Page 1 of Mistletoe Misconduct

Prologue: Lea

Friday, October 11, 2024

Sighing heavily, I tuck my tall frame behind what feels like the hundredth overgrown bush, holly berries threatening to poke my eye out. "Goddamnit,hurry up," I whine under my breath while waiting for Grant, my best friend's long-time boyfriend, to finally get down on one knee and propose. I’ve been following them along this trail for nearly an hour. The sun is setting, the bugs are swarming, and my ankles are itchy as shit.

My neck feels stiff, and I’m overheated despite the familiar New York autumn chill. If he doesn’t hurry the hell up, I’m going to lose the golden hour glow, andthatmight piss me off even more than the giant rash I’m bound to be applying ointments and lotions to all week.

My heart leaps when I see himfinallydrop to his knee in the perfect location. The sun is setting in the background, and I have a perfect view of the small, secluded waterfall behind them to their right. It looks like something out of a movie, and god, I’m so damn excited for them.

Mona is busy pointing ahead, chatting enthusiastically about a plant that’s in bloom today and how exciting it is getting to see it because it has to be at just the right time of day. Mona loves horticulture, and suddenly, I realize exactly why he waited until this moment.Just the right time.

“Mona,” he calls to her when she still hasn’t stopped talking long enough to realize he’s no longer beside her.

Her long black waves swish across her back as she twirls to find where his voice came from.

Grant’s lips part, and a soft expression crosses his face when she finally sees him down on one knee. I angle my camera toward them, immediately snapping photos, not wanting to miss a single second of this special moment. He sucks in a breath and starts speaking. “Mona Ayad…”

I capture the moment her hand smacks over her mouth in surprise. The moment she drops her hand and her whole face lights up with a brilliant smile. The moment she falls into his arms.

She grabs his cheeks in her hands, squeezing them together as she kisses him over and over, her response nothing but a garbled stream of consciousness.

My heart flies high as I take countless photos of one of the most life-changing events in my best friend’s life.

Prologue: Kai

Friday, October 11, 2024

“Hey, I’ll meet you back at home. Coach asked me to meet him in his office, and I don’t wanna keep him waiting,” Liam explains as he gathers up his gear.

“No problem. Hopefully, it’s something good and not you getting your ass reamed out again,” I joke.

He rolls his eyes up at me as he straightens. “Yeah, right. I think you’re speaking aboutyourself.But whatever it is, I’m sure it’s going to be fine.”

He gives me a side hug before heading down the corridor to Coach’s office.

My feet are propped up on the coffee table as I watch the New York Monsters play their first game of the hockey season. As usual, the only player worth a shit on that whole damn team is their goalie, Luca De Laurentiis.

I hear the familiar jingle of keys, and then the door unlocks as Liam pushes his way inside. The door gets stuck in the same place each time, and he has to ram it open with his shoulder.

I press mute on the remote before meeting his wide smile. “I take it things with Coach went well?”

He dumps his gear on the ground in the entryway and catapults toward me on the couch, landing beside me. Liam’s hands grip my shoulders and shake me with excitement.

“You’re gonna have to tell me what's going on before I wind up with whatever the adult version of shaken baby syndrome is,” I tell him, laughing as he struggles to get his words out.

“I’m in! I’m fucking in, Kai!” he shouts with wide eyes. When he can’t contain it any longer, he jumps up from the couch, performing an exaggerated version of his usual celly. I guess it may justlookmore exaggerated without all the pads.

I snort loudly. “Hey, man, I’m really happy for you, but I actually have no idea what the hell it is you’re talking about, so could you sit your ass down and help a guy out?” I ask, still amused by his behavior.

Liam is usually the calm, cool, and collected one on the team. He never gets in trouble, never stays out late, and can always articulate his feelings. So whateverthisis, it is not usual for him.

“I GOT DRAFTED! I’m gonna be a fucking Philly Scarlet!” he screams in my face.

I stand immediately, grabbing his shoulders because now it’smyturn to shake the life out ofhim.“Holy shit!” I yell, grabbing him around the waist and swinging him around our living room like a rag doll.

My face feels hot, and my knees are weak.He fucking did it!

“This calls for celebration!” he says when I finally place him back on his feet, his cheeks red and his hair disheveled.

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