Mistletoe Mischief (Falling in Mistletoe #2)

Chapter Thirty-two

I ’m trying not to be a bitter Ben, but I wish you could have come over last night.

Ryler stared at her phone, smiling at Pike’s Wednesday morning text. Alia had wanted to stay until the end of book club, having far too much fun hanging with Merry, but it turned out that book club was cut short due to Anthony vomiting all over Delilah’s front porch. Ryler had driven Alia back to the rental, but instead of being able to escape, Alia asked her to stay and watch movies with her. Ryler had texted Pike with her regrets last night, and he’d responded with a deliciously naughty pic and caption. I guess I’ll have to take care of this myself.

Ryler had tapped out a response, glancing over at Alia, who had fallen asleep on the other couch in the middle of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights . While it might be the campiest of the Dirty Dancing films, Ryler had always been partial to the romance between Javier and Katey.

Neither Neil nor Kit had stirred yet this morning, so Ryler silenced her phone, and using her finger, pulled the neckline of her night shirt down to expose an expanse of breasts. She took the picture and captioned the photo, Good morning. Would it make you feel better if I admitted I wish I’d come over too?

Her screen lit up with his next message, a shirtless picture of him in a pair of sweats and—

“Oh my,” Ryler whispered aloud when she realized his dick was creating that tent in his sweats.

This is what you do to me. I just have to think about your smile, and I’m hard as a fucking stone .

Ryler grinned as she texted, Maybe you should imagine me frowning.

Doesn’t help. It’s just you.

Ryler could get used to this kind of flattery and swung her legs off the couch, fully intending to use the bathroom and take a shower. Before she turned on the water, another text came through, this one from Neil.

I need to talk to you.

Ryler washed her hands and opened the bathroom door, then saw Neil peeking out of his room down the hall. He made a motion for her to come to him, and she did so reluctantly, allowing him to close the door behind them.

“What’s up, Neil?” she asked coolly.

“Look, I know I should have told you about Alia and me, but I thought it was nothing. Just the two of us hooking up when we were bored or lonely. I didn’t plan any of this.”

“I know you didn’t, but that doesn’t change the fact that you slept with my cousin. For better or for worse, you’re the father of her baby, and whatever you’re doing is hurting her. You’re making her feel small and sad, and I hate it.”

Neil ran his hands over his face and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “You know, for years I thought it was going to be you and me? I mean, we tried it in college, but this podcast was about us and our love of the world. Of discovering new things. When did we lose sight of that?”

“Neil,” Ryler whispered, sitting next to him on the bed. “You’re my best friend, but I don’t—feel that way about you.”

“Especially now that I’ve impregnated your cousin.”

“Definitely didn’t win you any points, but I’m more concerned about what this means for the two of you. I know that you’ve been looking at other shows.” Ryler almost laughed at his horrified expression. “What? You should be careful what you say. Your voice carries.”

“Why aren’t you angrier with me?” he asked.

“Because this is life. You are well within your rights to get bored and look for something else, whether that be a new job or a relationship. We’ve been friends a long time, and I’d like things to stay that way. I don’t want you to resent me for holding you back.”

“I was going to talk to you about it, but I applied to produce the Crime Lords podcast, and I got it. ”

“The mafia family podcast?” Ryler chuckled. “Just don’t offend anyone and end up with cement shoes.”

“They’re turning the show into a TV series, and I know you’ve never been interested in that, but this is my chance to break into television.”

“I think that’s great, Neil. When do you start?”

“I was going to wait until after the New Year, but now …” He trailed off, and Ryler picked up the conversation.

“What are you going to do about Alia and the baby? Do you have feelings for her?”

Neil groaned. “Yes, I do, but it’s new. We spent so much time picking at each other and hating each other that when things changed, I wasn’t expecting our relationship to do a complete one-eighty. And what if we try, and it gets bad again?”

“Have you told Alia any of this?”

“No, I just flipped out over the baby.”

“You two don’t have to rush into marriage, but if you care about her and want to give this a real shot, maybe you can start by asking her on a date?” Ryler said.

“A date you say?” Neil said in a British accent, stroking his jaw. “What a novel concept.”

“I know,” Ryler said. “I’m sorry, Neil, if you were holding out for me. I never meant to lead you on.”

“You didn’t. I guess I just always thought that friends make the best lovers. Turns out that isn’t the case for us.”

Ryler squeezed Neil’s hand. “It has been an honor and a privilege working with you, and I hope this doesn’t mean we stop being friends.”

“No, I will always be your friend. And hey, we’ll always have Paris.”

Ryler laughed. “If you are referring to Paris, Texas, that is a trip I’d rather forget!”

“What? I thought that was a fun trip.”

“It was,” Ryler said.

Neil got up from the bed with a determined expression. “So, where is Alia?”

“On the couch in the living room. We were watching movies and fell asleep.”

“Alright, I’m going to talk to her,” Neil said firmly. “Wish me luck.”

“First, let me duck into the shower in case you two start fighting again. ”

Ryler exited Neil’s room and went back into the bathroom again, picking up her phone to read her most recent text, Will I see you later?

Ryler heard the door to Neil’s room close and a few minutes later, lowered voices. I’ll let you know after my shower. It depends on how things shake out.

Ryler finished her shower, drying off her hair and wrapping the towel around her. When she walked out of the room, she found Neil and Alia sitting on the couch, her head resting against his chest. They looked happy and contented instead of the two people who had been at each other’s throats just yesterday.

Neil looked up and spotted her, giving her a thumbs-up. Things were about to look really different for Excursions in the coming weeks, but Ryler was so happy to see her cousin smiling again, she didn’t care about how the changes would affect her. The two people she loved most were going to try to be together for real, to stop holding back and live life on their terms.

It was something she could get behind.

Ryler closed the door to her room and texted Pike. All signs point to yes.