Page 11 of Surrendering His Heart (Buena Hills #4)

Christian had a daughter.

No, he had two daughters. That would’ve been nice to know before showing up at his place unannounced. Why hadn’t Tyler told her?

Sure, Hallie could’ve figured it out if she’d just looked in his backseat the day he’d given her a ride. In her defense, the rain had made the inside of the car darker than normal, and she was more focused on her wet clothes than snooping around Christian’s space.

Once she’d come down from the panic of being accosted by his dog, she’d immediately recognized the cute little girl from the library last week. Who could forget those angelic cheeks? She was Christian’s daughter? Oh, the irony.

Hallie’s shin throbbed as she pulled into her driveway a few minutes later. She limped up the steps to the porch. Man, Christian’s older child packed a mean kick for someone so little. The girl couldn’t be more than six years old.

The house was quiet when she let herself inside.

Beej’s shift at the hospital ran until eight, and Kendall no doubt had decided to study late at the campus library tonight.

Hallie didn’t know what McKenzie’s plans were, but with Mitch on break from tournaments this week, she was probably at his apartment.

He’d recently relocated from his old place in Long Beach to be closer to his fiancée.

Hallie didn’t bother turning on a light to chase away the growing shadows inside the house.

She took the stairs at a jog in the dark, sliding her phone from her back pocket once she’d made it to the upstairs landing.

Crossing through her open bedroom door, she hit the first speed dial and anxiously tapped her free hand against her thigh, waiting for Elise to answer .

“He’s got kids!” she blurted as soon as the call connected.

“Who’s got kids?” The man’s Irish brogue immediately announced his identity.

“Oh, hey Ror.” Hallie pulled the phone from her ear to make sure she’d dialed the right number. Elise’s name scrolled across the top of the screen. Why was her fiancé answering her phone? Had something happened? “Sorry, I thought you were my sister.”

“Ah, no bother at all,” Rory said. “She was in the other room when you rang, so she asked me to answer. I’ll fetch her for ya. You sound like you’re in need of some ear bendin’.”

It had taken a while for Hallie to get used to Rory’s Irish phrases, but she had no trouble understanding him now. “I could use a good chat.” She dropped onto her neatly made bed. “How’s work? Any new projects?”

“Yeh, it’s grand altogether. Right now, I’m finishin’ up a romance score for an independent flick due in a few weeks. That’s what’s takin’ up most of my time. Here she is.” A short, muffled conversation followed before Elise picked up the phone.

“What’s up, Hal?”

Hallie let out a squeaky moan.

“That doesn’t sound good,” her sister said through a chuckle. A door slid shut on Elise’s side of the line, and Hallie wondered if her sister had stepped outside.

Turning onto her stomach, she slid Foxie under her chest, resting her chin on the soft but worn fur. She needed the comfort the stuffy provided right now. “You know how I told you Tyler’s friend was coming over to work on my website?”

“Yeah. Was he able to fix the problem?”

“Oh, he fixed it,” Hallie confirmed. “And he offered to create a brand new one.”

“That’s nice of him.”

Hallie was anxious to unpack the events of the afternoon—and figure out why they bothered her so much—but first, she needed to catch her sister up to speed.

“I don’t get it. He was so stand-offish at first. Like he’d rather be anywhere else but helping me. Why would he go out of his way to do something like that?”

“This is the same guy from Ty’s wedding, right?” Elise asked.

Hallie nodded before realizing her sister couldn’t see it.

Old habits died hard, and she still hadn’t adjusted to having these conversations over the phone instead of face-to-face.

“Kendall called him broody, and I can totally see why. But then he started opening up, especially in the car the other day. He’s …

I don’t know … not what I expected.” Warmth sped up her neck.

“Wait, why were you in the car with him?”

Hallie shrugged. Again with the nonverbal communication. Would she ever get used to having an entire country between them? “I was caught in the rain, and he drove by, so he gave me a ride home. It was kind of … nice.” Seriously, why couldn’t she stop blushing? People offered rides all the time.

“So, he’s a good guy,” Elise said.

“Yeah, he is.”

“Why do I get the feeling that’s a problem?”

Hallie considered the question. Was it a problem?

“I just can’t get a read on him. Even Tyler said he wouldn’t go out of his way to take on a project for free, and now that I’ve tried to do it myself, I know what a big deal it is.

I mean, sure, it’s his job. He can probably build a website in his sleep.

But after what I learned about him today, I doubt he has the time. ”

“Oooooo, intriguing. Continue.”

“He has kids.”

She still couldn’t believe it. Of all the reasons Tyler would refuse to talk about Christian, or invite him to hang out with them, or take it upon himself to warn Hallie not to get involved … She’d never considered this as the reason why.

So what? Lots of people had kids. This shouldn’t be an earth-shattering discovery.

Then why are you making it one?

The question came out of nowhere. And she didn’t have an answer to it .

“Awww,” Elise gushed. “Are they cute?”

Did she not realize the big deal here? Hallie sat up, pulling Foxie onto her lap.

“One of them is. The other one…” She cut off her assessment of Christian’s older daughter, refusing to speak ill of a child.

Instead, she rubbed her shin. It no longer throbbed, but the bruise still hurt when her fingers traced the mark. “She seems like a handful.”

“What do you mean?” Elise asked.

Hallie took the next few minutes to fill her sister in on everything that occurred at Christian’s. When she got to the part where Isla came in—was that her name? Through the chaos, she couldn’t be sure she’d heard him correctly—Elise gasped.

“She kicked you? Why?”

“She screamed something about not wanting another nanny,” Hallie explained. “The only thing I can figure out is that maybe she thought I was her? Seriously, can you picture me as a nanny? I’m terrible with kids.”

Elise scoffed. “No, you’re not. I’m willing to bet you’re Will’s favorite aunt.”

“But Will’s a baby. All you have to do is smile at him and he’s your best friend. I never know how to relate to older kids. Remember that time I watched the Matheson kids? Sam rode his big wheel right off the deck.”

“You were fourteen,” Elise said, laughing. “And the deck was less than a foot off the ground. Sam was fine.”

Hallie tried to stay indignant but couldn’t resist smiling at her sister’s amusement. “He still cried the whole time. Believe me, it was traumatic. And proof I shouldn’t be trusted around other people’s kids. That’s the whole reason I never babysat again. Plus, Christian has a dog.”

Elise slid right into the topic change like she always did during these heart-to-hearts.

“That would be a red flag for you.” No sarcasm touched her tone.

Hallie’s deep-seated fear of dogs went back years, ever since the golden retriever up the street chased her every time he escaped his house.

Which happened way too often. That devil canine loved to dig his way out of his yard just to torment her.

At least the owners moved away after a year, but those twelve months were the longest of her entire life. And they gave her a permanent unease around all dogs. Especially golden retrievers.

“Does it matter though? He’s only doing you a favor. It’s not like you’re dating the guy. Unless—” Elise gasped again. “Do you like him?”

Hallie bolted upright, tossing Foxie to the side. “What? No!”

“You totally like him. You’re way too practical to get all bent out of shape over something that doesn’t have anything to do with you. Has my logical sister finally found a guy who makes her knees weak?”

“Of course not.” Hallie shook her head so hard her neck popped. She tilted it from side to side to stretch it out. “I can’t like someone I barely know. A warning that I needed to protect my shins would’ve been nice though. I could’ve put on pads before going over there.”

“Is that all?”

Okay, now her sister was getting annoying.

“Yes, that’s all.” Wasn’t it? But Elise’s noise of disbelief made her pause. “I mean, sure, he’s … handsome.” She could state the obvious.

“He is pretty cute,” Elise agreed. “And tall. I remember that from the wedding.”

Hallie nodded. She’d always preferred tall men. Especially when they came with an angular jaw and piercing brown eyes. And just enough facial hair to look sexy without resembling a mountain man.

“Okay, maybe I am a little attracted to him.” Not that she ever put a lot of stock into looks.

So many other factors determined whether a relationship could work.

Kindness, loyalty, responsibility, to name a few.

Good looks faded, but the essence of what made a man attractive should not. “But I don’t like him like him.”

“It just seems a little strange that you’re making such a big deal about this if there aren’t feelings involved.”

Elise had a point. And Hallie’s confusion was the reason she’d called in the first place. This whole thing with Christian didn’t make any sense. It was so unlike her to go crazy when it came to men .

“Honestly, I don’t understand why this bothers me so much,” she admitted, hoping her sister could provide some explanation for her swirling emotions. “I barely know him. And yet, it’s like I’m … disappointed, or something. Yes, I realize I’m being ridiculous.”

“No, you’re not,” Elise responded gently.

“Sometimes our hearts try to tell us things our brains aren’t ready to comprehend.

You’re a rational thinker, and that’s not a bad thing.

You make decisions with your brain instead of your heart.

It’s totally understandable to be shocked about his situation, even if you weren’t actively wanting to date him. ”

“I don’t have time to date anyone right now.

” Hallie had enough on her plate worrying about her business.

Now that the Pattersons’ gender reveal was over, she didn’t have any events coming up besides the Autumn Festival and the Hawthornes’ Halloween party.

She had all she could handle trying to market her business.

“And you’re only twenty-four,” Elise said.

“You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.

Dating someone like him would look a lot different than a typical relationship for people our age.

Not wanting that right now is totally fine.

But it’s also okay to be disappointed about letting the idea go, even if it was a small one. ”

Hallie blew a strand of blonde hair from her face. “It’s probably for the best. Please don’t tell Tyler we talked about this. I kind of promised I wouldn’t get involved with Christian anyway.”

Was that the reason for these confusing emotions? The off-limits thing, and all that?

“Hey, we younger sisters have to band together against protective older brothers.” Elise laughed. “I know what it’s like to date someone Ty doesn’t approve of. Hello? Remember Carter?”

Hallie smiled at the mention of the guy who’d proposed to Elise after three dates. Tyler had been right to hate him. She hadn’t been a big fan either. “At least now you have Rory. It’s impossible not to like him.”

“He is pretty amazing, isn’t he?” Elise gave a dreamy sigh before returning to the topic at hand. “What Tyler doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Your secret is safe with me. ”

They’d shared so many secrets over the years that Hallie knew she could trust her sister not to share this conversation with anyone. That should’ve made her feel better.

Yet something still nagged at her. In some ways, Elise had shed light on Hallie’s dilemma about Christian. Unfortunately, she’d also realized that she might have a teeny tiny crush on him after all.

But if she gave in to it, that teeny tiny crush had the potential of changing the entire trajectory of her future.

What a terrifying thought.