311 Pelican Court - Debbie Macomber [44]
He shrugged. “I was a little too pushy, I think.”
“Your problem is that you need a woman who adores you.”
He chuckled and saluted her with his empty wineglass. “You once did, and I’m hoping you will again. I adore you, you know.”
It flattered her to hear it, but Olivia was older and wiser these days. She’d once loved Stan with all of her being, but their marriage hadn’t survived the loss of their son. The divorce had battered her emotionally, and it had taken her years to recover. Even now, she couldn’t reflect on the summer of 1986 without sadness.
“I was wrong,” Stan said, lowering his voice. “I want to make it up to you.”
Make it up to her? Olivia nearly laughed but held on to her composure. “There are other women for you out there.”
“Don’t tell me you’re interested in that…that newspaper guy. Olivia, no! Anyone can see Griffin’s all wrong for you.”
“I think I’m the best judge of that.”
Stan sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. Slowly he shook his head, intimating that he just couldn’t imagine her with Jack. “He’s a loose cannon,” Stan muttered. “You realize that, don’t you?”
Olivia disagreed, but she had no intention of arguing with Stan over her relationship with another man. So she said nothing. Thankfully Seth and Justine returned with the coffee and birthday cake, and the matter was dropped.
Later that evening, when she got home after a full day of celebrating, she discovered two messages on her machine. One was from James and Selina, his wife, who’d phoned with birthday greetings. The second message was from Jack.
Olivia returned his call first. He answered immediately, as though he’d been sitting by the phone waiting for her. It was a pleasant thought.
“Hi,” he said, and he sounded thrilled to hear from her. “Where were you all day?”
“Out.”
“Yes, I know. I called six times and drove by once.”
“Jack!”
“I wanted to see you. I don’t suppose it’s proper etiquette to tell you that, but I did…. I still do.”
“It’s too late now.”
“I know.” He groaned the words. “Where were you?”
“If you must know, it’s my birthday, and I was at dinner with Justine and Seth.”
“Your birthday! Damn, Olivia, I forgot. You’ll forgive me, won’t you?”
“As long as you don’t ask me how old I am.”
He chuckled. “Don’t ask, don’t tell?”
“You got it.”
“Anybody else there?” The question was a blatant request regarding her ex-husband.
Olivia had the option of lying and avoiding any chance of another dragged-out misunderstanding. She hated to risk upsetting him just when they’d reconciled, but she couldn’t, wouldn’t deceive him. “Yes,” she admitted reluctantly. “Stan showed up. Unexpectedly.”
“Bearing gifts, no doubt?”
“A few.”
“Flowers?”
“Not as pretty as the ones you sent a while back.” Olivia had left Stan’s bouquet with her daughter.
“Candy, too?”
“No candy.”
“Wine, then?”
“Wine,” she confirmed.
He growled something under his breath. “You still want me to put on a pair of boxing gloves and fight him?”
Olivia smiled. “I never wanted you to get into a fistfight,” she said. “I just wanted you to prove you cared about me.”
“Okay,” he said. “Should I call him or do you want to do it?”
“Call Stan?” Jack wasn’t making any sense.
“I think we should duke it out, just the two of us. Man to man.”
“Jack Griffin, that’s ridiculous! Tell me you’re not serious.”
He paused, and she thought she could hear him shadowboxing in the background. He was definitely moving around.
“You could simply declare me the winner,” Jack suggested hopefully.
“I could,” she agreed, “but first you’d have to win my favor.”
Jack groaned again. “And exactly how am I supposed to do that?”
“You don’t know?” She feigned surprise.
“Apparently not, but I’ll study on it.”
“You do that.” Olivia gave a full-throated laugh. “I have a feeling you’ll find a way.”
Oh, yes, it was good to have him back in her life.
Ten
Maryellen was going back to work. She dropped her ten-week-old daughter off at her sister’s on Monday morning, the last week of October. She’d resumed a nine-to-five schedule