Page 20 of Surrendering His Heart (Buena Hills #4)

“He bought three full-sized cakes.” Hallie couldn’t keep the bewilderment from her voice while recapping Christian’s visit to her booth to Kendall and Beej at the conclusion of the Autumn Festival Sunday night. “Three!”

Kendall turned from her closet, shoving a hanger into the sleeve of a sweater. “He must really love cake.”

“I doubt it, unless he hides his cake belly well,” Hallie said from the bed.

“He doesn’t exactly have a dad bod underneath his clothes.

” Warmth raced across her face. She’d never actually seen the state of his stomach, but her imagination was forming a very nice image of chiseled abs to compliment his tall, trim figure.

Do not entertain that picture . She resisted the urge to feel her cheeks, hoping the direction her mind had taken didn’t show on her face.

“Hello … isn’t it obvious?” Beej looked at them both like they were clueless teens in need of direction only she could provide.

Kendall flipped a pair of dress pants over the bottom of a hanger and hung it in the closet. “Isn’t what obvious?”

Beej forced out a groan. “Do you know nothing about basic human attraction?”

“Is everything always about dating for you?” Kendall shot back with the same inflection.

Pushing her friend’s wadded up pjs to the corner of the bed, Beej pulled her legs into a crisscross position.

Kendall wasn’t a complete slob—she contributed a lot to the cleanliness of their shared living spaces.

But her bedroom was an experiment in controlled chaos.

She had her various piles on her desk, her bed, and shoved in her closet, though she always knew exactly where everything was.

Her organizational style clashed with Hallie’s need to have a place for all her belongings though they’d lived together long enough that their differences didn’t matter.

At least as long as the piles stayed out of the rest of the house.

“I’ve dated a lot, as you know .” Beej added a sarcastic spin to the last few words, an acknowledgement of the way the family lovingly teased her about her dating habits. “But I’ve picked up a thing or two about how guys act. He’s interested.”

“No, he’s not.” Hallie looked at her cousin like she’d sprouted two heads. “He hardly talks to me when we’re together. He’s not exactly screaming his undying devotion to me.”

Her doubts failed to dampen her cousin’s enthusiasm. “He’s probably nervous. With two kids, I’d imagine his dating opportunities aren’t exactly plentiful. Maybe he was showing his interest in the only way he knew how.”

“By spending close to five hundred dollars on baked goods?”

Not likely. Christian seemed like a rational guy. Even if there was any interest on his part, she couldn’t imagine him spending that kind of money.

And yet, he did, proving Hallie knew absolutely nothing about him.

“It’s possible.” Beej’s upper body shimmied in her spot on the purple bedspread. The idea of someone—anyone—making a love connection always made her giddy. “I’d jump on that.”

Hallie hoped her cousin didn’t mean anything beyond taking advantage of the chance to date him, but with Beej, she couldn’t be completely sure. “I can’t jump on that. Even if Christian did like me, nothing can ever come from it. He has kids.”

Besides, Tyler had already warned her not to get too close to his best friend. He’d been on the verge of bringing it up again yesterday. He didn’t actually say anything, but Hallie could feel the worry radiating off him once Christian and the girls left the booth.

“So what if he has kids.” Beej tossed one of Kendall’s pillows in Hallie’s direction. You’ve said you wanted to be a mom eventually.”

Hallie threw up her hands. “Not right now. It would be irresponsible to start something with him when I know I’m not ready for that kind of commitment.”

“Why do you insist on doing the practical thing all the time?” Beej asked, in close to the same exasperated tone Hallie had used.

“If you ask me, you have a golden opportunity here. We know he’s good with kids.

That’ll serve you later when you’re ready to—” She cupped a hand around her mouth, lowering her voice to a stage whisper “—take things to the next level.”

“Why are you whispering?” Kendall asked, sticking her empty laundry basket in the closet before sliding the door closed.

“I don’t want to jinx it.”

Hallie huffed out a sigh. “You’re not jinxing anything because there won’t be a next level.”

Her cousin might be okay with raising someone else’s kids.

Even though she already had a fulfilling career as a pediatric nurse, her biggest aspiration in life was to find her soul mate and birth a gaggle of chubby cheeked kids.

Hallie wanted that too … eventually. But taking on the responsibility of children had never been part of her perfect dating scenario.

Not that she had a perfect dating scenario, but if she did, kids wouldn’t be in it.

Besides, what happened to the girls’ actual mother? Was Christian widowed? Divorced? Did he share custody with an ex? The possibility of having to coparent with another woman gave Hallie serious red flags about the matter.

Which was a good thing, really. She had all she could manage getting her business off the ground. Dating in general would be too difficult, especially once she got her real bakery. She wouldn’t have time for kids if she spent her whole life at work.

Then why did the memory of him playing with Penelope or the gentle way he talked to Isla stir up warm fuzzies inside her?

And what about the sparks that flew up her arm when their hands touched? She’d had a few boyfriends over the years, and none of them had ever caused such an instant reaction to an accidental hand touch. Maybe her body was rebelling against Christian’s off-limits status.

Off-limits. Yes, she needed to keep reminding herself of that.

Hallie rose from the bed, tossing the pillow onto the mattress. “We’re jumping to major conclusions here. Maybe he’s just throwing a really big party.”

Beej flipped onto her stomach and slid her cousin’s abandoned pillow under her chest. “Big enough for three cakes? That would be A LOT of kids.”

“Sounds awful.” Kendall shuddered.

She wasn’t as anti-kids as her comment made her sound, but she’d been very vocal in the past about not wanting them. Especially since she adamantly claimed she had no intention of ever getting married.

“Why be shackled to a loser when I can live my life the way I want on my own?” she always asked whenever their conversations steered toward men.

It would take a very secure man to break through Kendall’s fierce independence.

Not that she needed one to be happy. But if the right man wanted to win her heart, he’d have his work cut out for him.

“I should call Christian and give him a chance to back out of the order.” Hallie sighed. She could really use the money those cakes would bring into her business. Still, she didn’t feel right about being the cause of his buyer’s remorse.

Beej’s eyes lit up and she sat up a little straighter. “Or you could put that poor man out of his misery and ask him on a date.”

“I will not be doing that,” Hallie said as she rose from the bed and headed for the door. “And before you say it, you better not find a way to stalk him to do it for me.” She knew her cousin too well.

Without turning back to witness Beej’s reaction, she stepped into the hall.

The jitters returned to her stomach as she reached her own room.

Perhaps settled wasn’t the right word, though.

Her nerves were performing complicated steps like a whole company of tap dancers.

She’d never been this nervous to call a customer before.

But Christian wasn’t any customer. Against her better judgment, he might be rivaling the Hawthornes as her favorite.

She grabbed her binder full of client contact forms and plopped down on her bed. Foxie, standing sentinel in her usual spot right by Hallie’s pillow, fell over with the sudden movement.

After locating Christian’s order form, she dialed his number, stopping before initiating the call.

Her finger hovered over the screen as she blew out a breath to calm the stomach flutters.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she jabbed at the green call button.

Immediately, she second guessed her decision not to wait until morning to contact him.

It was after nine o’clock. He could be putting the girls to bed.

What time did kids that age even go to sleep?

As her brain began forming the message she’d leave once his voicemail kicked in, she heard a click on the line.

“Hello?”

The flutters took on a new round of dances as the deep timbre of Christian’s voice vibrated all the way down to her core. How could one word sound so sensual?

Sensual?

Ugh … Absolutely not.

“Hey, Christian. It’s Hallie. Sorry to bother you so late. Is this a bad time?”

“No, I just got Isla to bed.” A hint of fatigue touched his voice. “What’s up?”

Hallie bit her lip, unsure of how to bring up her concerns. “I’d like to double check your order.”

“What’s the problem?”

“There’s no problem.” She hurried to explain. “Three cakes is just kind of a lot, more than most people order for a single party. I wanted to make sure you still wanted them all.”

“Is it too much work for you?” he asked, and Hallie immediately picked up on the hesitation in his voice. Oh man, did he think she was lazy now, like she couldn’t handle making that many cakes?

She lifted her shoulders to her ears then lowered them again, hoping the movement would relax the tension seizing her body and slow her mouth.

“No, of course not. I’m not bothered by the work.

Obviously, there is a time constraint. It takes several hours to make one cake, with the baking and the assembly and the decorating.

But I can figure that out. I’m more concerned about the cost. And what would you even do with that many cakes? ”