Page 22 of Surrendering His Heart (Buena Hills #4)

The prospect of having a woman over for the first time in three years forced Christian to take a hard look at the state of his house.

Technically, Hallie wouldn’t be the first woman to ever step foot inside the front door since Sabrina left. Mom and Dani made frequent visits. And sometimes Gemma accompanied Tyler when he came over too.

But those women didn’t cause his heart to beat against his rib cage in its attempt to leap from his body. This visit felt different.

And why would that be?

He refused to consider the reasons. Still, what he learned in his panic-induced assessment was that he couldn’t let Hallie see his place like this.

He wasn’t a slob, per se. There were just only so many hours in the day.

Between caring for the girls, earning a living, and all the baggage that came with that, the house fell to the bottom of his priority list on more days than not.

Perhaps it was time to hire a cleaning lady to take that burden off his hands. Of course, that wouldn’t do him any good right now. Hallie was due any minute to discuss Isla’s cake. Nothing but his own desperate attempts to straighten up would save him this time.

“What you doing, Daddy?” Penelope asked, kicking her legs against her booster seat while she and Isla finished their goldfish crackers and string cheese. They both stared at him as if emptying the sink of dirty dishes was an unusual task.

“I’m cleaning up a bit.” Christian strode over to the table, tripping over Princess Pumpkin—again—as she got under his feet.

She didn’t know what to do with all the nervous energy buzzing in the house.

She flitted around, barking like she couldn’t contain her anticipation that something exciting was about to happen .

Exciting? Or terrifying?

“Isla, after you finish your snack, I need you to help Nellie take the toys in the living room upstairs.”

Isla mumbled something through the crackers in her mouth. Little bits of orange crumbs flew onto the table.

“I didn’t catch that,” he said, making a mental note to wipe it down when he finished the dishes. “Chew and swallow your food and try again.” Unclipping Penelope’s booster seat, he set her down on the floor. “Go take your toys upstairs.”

She sped from the room.

Isla washed her snack down with a drink of water. “Can I help with the cake?”

“Sure, it’s your cake. Ugh … Pumpkin.” His groan sounded more like a growl when the dog zipped by him, knocking one of his legs out from under him.

Lurching forward, he braced his free hand against the sink to catch himself, miraculously holding onto the stack of dishes in his other arm.

“Don’t you have somewhere better to be?”

While Isla brought her snack plate to the sink, Christian retrieved the giant dog bone laying on the floor by the back door. He held it up for Pumpkin to sniff, then tossed it onto her bed. The retriever trotted over, took it in her mouth, and got comfortable in the cotton-covered memory foam.

High-pitched squeals of laughter from the other room reached his ears.

The girls were not taking his instructions seriously.

They’d probably stopped to play with the toys instead of taking them upstairs.

At least they were occupied, allowing him to tackle a couple more tasks before Hallie arrived. The rest would have to be good enough.

He jammed Isla’s snack plate onto the top rack of the dishwasher in the only spot it would fit.

This wasn’t the most organized loading job.

It fell under the pack-as-many-dishes-in-as-he-could method, so Hallie wouldn’t see how many days he’d gone without doing them.

Sliding the rack inside, he bent over to make sure the height of the dishes cleared the spray arm.

Success .

The doorbell rang as he fumbled under the sink for a detergent pod. Christian’s heart jumped to his throat. Keep it cool, man. Hallie was here for Isla, not for him. Even though the idea of having Hallie in his living space was setting off romantic notions in his brain.

Romantic notions?

Absolutely not.

Princess Pumpkin launched into another round of excited barking. Abandoning her bone, her feet slid on the hardwood as she raced toward the living room.

He started the dishwasher, the machine whirring to life with a swooping hiss. Then he wiped his hands with the towel hanging over the stove before leaving the kitchen.

“Stop it, Pumpkin,” he said exasperatedly, entering the living room. “Do you want to scare off our guest?”

The dog alternated between frantic barks and high-pitched whimpering, pawing at the front door like that would make it open.

Crossing the living room with wide strides, he picked up Penelope’s shoes, the jacket he’d discarded upon entering the house, and a few random toys scattered on the floor. He dumped the pile into Isla’s arms. “Take these upstairs.”

“But Daddy,” she whined. “I wanted to open the door.”

Christian held up a finger. “Just toss them on my bed. We’ll sort through them later. Then you can come back down.”

She huffed as she stomped up the stairs. He cast a tired glance at the ceiling, shaking his head. Just wait until she’s a teenager.

Another knock interrupted that unsettling thought. “Okay, okay. I’m coming,” he muttered.

Approaching the entryway, he pulled Pumpkin back, holding her by the collar to prevent her from accosting Hallie. But once he opened the door, his nerves deflated like a limp balloon.

“Geez, what took you so long?” Tyler asked, holding Will. “Pumpkin was about to have a conniption from barking so much.” He gave the dog’s head a good rub with his free hand. “Weren’t you, girl?”

Pumpkin went wild, sniffing and pawing at Tyler with short, happy barks .

Taking advantage of his friend’s distraction, Christian stepped one foot onto the porch to check for Hallie.

Besides his Highlander in the driveway and Tyler’s Honda parked behind it, the only other car in sight was a decades-old pickup belonging to the teenaged son of the neighbor across the street.

He came back inside and shut the door. “What’re you doing here?”

Tyler followed him further into the room. “I’m on my way home from picking this little guy up from daycare.” He bounced his son a bit, drawing a giggle from Will. “I figured it’s been a while since I’ve checked in.”

Christian worked hard to keep his eyes from rolling. It wasn’t abnormal for his friend to come over on his way home from work. But usually, he texted first. The unexpected visit put Christian on edge.

“So … what’s up?” he asked, trying not to let his annoyance show. Hallie would be here any minute, and he’d rather Tyler not be around when she arrived, though he didn’t stop to consider why the idea bothered him.

Tyler made himself right at home on the sofa. “I should ask you the same question.” He set Will on the carpet, and the infant scooted on his bottom toward the girls’ play kitchen set up underneath the front window.

Christian narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Like you don’t know? Three cakes? What’s going on with you and my sister?”

Christian almost groaned. Not the cakes again. He’d already spent most of Saturday night replaying how much of a fool he’d made of himself with that situation. Not to mention the cost of those cakes. He had no idea custom cakes were so expensive.

“I get it, my sister’s an amazing baker,” Tyler continued when Christian didn’t respond. “But no person in their right mind would order that many cakes for a six-year-old’s birthday party. And let’s not forget about how you offered to build her website for free…”

Hallie must’ve told him about that. Christian shrugged, attempting to play it off as no big deal. “She seems like she could use the support.”

“Uh huh. Sure.”

Christian dropped beside his friend on the couch. “Ty, we’re just friends. Not even friends. Acquaintances, really. Nothing more.”

Is that what you want to be, though?

Seriously? He didn’t appreciate his brain’s third degree. Of course it was what he wanted. Sure, he’d thought about pulling her away from her booth on Saturday for an informal date at the Autumn Festival. And if he were being honest, he’d wondered if she’d be open to the idea of going out with him.

But no. They could never be anything more than friends.

Besides, he couldn’t jump to conclusions. Just because Hallie had brought him cookies and showed so much kindness toward his daughters didn’t mean she reciprocated his feelings. She seemed like the type of woman who treated everyone that way.

“You know I’m not ready to date again.” Why was he working so hard to explain himself? “I don’t think I’ll ever be.”

Any notions he’d had about the existence of unbreakable romantic love scurried out the door the day his marriage ended. He’d let that belief slip the last few days with this ill-advised crush on Hallie. Now was the best time to recommit.

Tyler’s shoulders relaxed and he slouched into the couch cushion. “You know I love you like a brother. But Hallie’s my actual sister. I don’t want to see her get hurt because you can’t give her what she needs.”

They were on the same page on that score. “Trust me, I’m not stringing her along. I promise you that.”

It wasn’t just about his lack of trust in love. He was a father now. Every decision he made had to be done with his girls in mind. He couldn’t even go on a date with a woman without considering their well-being. These romantic thoughts about Hallie had to stop.

Outside, a car door slammed. Speaking of Hallie…

Electricity sparked in his veins. Obviously, the reminder he’d just given himself about not getting carried away with her hadn’t had time to sink in.

And in the next instant, an opposite, yet equally strong, charge engulfed him. Tyler had warned him to stay away from his sister, and not five minutes later, she showed up at his house?

Not good. Not good at all.

Christian glanced at his friend as the knock came at the door.

Oh boy. Things were about to go down.