Page 19 of Surrendering His Heart (Buena Hills #4)

Tyler had every reason to hold a grudge by the way Christian had pulled away following his and Sabrina’s courthouse wedding.

He hadn’t meant to, really. But he’d been so wrapped up in Sabrina at first, then balancing a new baby while finishing up his degree.

Only sheer desperation had driven him to reach out to his former buddy the day he’d returned from work to discover his wife gone for good.

But Tyler had come running with no hesitation at the call, thus solidifying his best friend status. He’d willingly sacrificed precious hours with Gemma during his summer break from Berkeley to help Christian through his grief. And he’d proven his loyalty time after time since then.

Christian didn’t only trust him with the girls; he trusted him with his life.

“Gemma didn’t want to come?” he asked.

Tyler shrugged. “We’re bringing Will tomorrow, but today, I’m here for Hallie. She’s been taking me to task all afternoon.”

“I have not.” Hallie gave her brother a look of exasperation that every sister on the planet must have stored in her wheelhouse.

Christian ignored how adorable the expression was on her face. She’s your best friend’s sister. And that wasn’t even the biggest reason to stay away. “You should’ve brought Will. He’d be a nice sales pitch.”

She snapped Tyler’s arm with the back of her hand. “See! That’s what I said.”

“I’m not letting you use my son as free advertising.” Her brother paired his indignant tone with a cheeky grin, proving that no offense had been taken.

“Why not?” Hallie asked simply. “No one can resist those chubby cheeks.”

“That’s true.”

Isla tugged on the hem of Christian’s shirt. “Daddy, can I have a cupcake?”

“Sure, kiddo. Choose whatever you’d like. Nellie can have one too.” He nodded at Tyler to help Penelope choose .

Isla stretched onto her tiptoes to get a closer look at the cupcakes on the left half of the tablecloth. “What kind are they?”

Hallie pulled a plastic glove from a box behind her then pointed to the orange-and-white frosting that swirled a good two inches on top of the cupcakes.

“These ones are apple spice.” She gestured to the ones with the tiny bit of dark cake peeking out from underneath the serrated cone of all-white frosting.

A shimmery leaf was pressed to the side of each one. “And these are chocolate.”

“Chocolate!” Penelope’s voice raised to an almost unnatural pitch, even for her. She bounced excitedly in Tyler’s arms.

“A girl after my own heart.” Hallie slipped on the glove. She selected a chocolate cupcake, delivering it to Penelope’s outstretched hands, before turning to Isla. “And what about for you?”

Isla pointed to the selection of apple spice. “I want that one. The frosting is pretty.”

“One with the pretty frosting for the girl with the pretty curls.”

A small smile passed over Isla’s face as she accepted the offering.

Christian searched Hallie’s expression for any sign of teasing.

Even after the kindness she’d shown his daughter at the nail salon, he had a hard time believing she’d look past the whole kicking incident.

Wouldn’t someone hold on to that kind of thing?

But her countenance showed complete sincerity.

“That’ll be eight dollars,” Hallie said, catching Christian in his stare.

The warmth in his stomach caused by her gentle eyes on him rose into his chest, radiating outward to his extremities. His breathing challenged his heart to a race. It was anyone’s guess which would come out victorious.

“Christian?” She looked at him expectantly, and his name on her tongue snapped him out of his momentary gaze. She had such a lovely voice.

Lovely voice? What a strange thing to be attracted to.

Stop it . “Right, sorry.”

Reaching into his back pocket for his wallet, he noticed the orange binder on an easel to the left side of the table. The cover had a picture of an elaborate three-tiered square cake.

Taking a step toward it, he studied the picture even closer. The three layers were shaped and decorated to look like presents wrapped in shimmery paper of alternating pink and blue. A glittery striped bow of the same colors decorated the top layer.

He lifted his eyes to Hallie. “You made this?”

She still watched him, expecting his payment no doubt. But finishing the transaction meant leaving, and he couldn’t ignore the overwhelming desire to stay at this booth a little longer.

“I did,” she confirmed with a nod. “It was for a gender reveal last year.”

“Very impressive.”

Her mouth stretched into a stunning smile. She had to stop doing that. “Thanks.”

“She made my wedding cake too,” Tyler said off-handedly, setting Penelope down to assist the young family entering the booth.

Christian turned back to Hallie. “Did you really?”

“I’ve improved a lot since then.” She shrugged.

“What are you talking about? It was amazing.”

Truthfully, he didn’t remember the cake.

Tyler got married over two years ago. And Christian’s head had been filled with too many unpleasant things to recall details from the wedding.

The first anniversary of Sabrina’s abandonment had loomed, leaving him raw and full of heavy emotions.

On top of that, he’d bowed out of all the wedding week festivities besides the actual event because Penelope was sick and teething.

He’d left the reception before the newlyweds had even cut the cake.

But he’d give Hallie all the encouragement in the world, even if it meant lying through his teeth. Hopefully, his kids never found out their dad didn’t always practice what he preached.

Christian felt Penelope’s small hands tug on the back of his shirt and he lifted her into his arms. Chocolate smeared across her face, her hands not much cleaner.

Resigning himself to the impossibility of leaving the festival with a clean shirt himself, he opened the binder. The cake on the first page was shaped like a wooden ship with Happy Birthday! scrawled on the sail and a skull and crossbones underneath.

He bent closer to the page to study the details. “This is incredible. It actually looks like a ship. How do you make the wood so lifelike?”

Hallie’s cheeks flushed a light pink. “Lots and lots of practice.”

He flipped through a few more pages, each cake blowing his mind a little more. Every single one was as detailed as the one before, bringing objects to life in baked form. They reminded Christian of the cakes on Food Network, created by bakers with decades of experience. She had just as much talent.

Puffing out a breath, he focused again on Hallie. “I knew you were an amazing baker, but I didn’t realize you were an artist too.”

“The best ones always are.”

“Are you saying you’re the best?” he asked, his mouth ticking upward.

Her coy expression was too exaggerated to be real. “That’s the goal.”

“I have no doubt you’ll get there, if you’re not already.” Christian turned another page of the book, revealing a simple castle with pink turrets, sparking an idea. “Isla, how would you like to have Hallie make your birthday cake this year?”

Isla moved beside him to look at the cake book. “I thought Grandma was making my cake.”

“Don’t you want something better than one from a box?” No disrespect toward Mom or anything. She was a whiz when it came to cookies, but cakes had never been her strong suit. And Hallie’s were, in a word, spectacular. His daughter deserved the best.

Sure, that was the reason nagging at him to hire her.

The only reason.

“Really?” Isla asked, her voice full of hope.

“Would you be okay with that?” he asked Hallie. “It’s on the twenty-ninth. We’d pay you, of course.” Was that a given? He wanted to make it clear he wouldn’t expect her to do it for free because of their existing connection .

So much for tightening your wallet. After this purchase, he’d definitely stop splurging until he got his job back on track.

She pursed her lips, drawing Christian’s attention to them. He sucked in a breath as the picture of kissing that irresistible mouth popped into his mind.

Nope. Definitely not going there.

He hadn’t thought of kissing anyone for years. He forced his eyes away, refusing to start now, especially with Tyler’s little sister.

“I should be able to make that work,” Hallie said. “Do you have anything specific in mind?”

Isla hopped up and down in her excitement. “I want a really spooky haunted house. With ghosts and witches and a graveyard in the front.”

Hallie’s blonde eyebrows jumped to her forehead. “Oh my. That’ll be … something.”

“Isla’s a big fan of Halloween,” Christian explained.

“I guess you were born in the right month, then.” Hallie scrunched her nose at Isla. “Maybe you can help me design something really cool?”

The girl pondered the invitation for a moment before answering. “I think I can do that.”

“Awesome.” Hallie slid a sheet of paper from a manila envelope, attaching it to a clipboard before handing it to Christian.

“This is my order form. I’ll call you later to discuss the details.

For now, just fill out the top with your contact information and when you’d like the cake ready.

And I’ll need you to put a deposit down before you leave. ”

“Sure.”

Christian shifted the clipboard into the hand that held Penelope to fill out when he finished flipping through the binder. He stopped on the next page.

“Aw, look at the bunnies, Nellie.” He pointed to his youngest daughter’s favorite animal, captured mid-hop on top of a forest-themed cake. “Could you … make a cake like this?”

Hallie leaned over the table to see which cake he pointed to. “I did that one, so … yeah. I could easily recreate it or do something similar.”

“Great. We’ll add a bunny cake to our order.”

Her brows drew together. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Christian flipped the page. Before he could stop himself, he made another request. “And while we’re at it, let’s add this ghost cake too. You know, to stick with the Halloween theme.”

What am I doing?

“Dude, how big is this party?” Tyler asked, his hand frozen over the bakery box he was packing with cupcakes.

Not big enough for three cakes, that was for sure. But Christian couldn’t stop his mouth from running away from him. It possessed a mind of its own, and he had no say in what came out of it.

Tyler’s blue eyes narrowed in an expression of confusion. Or suspicion, perhaps?

Christian’s laugh sounded forced even to him. “That should do it.”

Hallie blinked several times, apparently too stunned for words. “Um … okay. How’d you like to pay the deposit?”

“I’ll put it on my card and pay for the cupcakes in cash.” Setting the clipboard down on the table, he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and handed her a ten-dollar bill.

She placed his money in the cash box on the chair behind her, then turned back to him. “Here’s two dollars in change for the cupcakes.”

As she placed the bills on his outstretched palm, her fingers brushed his hand.

Sparks sizzled up his arm, and he sucked in another breath.

His eyes flew to her face, locking with hers, holding her gaze.

Time froze, everything around them fading away.

Even Penelope seemed to disappear from his arm, leaving a cozy haze surrounding only Hallie and himself.

What was this connection that sparked between them? He couldn’t begin to read the expression written across her beautiful features. But she didn’t look away.

Finally, after an eternally long minute, she gulped in a lungful of air, yanking her hand away. “Do you want a cookie?” Her voice squeaked. “It’s on the house, of course. As a thank you … for your generous order.”

She spun to the side to grab one from a crate, smacking hard into her brother’s chest. Tyler bobbled the box of cupcakes in his hand.

“Whoa,” he said, righting it before he decorated the astro turf with chocolate and apple spice. “Are you okay?”

Hallie hurried around him to grab a maple leaf cookie. “Yep. Fine. All good.”

Did she really believe that? Because after what passed between them just now, Christian was anything but all good.

He felt like the captain of the ship cake from Hallie’s portfolio. And he was barreling straight into dangerous waters.