Page 17 of Surrendering His Heart (Buena Hills #4)

His daughter blinked back at her, and Christian held his breath. He gave her shoulder a light squeeze. “Do you have something to say to Hallie?”

Isla turned pleading eyes onto him, and he arched his brows.

Once more, she faced Hallie, not quite looking at her, and took a shaky breath. “Sorry for kicking you.”

Surprise sparked in Hallie’s eyes, but she masked it quickly as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

Please be kind, he silently pleaded. He stepped forward to intervene, wanting to save his daughter from unnecessary chastisement.

But before he could excuse them from this situation, Hallie bent to Isla’s level, placing her hands on her thighs. “It’s okay. You seemed to be having a hard time. I hope you’re feeling better now.”

Her words had a visible effect on Isla. A small one, but Christian noticed it. The child finally met Hallie’s eyes, and the rigidity in her posture relaxed. She may have smiled a little, though he couldn’t be sure from his angle.

So many people dismissed Isla’s needs without taking the time to see the vulnerability underneath her fight. Did Hallie realize the magnitude of this small kindness, not only for Isla but for him too?

Pulling his keys from his pocket, he pushed the unlock button on the fob twice and patted Isla’s back. “The car’s unlocked. Go buckle yourself while I talk to Hallie for a minute.”

Isla ran off without another word. Christian watched to make sure she got to the car a few feet away.

“Uh…” he muttered once she was inside. He rubbed a hand along the back of his neck as words tumbled through his brain, none spilling from his mouth.

“I’m sorry,” Hallie said, beating him to the apology he was attempting to make. “I should’ve called before coming over the other day. I didn’t mean to upset her.”

How could she think the incident was her fault? “No, you’re … fi ne. Thank you for the cookies. They were gone in a day.” His chuckle morphed into an awkward throat clearing.

She smiled, pulling another stuttering response from his heart. “I’m glad they were a hit.”

More silence followed, and Christian berated himself for contributing to the weird vibe between them. But after swearing off dating following Sabrina’s abandonment, he could hardly be blamed for his lack of practice talking to gorgeous women.

Yikes, did he just consider Hallie gorgeous? She was beautiful. But he had no business thinking of Tyler’s sister that way. There had to be something in the Guy Code about it.

Rule #34: No making googly eyes at your best friend’s sister .

Googly eyes? Yeah, he’d lost it.

“Listen,” he said finally, trying to ignore the way his nerve endings zapped out of control.

His eyes strayed toward the car to check on Isla.

He could barely make out the silhouette of her frizzy curls in the backseat.

“About the other day. I’m the one who’s sorry.

Isla had a horrible day at school and?—”

“Really, it’s okay.” Hallie held his gaze, and he couldn’t look away from her captivating blue eyes. “Adults have big emotions too. We can’t expect a child to know how to handle their feelings if we also struggle with them.”

Who was this woman? She’d practically recited a direct quote from Isla’s therapist. Did she have some invisible Cyrano de Bergerac camping out in the bushes somewhere, telling her what to say?

Every word emerging from her mouth had the effect of easing the burden Christian had carried for years. How did she do that?

He blew out a heavy breath. “She didn’t used to be this difficult. But then her mom…” He stopped himself. Just because Hallie had shown some unexpected kindness didn’t mean she wanted—or needed—the entire life story of his children.

Goosebumps scattered across his skin when she placed her hand on his arm, and his heart pounded.

“You don’t owe me an explanation.” She gave his arm a light squeeze before letting go, leaving Christian wishing she’d keep it there a little longer. He followed her attention to the rest of her group occupying comfy chairs inside the salon. “I should go.”

Did he detect some hesitation in her voice? Was he wrong to think of it as reluctance to leave their conversation?

Of course you are . He’d barely said anything to her. Why would she rather stay out here with him?

“Me too,” he said, pushing that thought far away where it belonged. “Isla will start shouting out the window any minute now.”

Hallie laughed, the sound light and void of the discomfort that plagued his body. “Where’s your other little one?”

“Penelope.”

“That’s cute. Where’s Penelope?”

“She’s with my sister. I try to take the girls out on their own sometimes to give them some individual attention.” Again with the unnecessary info dump.

“That’s really nice.” A whimsical smile came over Hallie’s features. “I’m sure they love it.”

The break in conversation offered the perfect exit opportunity. But neither of them made any move to leave until the sound of a car door opening cut through the evening.

Isla’s head popped out of the back seat. “Daddy! I’m hungry! My tummy is making noises.”

He squeezed his eyes shut. “That’s my cue.”

Amusement flashed across Hallie’s face when he opened them. “You shouldn’t keep her waiting. My mom used to say that once the tummy starts making noises, it means the stomach monster is emerging from its cave, ready to eat everything in its path. You might be next.”

A sharp crack of laughter burst from Christian’s gut, prompting another gorgeous smile from her. His heart rate kicked up a few more notches. Dang, when was the last time a woman smiled at him like that?

“Daddy!”

Isla’s voice snapped the bubble of enjoyment growing inside him, and he actually jumped. He shot an annoyed side-eye toward the car .

“I’ll see you around, Christian.” A chuckle surrounded Hallie’s words. She hesitated briefly before stepping past him to grab the door to the nail salon.

He turned, watching her walk down the center aisle inside until a row of oversized chairs blocked her from view. Standing on the curb for a long moment, he tried to still his racing breaths while his thoughts spun in an endless loop of confusion.

For some reason, Hallie stirred up so many feelings he hadn’t experienced since his marriage ended.

Long before, perhaps. Was it simply because for the first time in years he hadn’t been expected to solve anything?

Instead of demanding he provide an explanation for his daughter’s behavior, she’d given him a pass instead?

Or did his reaction to her stem from an entirely different reason? A more sentimental reason? One from the heart?

What do you think, Dad?

He was only left with his own terror that it might be the latter.