"You're welcome."
Angela laughed at Ayla who had stepped back to admire the lights from afar. "I think you've won her over."
"All it takes is a little light. I wonder what it would take to win over her mother?" I asked, and her startled gaze flew to mine, her mouth falling open.
Morgan stepped forward. "If you don't need us, we're going to head out."
I reluctantly pulled my gaze from Angela, wishing he hadn't interrupted our moment. What would she have said?
Maverick was already cleaning up the tools and boxes they'd brought, carrying them to the truck.
"Thanks for helping," I said to him.
Angela approached. "We really appreciate what you did the tree and the outdoor lights. I'm not sure how we can ever repay you."
"The smile on that little girl's face was all we needed. Have a Merry Christmas," Morgan said to her, and then he clasped my shoulder. "I'll be in touch."
I shook my head, knowing I'd do whatever he wanted. It was worth it to make Angela and Ayla happy.
We waited for my brothers to take off. Then we headed back inside.
I wished I could go back to that moment when I asked Angela what it would take to win her over. I was more than a little worried that she wouldn't bring it up, and I'd never have my answer.
CHAPTER 12
ANGELA
After the reveal, Hudson helped us clean the house before he left for the night. I was overwhelmed with the thoughtful gesture. He'd brought us a tree, helped us decorate it, then spent the afternoon with us while his brothers decorated the porch.
I'd never had anyone do something so elaborate for me, and I wasn't sure what to do with that. Then there was that question he'd asked right before his brother interrupted us. He wanted to know how he could win me over.
I hadn't thought about dating anyone seriously. I'd assumed that wasn't what Hudson would want anyway.
But he made me want things I shouldn't even be thinking about. He had been reluctant to let us rent the house initially, but he'd come around to decorating it. I wasn't sure how to respond, and I worried that it was too late. I'd missed my chance.
Should I have taken him aside when he was leaving? Should I have called him that night to talk?
My plan was to wait until after the holidays to deal with it.
There were so many things to do. I should probably bake cookies so that Ayla could put them out for Santa. I also needed to pick up her bike before the store closed.
I'd left Ayla with Clara for an hour so that I could run to the bike shop. I was so happy that they assembled the bike and put a large bow on it that I hadn't thought about whether it would fit into my car.
Now it was sitting next to my trunk. We'd tried every which way to get it in, and it wasn't working. It was too awkward even with the seats down. Then there was the issue that I wasn't sure how I'd get it out by myself.
"I could take off the wheel. Then it would fit."
I shook my head. "There's no way I could get it back on."
The guy sighed. "Do you know someone who has a truck?"
"I do, actually."
"You might want to call him because I can't get it to fit." When another customer arrived, he said, "I need to see if they need help."
"I've got this." I hesitated to call Hudson because he shouldn't be coming to my aid. But I couldn't do this by myself.
Was it time to ask someone for help? I disliked depending on anyone, but it would be nice to lean on someone.
