Page 23 of Surrendering His Heart (Buena Hills #4)
Clutching the handle of her crossbody bag, Hallie waited on Christian’s porch for someone to open the door. Heat raced up her spine, and she squeezed her eyes shut to focus on blocking out the repeated barking coming from inside the house.
You can do this. She untangled one hand from her bag’s handle and wiped her clammy palm on her jeans. Christian won’t let it hurt you.
“Easy, girl,” Christian said as the door opened.
Hallie’s eyes flew wide. Was her terror that obvious?
It only took a second to realize he’d been talking to the dog. His head appeared at waist level from behind the door, but he rose as much as he could while still latched to the collar. “Hey, thanks for coming.”
“Sure.” Hallie stepped inside, casting nervous glances at the retriever straining against Christian’s hold, her tail whipping from side to side like the old-fashioned metronome her grandma used to have sitting on her piano.
Back and forth, back and forth. If Hallie’s anxiety level wasn’t at an unnatural high, the motion would’ve lulled her into a peaceful contentment.
As the situation stood, contentment wouldn’t be achieved today.
“Sorry, she loves people,” Christian said. “Have a seat while I take her out back.”
She gave him a tight smile, though she didn’t breathe until he and the dog had retreated several steps away. His path from the living room led him past the couch where her brother, of all people, shot him a glare. Christian returned it with a glance that Hallie couldn’t even begin to interpret.
This looks bad. VERY bad .
Had Tyler known that Hallie planned to come over today? Or was this just a horribly timed drop by to check on his friend?
“Hey, Ty. What’re you?—”
A crash and a squeal distracted her from finishing the question. She turned to find her nephew pulling the baskets of plastic fruit off the pink kitchen set underneath the front window. She hurried over to him, her unease over Tyler’s presence dissipating for the moment.
“How’s my little Williekins?” She scooped him up, hugging him tightly.
Offering her one of his gummy smiles, Will brought his chubby hand to her face, attempting to shove his fingers into her mouth. She showered it with kisses instead.
Tyler made his way over to her. “I’m surprised to see you here.” That sounded almost like an accusation.
“Relax, Ty.” She may have tolerated his overprotective side as a seventeen-year-old, but at twenty-four, she was over it.
Shouldn’t she, a full-fledged adult, be trusted to make her own decisions about the men she spent time with?
“I’m only here to work on Isla’s cake. You can drop the whole bodyguard visage. ”
Her brother’s eyebrows jumped up his forehead. “I’m just watching out for you.”
“Really, it’s fine.” Hallie glanced toward the kitchen to make sure Christian wasn’t about to enter the room. “I haven’t forgotten your warning. And what I told you still stands. I’m not?—”
Thumping footsteps on the staircase behind the couch interrupted her assurances. “Tyler! Tyler!”
Penelope barreled toward them, her wispy brown hair bouncing around her shoulders. Isla walked a few paces behind her. Tyler caught the younger girl right before she collided with his legs.
“Hey, sweet pea!” Tyler kissed the girl’s cheek.
“You stay for dinner, Uncle Tyler?” Penelope asked, her little voice slurring the r ’s and l .
He tapped the little girl’s nose with his pointer finger. “Sorry. I have to get dinner on at my own house. I only stopped by to see my two favorite girls.” He squeezed Isla’s shoulder .
The girl tilted her head to the side, studying Hallie. “Are you related to Tyler?”
“He’s my brother.”
“And we’re making my cake today?” she asked, as though that were the only acceptable reason for Hallie to cross into her domain.
“Well…” Hallie attempted to find words to explain her purpose here. “I won’t do the baking today. But I’ve come up with a starting design that I want to show you. Maybe you can help me make it better.”
Isla seemed to accept that answer and walked to the couch. She sat down, lifting her legs into a crisscross position, then looked at Hallie with expectant bossiness.
Okay then. Hallie passed Will off to her brother—who set Penelope down to accept his son—and joined Isla at the couch.
When the three-year-old dragged Tyler up the stairs, chattering about the dolls in her room, Hallie felt the quiet that followed deep in her core. She resisted the urge to drum her fingertips against her thigh as Isla continued to watch her with equal parts curiosity and skepticism.
Where was Christian? How long could it take to put the dog outside?
It was one thing to talk to his kids at the Autumn Festival when he’d been right there.
He’d guided the interaction, and Hallie knew how to act when there were baked goods involved.
Without him, she didn’t know the first thing about children.
Thankfully, Christian reentered the front room then, restoring her breath. A frazzled gleam pierced his eye. “Sorry about that. I had to refill Pumpkin’s water bowl. And then my neighbor stopped by to … chat. Did Tyler leave?”
Hallie didn’t miss the relief that entered his posture at the possibility. I wish. “He’s upstairs with Penelope. I was about to show Isla the sketch I made for her cake.”
Christian sat down next to her. “You came prepared.”
“It’s just an idea.” She slid a file folder from her bag.
Inside was a single sheet of paper, which she handed to him.
“Anything about it can be changed or adapted to fit what Isla wants.” Turning to the girl, she flashed what she hoped was a friendly smile.
“The birthday girl should always get what she wants.”
Some of the wariness left Isla’s face.
“Well, I have to go,” Tyler said, returning from upstairs.
Both Hallie and Christian swiveled in their seats to face him. Sparks zipped across her leg when her knee brushed his.
Tyler had Will in one arm and Penelope in the other, though he set the girl on the floor once they’d reached the downstairs landing. He stopped short, his attention bouncing between Hallie and Christian. She stared back, trying not to appear guilty.
Seriously, she had nothing to feel guilty about. So why was she holding her breath?
Finally, Isla reached over Hallie to snatch the sketch off Christian’s lap. “Can we talk about my cake now?”
That snapped the awkward spell hanging over the adults, and Tyler headed for the door.
“I’ll leave you to it then. But remember, I’m watching you both.” Touching two fingers to his temple, he flicked them forward in a peace sign salute.
Kill. Me. Now.
It was just like her brother to deliver one last warning in the cringiest way possible.
To make matters even more mortifying, he signaled for Christian to join him in the entryway. The men exchanged a few words that Hallie couldn’t hear but a look passed between them that made her wish she was the lucky one leaving.
Once Tyler and Will had stepped outside, Christian shut the door, keeping his back to her. She watched his shoulders go up and down as he took a deep breath. Then slowly, he pivoted to face the room.
“I’m sorry my brother is so weird,” she hurried to get out before he said anything. “He was totally out of line. I hope you know I don’t … like you … that way.”
Oh shoot, did she just make things worse? Maybe she should’ve just pretended the whole thing never happened. Not to mention the little fib she just told .
The air sparked with tension when he met her gaze. And it had nothing to do with Isla sitting next to her or Penelope banging around at the play kitchen.
Christian cleared his throat. “Don’t worry about it.” He scrubbed a hand across the back of his neck, scrunching his nose as if he didn’t know what else to say. The look was oddly … hot.
Why did everything he did end up being attractive as all get out, even when he clearly wasn’t meaning to be?
Get a grip, girl.
Perhaps his hotness stemmed from the fact that he was one-hundred-and-fifty percent off-limits.
For multiple reasons, not just because her brother said so.
And yes, she realized the possibility of getting over a hundred percent didn’t exist in this scenario.
But seriously, it had never been this difficult to ignore a connection with a man.
Christian approached the couch, and all she could do was stare. “So, about that cake…” he said.
Right, the cake. She gave her head a little shake.
“Of course, that’s why I’m here. The cake.
” Because why not make things more awkward by restating his exact words.
Beej would eat this story up when they rehashed it later.
There weren’t enough facepalm emojis in the world to cover this unfortunate moment.
Isla seemed to be devouring the drawing in her lap when Hallie turned back to her. “What do you think? We can keep any details you want, or scrap the whole thing?—”
She stopped mid-sentence when Christian’s thigh brushed against hers as he sat down beside her. Electricity tripped up her leg at the light touch.
Her head whirled toward him. Their eyes met and his shot wide. As one, they jumped apart.
With Isla on her other side, Hallie didn’t have much space to go. Christian, on the other hand, landed on the opposite side of the couch, leaving at least a foot between them. Lots of nervous fidgeting accompanied the next few long seconds .
“Look, Daddy.” Isla held the sketch up for Christian to see. “I don’t think Grandma could do anything like this.”
He took the paper from her, going to great lengths not to brush his arm against any part of Hallie’s body. “You came up with all this in less than twenty-four hours?” he asked, studying the drawing.