Page 40 of Merry Mayhem
“Right.” Sam smiles at me, then looks at Josh. “Good luck to you.”
Josh gives a short laugh. “Thanks. You too.”
I watch Sam turn and leave the stage.
Hey, did he wish Josh luck with Merry Mayhem, or was he wishing him luck dealing withme? That’s what that sounded like.
Fucker.
Josh immediately turns to face me. “What the hell wasthat?”
“What?”
“Well, for one, I do not run marathons. I have donated money to animal shelters, but not prize money.”
A twirl of warmth twists through my stomach. “You support animal shelters?”
“Of course.”
“That’s—”
“Thea, you have me marrying your sister in March!” he interrupts.
I nod. “You’re welcome.”
“I amnotproposing to Violet on Christmas.”
I wave that away. “Sam doesn’t need to know that.”
“What if he slips and says something to someone, and Bruce or Harley hears it? Or your mom?”
Yeah, that would be bad. I shake my head. “He won’t. If he does, I’ll tell them he’s lying.”
“Itislying.”
“But that doesn’t matter. I just did it to intimidate him.”
“Why would that intimidate him?”
“He came over here to show us that he’s perfectly happy and not at all worried about facing us in this competition.”
“Did he?”
“Yes! He wants me to see him happy without Violet. He thinks that will get to me and I’ll be flustered and not perform well.”
“You do seem a little flustered.”
“Well, nowhecan be flustered thinking about letting Violet go, and every challenge we win will just reiterate that you’re the better man.”
Josh shakes his head. “Thea, there’s something I should probably?—”
He’s interrupted by Nora sliding in between us and grabbing my arm, “I don’t know what to do.” She’s ditched the microphone and is now almost whispering.
“What do you mean? What happened?” I ask.
“Muriel and Patty are competing in Merry Mayhem!”
“Well…yeah, I know,” I tell her. I gesture toward the now-empty chairs where the women had been sitting.
