sad and lonely and a pretty girl was standing in front of you, asking you to kiss her.

And what a kiss.

How was he going to be in the same room with the woman and not think about the way she’d melted into him, wrapped herself around him, and followed his lead, a hot and willing participant, playfully teasing him?

And now his dick was hard. Fan-fucking-tastic.

That blaring ring erupted again, and Pike realized it was his phone. He blindly reached for it, squinting at the screen to see it was his mom calling. He slid his thumb over the green phone icon and cleared his throat .

“Hi, Mom.”

“Happy Thanksgiving, sweetie.”

Pike winced at the high-pitched volume of her greeting, holding the phone a few inches away from his ear. “You, too. How is Dad?”

“He’s fine. He’s in the kitchen helping your sister.”

“That’s nice.”

“Why do you sound all stuffed up? Are you sick?” she asked.

“Nope, just woke up.”

“Really? It’s almost ten-thirty.”

“So it is,” he deadpanned.

“Well, I can let you go. I only called because we miss you.”

“I miss you, too. See you when you get home.”

“Bye.”

Pike ended the call and let out a shaky breath. He needed a shower and something greasy to soak up the sourness in his stomach from too much whiskey. After Ryler had called him Skip in that snarktastic tone, she’d spun around and went inside before he could get his bearings. He’d thought about chasing after her and apologizing, but the part of him that could still feel the warmth of her on his fingers and the taste of her on his tongue thought that was a bad idea.

Pike swung his legs over the side of the bed, heading for the bathroom. When he’d finally gone back inside the bar, Pike ordered another drink and sat down with a couple of women by the door and proceeded to get rip-roaring drunk until Anthony arrived and cut him off.

The rest of it was a bit of a blur.

Pike tried calling Anthony, but when it went straight to voicemail, he decided to hop in the shower and clear his head. As the warm water sluiced over him, his mind drifted back to Ryler and those full, pouty lips.

Nope, damn it, it was one night. One fucking kiss, an incredible kiss, but that was all it was going to be.

Still, those lips were haunting him, and his cock was a turgid reminder that it had been weeks since he’d had his pipes cleaned.

Wrapping his hand around his girth, he stroked it up and down, twisting and pulling. He leaned his head back against the tile, imagining Ryler on her knees, those incredible lips wrapped around him, sucking him. Teasing him. Lapping at him. Her soft hands playing with his balls, squeezing him .

“Fuck yeah,” he moaned as his dick surged. Pike imagined her swallowing his come, licking him clean like he was a fucking lollipop, and he sagged in relief. It had been a long time since he’d fantasized about any woman in the shower.

Pike finished showering and got dressed. Dinner at the Winters’ farm was at two in the afternoon, and he wanted to get rid of this hangover before heading out there.

He was making eggs and bacon when his phone rang again and Anthony’s name flashed across the screen. Pike answered on the second ring. “Finally. Where have you been?”

“Driving to Boise.”

Pike reeled back and stared at his phone for a moment before asking the obvious question. “Why?”

“I decided to take my old man up on his offer and join them for Thanksgiving.”

Pike’s jaw dropped in surprise. Anthony and his dad had almost come to blows at his mother’s funeral, and now he was spending the holidays with him? He had some major questions, but his brain was too foggy to articulate them without starting a fight, so he refrained.

“You mean I gotta go to the Winters’ Thanksgiving hungover and alone? Do you know how depressing it is to be the only single guy in a room full of happy couples?”

“Actually, I do, but you won’t be alone. I’m sure Clark’s brother, Sam, will be there.”

Pike shook his head. “Sam is way too cool for me. I can’t carry on a conversation with that guy.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, bud. I left early this morning. I’m about fifteen minutes from his house.”

Shit, was he really going to be on his own? “You could have brought me as backup! Someone is going to have to drag your ass out of there if he starts running his mouth again.”

“I hope this is a peace offering, but if not, I’ll leave.”

“We could have gotten a hotel downtown and gone barhopping!” Man, he sounded like a desperate, petulant child, when Anthony was probably a jumble of nerves. He cleared his throat, adjusting his tone to one of concern. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d changed your mind?”

“It was a last-minute decision, and I figured you needed to sleep. ”

“I did, but I would have been there for you. I know how hard it is seeing your dad. Besides, my mom called, and it reminded me they are bringing back my sister’s Christmas present to me this weekend. I’m terrified.”

“Why?” Anthony asked.

“My sister is evil, and my mom thinks it’s hilarious.”

He chuckled. “I like your sister.”

“Because the two of you enjoy giving me rations of shit!”

“That’s true. Still, I think you’re worrying over nothing.”

“We’ll see.” Pike grabbed a plate and scooped his eggs onto it. “So, will you be back tonight?”

“I’m not sure. I might get a hotel for the night and drive back tomorrow.”

Pike picked up his bacon with tongs and set the slices on his plate. “Let me know what you decide, or I’ll come looking for you. I can’t run this business without you.”

“I will.”

“It’s funny. I heard Delilah is in Boise this weekend, too. If you see her, talk me up. Maybe she’ll regret her decision.” Pike had no idea why he’d said that, especially after what happened with Ryler. If he’d really been broken up about Delilah, would he have almost taken Ryler home?

Maybe he had gone after Delilah because she was available and checked off all the items on his list. Sweet, pretty, funny … interested in him?

Unfortunately, he’d missed the mark on that one.

“Sure thing, man.”

Pike heard the GPS announce, “You have arrived at your destination.”

“Sounds like you’re there.” Pike grabbed a fork from the drawer and as he sat down at the table, he added, “Have fun with your brothers, at least. I might stay home and drown myself in pie and whiskey.”

“You’ll have fun with the Winters. Don’t be a sad sack. When you meet the right woman, everything will fall into place.”

“How do you know?” Pike grumbled.

“Because, like you said, even assholes have soul mates.”

“Fuck you, bro,” Pike laughed. “Later.”

“Later.”

Pike ended the call and set his phone on the table. He continued eating, his gaze moving over his empty apartment, a heavy weight settling in his stomach. Until last night, he’d thought his life was looking up, and things were going his way, but here he was on a major family holiday, alone. No family. A pity invite. No girlfriend.

“Happy Thanksgiving, you sad sack,” he muttered, dropping his fork back onto his plate. Pike leaned back in his chair and picked up his phone again, tapping on the Instagram app. When he ended up on Excursions profile, he searched through all the pictures, looking for any of Ryler, but there was nothing. He checked out who Excursions was following, and of the ten people, she was number seven.

@rylerroams345 didn’t have a plethora of smiling selfies on her profile. Her main photo was a big, white flower with green foliage in the background. As he went through her pictures, he noticed most of them were of scenery. Two guys kept popping up throughout, either drinking together or paddleboarding or lying on the beach. One of them was a tall Black man with his head shaved, and the other was a shorter man with spiky black hair. Further back in her posts, he found a photo of Ryler with her cheek pressed against the face of the taller guy, their eyes crossed and mouths wide open, tongues hanging out.

I love traveling the world with my partner in crime @TheRealNeilDeal34

Pike clicked on the guy’s name, grinding his teeth when he saw that Neil’s Insta was mostly pictures of Ryler and Alia, although the other man, @KitsgotPics90 showed up in a few. There was one picture that caught his eye of Ryler slung over the back of The Real Neil’s shoulder, pushing herself up and laughing at the camera as he seemed to be carrying her into the ocean.

Was this guy part of the crew? Were they dating? Had she come on to him while her boyfriend wasn’t in town yet?

Pike set the phone face down with a groan, dragging his hands down his face. One brief interaction with this woman, and he was Insta-stalking her and all her friends? Not to mention his jaw was aching because he’d been clenching it for a good ten minutes without realizing it. What was wrong with him?

Get it together, man. Tomorrow, you’re going to take Alia and the rest of the Excursions crew out and pretend like last night never happened.