A Hot Holiday Collection

Chapter 4

4

LELAND

I knew not coming clean after our first date would bite me in the ass, but I’d buried my head in the sand like a motherfucking idiot.

I didn’t have a response for Olivia right away because everything she’d said was true. Granted, my relationship with her had become real on the first date and keeping tabs on Delia had become a side benefit. Maybe I should lead with that.

“Baby—”

“Don’t you baby me, Leland James,” she hissed, her green eyes spitting fire.

I blinked a few times, trying to avoid being aroused by how magnificent she looked when she was all worked up.

“Baby,” I said firmly, continuing on before she could speak and ignoring the daggers she was glaring at me. “I admit, I asked you out that first time to dig up details on Delia. But I already enjoyed your company, so I knew we could have a fun date. Then?—”

“You kept it up to be Danny’s informant, right? Was having sex”—she whispered that part after glancing at the door cautiously—“with me just a perk?”

I closed the distance between us in two steps and grasped her biceps. “You have that backward, Olivia. It only took a few minutes for me to fall for you and for our relationship to become real. The shit with Delia was the perk. And despite what you just heard, you know me better than to think that I’m casually fucking you.” I considered telling her about the engagement ring I’d ordered, but I didn’t have the actual jewelry and I’d left the receipt at home so Olivia wouldn’t accidentally find it. And I paid cash. All of which I was kicking myself for right at that moment. She could assume I was making it up to get out of the grave I’d dug for myself.

Olivia ripped her arms from my hands and stalked across the room, rubbing her biceps as if she were cold. “I don’t know anything anymore.”

I opened my mouth to try another tactic, but the door burst open. Instead of yelling again, Olivia’s dad poked his head into the room and glanced around suspiciously. “Breakfast is ready.” He seemed satisfied by the distance between Olivia and me, but then his eyes lingered on his daughter a little longer before he turned an accusing gaze on me.

Shit.

“Leave it alone, Dad,” Olivia muttered as she stalked to the door. “Let’s eat.”

The last thing I wanted at that moment was food. I wanted to finish our conversation because the longer Olivia stewed over the whole thing, the more likely she was to blow it out of proportion in her head. I couldn’t blame her, though. I would’ve done the same thing if I’d been in her shoes. My imagination would be running wild with every negative scenario possible.

However, she disappeared into the hallway, and her dad scowled at me before following her.

Breakfast was tense, to say the least. Despite her obvious curiosity, Alice tried to lighten the mood with chitchat. I tried to answer her, but my attention constantly strayed to my girl. She studiously ignored me, acting as chipper as she could manage as she engaged with her mom in light conversation. Her dad silently brooded, continuing to glare at me, making me want to squirm like a teenager who’d just been caught sneaking out.

When it was clear that everyone was finished—I’d forced down my plate of food but didn’t take more, which made her mom look at me oddly—Olivia volunteered to do the dishes. I offered to help, but she waved me off, still refusing to meet my eyes.

Mr. Hall started to say something, but his wife railroaded him and beckoned me to come with her. “Help me with something, Leland.”

Torn, I looked at Olivia once more before sighing and trudging after Alice as she left the kitchen. She led the way to the garage and opened the door, letting in a blast of cold air. “I have a few more lights I want to put up outside. Would you be a dear and lend me a hand?”

“Of course,” I replied automatically. My parents had taught me to respect my elders and do as I was told. But I also agreed because the last thing I needed was Alice hurting herself while trying to hang lights. It certainly wouldn’t help my case with Olivia.

“Great! The bins are up there.” She pointed at a stack of green containers on the opposite side of the garage. They used the empty bay of their three-car garage as storage. “Why don’t you pull them down while I grab our coats. They might need a little untangling first.” Before she went inside, she flipped a switch, and one of the three overhead heaters turned on. It wasn’t strong—just enough to keep the occupants from freezing their asses off, but it was directly above me.

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.

“It’s hard for me to swallow the idea of my baby girl all grown up. But the truth is, I believe she picked a good man, one who will love her the way I love my wife. So, I put up with you and when you’re ready to ask for my blessing to propose, you’ll have it.”

I kind of wanted to do a fist pump in the air, but I didn’t want to risk Mr. Hall thinking I was immature and changing his mind. “Thank you, sir.”

He reached out and shook my hand, then tightened his grip and yanked me in closer. “Besides,” he growled. “You know what will happen if you don’t fix whatever is hurting my little girl.”

A chill ran down my spine. “Yes, sir.”

“Great,” he said with an easy smile as if he hadn’t just threatened to dismember me—only one example he’d provided. He released my hand and patted me on the shoulder. “She left to run some errands, so you have plenty of time to plan how you’re going to grovel.”

I nodded and turned to leave again, but her dad called my name, so I looked back at him over my shoulder.

“She loves the song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ and pretty much anything to do with it. Has since she was five years old.” He shrugged and began walking toward Alice. “Just some food for thought.”

Having clearly been dismissed, I went inside and wandered back to the guest room. My body stirred as I thought about the night before, but I tried to push the desire back, knowing it would probably be a while before Olivia let me into her bed again.

My laptop was on the desk by the door, so I sat down and opened it, determined to get some work done. I’d taken a year-long internship with a large company with the understanding that if it went well, I would be hired on full time at the end. There wasn’t much to do over the holidays, but I needed something to occupy my mind. I also did as I’d been advised by both her parents and began making a plan to woo Olivia into forgiving me.

I tried Danny a few times throughout the day, but when he didn’t answer—probably because he was enjoying his fuckmas with Delia—I hoped Olivia wouldn’t get to Delia first, and that he’d listen to his voicemail before he was blindsided.

I heard Olivia’s car pull into the driveway a little after six, then the front door opening and closing before footsteps skipped up the stairs.

She couldn’t avoid me forever. I headed for her bedroom, taking the steps two at a time. When I reached her door, I raised my hand to knock but froze when I heard her speak.

“What do you mean he was the stripper?” Olivia shrieked.

Shit.

“See, Delia?! He’s been stalking you for two freaking years! You don’t think that's creepy and insane?”

Sorry, friend , I thought about Danny. You’re on your own now. I have my own mess to clean up.