I retrieved the two green bins she’d indicated and opened the first one. A sigh escaped when I spotted the knotted mess of Christmas lights. However, I put on my best happy face when she returned, although, from her knowing expression, I had a feeling she knew I was faking it.
She handed me a thermos, and I unscrewed the top to take a drink of the steaming hot chocolate inside. I sighed for a whole other reason this time. “I don’t know how you manage to make me a fan of hot chocolate every time I visit,” I said with a chuckle. “I’ve never cared about it one way or the other, but yours is addictive.”
“Thank you.” She beamed at me before taking a sip from her own thermos. “Now, let’s get to work.” I dragged a workbench to the spot right under the heater, then brought the bins over as well. We sat, and each withdrew a ball of lights to begin unraveling.
We worked in silence for several minutes, then she broke it with a nonchalant statement. “I’m not going to ask what’s going on with you and Olivia because it’s none of my business...for now.” The last two words were emphasized by her tone and a hard glance at me.
I nodded in gratitude but remained cautious because I wasn’t sure where the conversation was leading.
“I know without a doubt that you love my daughter, Leland. And she loves you. So, I’m going to help you by sharing some secrets to success in a relationship.”
Some men might have been insulted or uninterested in advice from the mother of their significant other, but not me. She had my rapt attention because I could use more ammunition in my arsenal when it came to earning Olivia’s forgiveness. On top of that, Olivia’s parents had been married for almost twenty-five years, and the first time I met them, it had been clear that Mr. Hall loved his wife with the same possessiveness and devotion that I felt for Olivia. I’d grown up seeing the same relationship between my parents, and the two couples had quickly become my role models.
So, yeah, I would take any sage wisdom Alice had to give me.
“Hall women are extremely stubborn.” She stopped and watched me for a second. When it was clear I wasn’t going to say anything, she smiled and nodded. “Good boy. Anyway…”
She went on to give me several pointers about how she and her husband had made it through rough patches over the years. Eventually, she paused and raised an eyebrow at me. “Do you want my daughter to be happy, Leland?”
“Of course. I’d do anything to make her happy.”
“That’s what I thought. Now, like I said, you don’t have to tell me what the problem is between you two, but I’m guessing it was your fault.”
“Yes,” I answered softly, my shoulders slumping.
“Admitting it is a great step,” she told me with a pat on the shoulder. “However, I’m telling you right now, you might as well get used to being wrong. Because even when you’re right, you’re wrong.” Her eyes twinkled playfully, making me laugh.
“If you were at fault, which I suspect will be the case often because, no offense, dear, you Neanderthals are just stupid sometimes. Go straight to the apology, then I suggest you jump to groveling. The argument can easily be avoided if you skip over all the messy stuff in the middle.”
She had a point. My pride wasn’t worth Olivia’s happiness. Thinking about our current problem, I considered Alice’s advice and decided that she was fucking brilliant. I truly believed that in her heart, Olivia knew I loved her and that the last two years had been everything they seemed. I needed to skip over the bullshit—explanations that would only seem like excuses—and simply apologize before moving on to proving myself and regaining her trust.
“I think that’s all I need for now,” Alice announced, swiping the half-untangled string of lights from my lap. “Evan can help with the rest.”
I heard a grunt from the doorway and looked to see Olivia’s dad leaning against the doorjamb staring at his wife as if he couldn’t see anything but her. I wondered how long he’d been there, but when he glanced at me and I saw the murderous gleam was fading, I figured he’d heard enough to know that I would fix things with Olivia.
He nodded at me and stepped into the garage so I could enter the house. I was about to step inside when he placed a hand on my shoulder, and I pivoted around to face him.
We’d already had the talk where he told me all the extremely inventive ways he would kill me and hide my body should I ever hurt Olivia. And I’ll admit, he had me pretty freaked out at the time. He could be a scary motherfucker when he wanted to be. I assumed he was about to reiterate a concise version of that conversation. However, his face was devoid of anger, which was a good sign, except that I couldn’t get a read on what he was feeling, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.