Page 29 of Under the Mistle-Foe

“Um, at the risk of making this super awkward, are you into the guy over there?” Leo nudged me with his elbow.

I almost choked on my saliva, that was how startled I was by his comment. “Oh, god. I’m so sorry…I’m being terribly rude to you.”

“No, it’s okay,” Leo said with a sigh. “I get it.”

So Ihadbeen right. After seeing the same expression on my face in the mirror for years, there was no way I could have been mistaken.

As casually as possible, I asked him who it was and almost choked again when I heard his answer.

Leo smiled. “Well, his name is Nick.”

“The matchmaker?” I asked, gobsmacked.

He nodded.

“Didn’t he have a wife who passed away…?” I asked absentmindedly. My gaze flickered to where Remy and the others sat. The bodies of people were blocking my view of Kaysen and Nick. Leo must not have seen Nick enter, otherwise would he have been this calm?

“He did. He’s totally not into me or anything,” Leo said. “It’s just a stupid little crush on my part. I’ll get over it.”

“Not to freak you out or anything, but Nick’s sitting over there with my guy.”

Leo’s head flung in their direction so fast he attracted some curious glances. He stretched his neck to get a better look and whipped his head back just as quickly when I assumed he caught sight of the man. Thankfully, the trio hadn’t seemed to notice.

“What is he doing here…” he muttered to no one in particular. I had the exact same question myself. He shook his head, as if making up his mind about something, then rested his elbows on the table. “Anyway,your guy, huh?” I fidgeted in my seat, only now just realizing the words I’d use. Leo chuckled, then added, “Tell me about him.”

I glanced over at Remy again. He was focused on Shelley as she continued to read out the questions, as we should have been.

“I feel like I’ve been in love with Remy for half my life, but we only recently became friends. I was kind of an idiot in high school.”

“Who wasn’t?” Leo joked. I smiled.

“We’re friends now. Which is great, I guess,” I said with a shrug. “But there are thesemoments, you know? Like he says something that gets my hopes all up, then firmly shoves me back into the friend zone. Sometimes I wish there was a sign out there to tell me if I even have a chance with him.”

“Do you want to find out?” Leo asked, with a twinkle in his eye.

“Oh? What do you have in mind?”

Shelley called for everyone to write down their final answers before they collected our forms. I looked at my half-empty piece of paper and sent a silent apology to our trivia team.

Leo must not have any intention of winning trivia either, because he suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. “Come with me.”

We weaved through the tables, right past where Remy and the others were sitting. I had just enough time to see Remy’s eyes widen before I was pulled away. Leo didn’t stop until we were in the back near the bathrooms.

I was still confused by Leo’s plan when he spun me around till my back was against the wall, cornering me in with his arms.

“What are you?—”

“Are they watching?” he said before I could finish asking my question. I peeked over his shoulder to see that the trio had their eyes on us. Remy and Nick had complicated expressions while Kaysen looked to be watching us with glee.

“We definitely have an audience,” I muttered. “Is this all part of your grand plan?”

Leo grinned instead of replying and took a step closer till our chests were almost touching. He reached up and brushed a loose piece of hair off my forehead, all while looking into my eyes.

Damn, if I was anybody else, I would have totally fallen for this move. Sadly, I seemed to be broken for everyone else except for one man.

I wanted to see Remy’s reaction, so I tried to look over again, but Leo cupped my cheek to stop me.

“Don’t look. Keep your eyes on me.”

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