Mistletoe Mischief (Falling in Mistletoe #2)

Chapter Sixteen

R yler sat at the table with all of Pike’s friends, watching him as he came back to the table and took an empty chair next to Nick. Kit and Declan were having an intense conversation about art. Neil was telling Merry, Clark, and Sam about their trip to Australia last year and how both Alia and Ryler panicked over the snakes and spiders. Alia sat next to him, jumping in to contradict and argue with Neil. Pike’s friends were so welcoming and fun, and yet, he looked as if he’d rather be anywhere else.

“Ryler, you’re awfully quiet,” Nick said, drawing her out of her thoughts.

“Sorry, I was just listening to everyone.”

“How are you enjoying Mistletoe?” he asked.

“It’s beautiful. I’m really excited to get out and start exploring.”

“Where do you live?” Sam asked.

“Right now, Alia and I have a condo in El Dorado Hills, which is in the Northern California foothills below Tahoe. Funny story, I actually grew up in Idaho until I was twelve, but I’d never heard of Mistletoe before.”

“What part of Idaho?” Merry asked.

“Boise.”

“Where did you move after that?” Holly asked.

“I moved in with Alia and her parents in LA after my parents died.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Holly said.

“I lost my parents when I was sixteen,” Noel said, giving Ryler a small smile. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

The rest of the table chorused something similar, and Ryler shook her head. “I appreciate that. Thanks. Lucky for me, my cousin and I had each other. It’s been the two of us against the world for sixteen years.”

“With a little help from your friends,” Neil interjected.

“Yes, we wouldn’t know what to do without you and Kit,” Alia said, gazing at Neil warmly. The intimate look caught Ryler off guard, and she watched Neil bestow a tender smile on her cousin.

Holy shit. They’re sleeping together.

How had she missed this? She was with these people three out of four weeks a month, twelve months out of the year, and yet she hadn’t realized something had shifted between them. How long had it been going on? Ryler wasn’t upset about it, but knowing how much they’d always fought and argued, it was weird to think of them crossing that line.

Unless what they said was true, and enemies really did make the best lovers.

“I’ll be back shortly,” Ryler said, climbing to her feet.

“Do you want me to come?” Alia asked.

“No, you stay put. I’m just going to get some air. It’s hot in here.”

Ryler thought she saw Sam move out of the corner of her eye, but then Holly pushed him back into his seat.

“Ow, what was that for,” he grumbled.

“I thought I saw a bug,” she said.

Ryler missed the rest of the exchange as she made her way through the crowd of bodies and down the hallway to the back patio, pushing the door open. There were several groups out tonight, a haze of smoke lingering in the air. Mixed scents assailed her nostrils, and she made her way to the farthest corner, away from the people smoking and vaping.

Ryler stared out into the darkened tree line, wondering at her obliviousness to the people around her. Alia and Neil, even Kit breaking up with Mae. Was she really so self-absorbed? Ryler had always thought she was generous and observant, but she hadn’t known the two people closest to her were unhappy. That they were sleeping together.

She needed to do better, starting with figuring out how to talk to Neil and Alia about everything. She didn’t want it to come off like she was accusing them of something, but Ryler wanted to clear the air and know where they stood.

“Hey, you okay? ”

Ryler turned around at Pike’s loaded question, laughing softly. “I’m not really sure. I realized that I might just be the most oblivious person on the planet.”

“Why do you say that?” he asked, leaning against the fence next to her.

“Because I’m pretty sure Alia and Neil have something going on, but they’re keeping it quiet.”

“And that’s a bad thing because … ?”

“It’s not a bad thing,” Ryler said. “It’s just weird that they didn’t say anything.”

“Were you and Neil ever a thing?” Pike asked.

“A long time ago and for a very short amount of time.”

Pike shrugged. “Maybe they weren’t sure how you would react.”

“Maybe,” Ryler admitted.

“How do you feel about it?” Pike asked.

“Fine. Happy if they’re happy.”

“Then that’s all you have to tell them,” he said.

Ryler nodded. “What crawled up your butt tonight?”

“Excuse me?”

“You got all surly when Sam was talking to me.”

“You mean when you were flirting with Sam?” he said dryly.

“Wow, so this is what jealousy looks like on you?” Ryler nudged him with her shoulder. “You’re all broody and taciturn.”

“Don’t those mean the same thing?” he asked.

“They are semantically related. Not technically the same thing.”

“Fine. Maybe I’m a little sore about Sam.”

“Why is that?” she asked.

“Because when my ex dumped me, she chased after him, looking for a rebound.”

Ryler winced. “Did he go for it?”

“Surprisingly, no. He actually avoided her.”

“Sounds like he’s not such a man-whore then.”

“Maybe not. I guess I can’t really hold a grudge against the guy just because he’s got the height and the looks. That air of trouble all the women go mad for.”

“Honestly, super tall guys are overrated.”

Pike laughed. “Get the fuck out of here. ”

“No, I’m serious. It was one of the biggest turnoffs about dating Neil in college. My calves and arms were always sore from trying to reach his lips—”

Pike held up his hand. “I’m good with the visual.”

Ryler grinned. “I’m just saying, not every woman wants a six-foot-tall Thor to come home to.”

Pike’s gaze lingered on her face, and she caught her breath when he reached out, his fingers trailing against her cheek. “If not Thor, who is it you think about?”

Ryler caught her bottom lip between her teeth, knowing this was a bad idea, but his lips were so close, those blue eyes hooded and glittering in the dim patio lighting. “It varies, but since coming to Mistletoe, I’ve developed a thing for bearded men.” Ryler reached up, pinching the side of his blue bow tie between her thumb and forefinger. “Especially if they have a tendency to wear bow ties.”

“That is a very specific type,” Pike murmured, his mouth inching toward hers, and she closed her eyes, tilting her head as she waited for the press of his lips on hers.

“Ryler?” Alia called, breaking the spell, and Ryler jumped back from Pike. She spotted her cousin just outside the door, scanning the crowd.

“Over here,” she called.

“I better let you two talk,” Pike said, pushing off the fence.

“To be continued?” she murmured.

Pike grinned. “Just let me know when and where.”

He passed Alia and stopped for a second, saying something to her that Ryler couldn’t hear, but her cousin smiled. As Alia approached, Ryler could tell her cousin was pale. She stepped off the fence to meet her, touching her arm.

“Hey, are you still feeling sick?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to check on you. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just a little overwhelmed in there. Lots of people,” Ryler said.

“Come on, you talk to thousands of listeners every week and socialize with strangers daily.”

“Must have been something else, then,” Ryler said, linking her arm through her cousin’s. “Do you want me to run you home?”

“No, I’ll be okay. I don’t want to give people a negative impression of Excursions . ”

“You know your personal well-being is more important than the podcast, right?” Ryler said abruptly.

Alia started, her eyes wide. “What brought that on?”

“I just want to make sure you know that.”

“I do,” Alia said, wrapping Ryler in a hug. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

They broke apart, and Alia grinned. “So, out of curiosity, did I interrupt something between you and our tour guide?”

“If I say yes, are you going to come clean about you and Neil?”

Alia’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know?”

“Because for the first time in six years, you two aren’t at each other’s throats. He was sweet to you, and you didn’t insult him. It’s weird but a dead giveaway. How long has it been going on?”

“A couple months,” Alia said softly.

“Wow. I really am just a blind idiot.”

“No, you aren’t. It just happened, and once we crossed the line, we kept doing it and realized we didn’t want to stop. We did everything we could not to let it interfere with the podcast.”

“So, is it serious or just hooking up?”

“It started as casual, but now …” Alia trailed off. “Are you mad?”

“No, of course not. Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

“Honestly, there are probably several things we could discuss, but nothing that needs to get hashed out tonight.”

Ryler didn’t like the sound of that, but she also didn’t press the issue. “Rain check, then. Let’s get back inside. This courtyard is under some sort of spell where it makes people want to make out under the stars.”

“Well, dang, what’s so bad about that?”

Kissing leads to complications, and I feel like my life is already chock-full of those.