Page 30 of Surrendering His Heart (Buena Hills #4)

“Whoops,” Hallie said over the noise, scrunching her nose at the child. “How did that happen?”

Penelope giggled, reaching her tiny fingers to her cheek to wipe off the smear. Popping it in her mouth, she shimmied her shoulders as she swallowed. Adorable.

“Now what?” she asked after they’d mixed the eggs in with the butter and sugar.

“We need to add the two bowls together.” Hallie picked up the flour mixture. “Can you help me dump this in?”

Together, they poured the dry ingredients into the wet ones.

Isla appeared at their side just then. “Can I mix?” Her expression turned wary as though afraid Hallie would say no. Nothing in her posture spoke of the monster Carrie had made her out to be. Only a sweet child in need.

Hallie didn’t know how to help beyond deciding right then that she wouldn’t put stock into any of Carrie’s “warnings.”

She smiled down at Isla. “Sure. It’s a little tricky, so let me help you keep it stable.”

Isla placed both hands underneath Hallie’s on the beater. Her lips tucked around her teeth as she concentrated on keeping the base steady while moving the beater around the glass bowl.

“There you go,” Hallie encouraged as the mixture turned from a powdery-topped goo to the consistency of raw cookie dough. “I think that’s good. Who wants to lick the beaters?”

Their eyes grew wide. “We can eat it?” Penelope asked.

Hallie scoffed. “You’ve never eaten cookie dough from the beater? It’s the best part.”

“Daddy never makes cookies,” Isla stated matter-of-factly. “And Grandma says the eggs could give us fish flu. ”

Fish flu? Once she’d interpreted the meaning, Hallie bit down on a laugh. “You mean salmonella?”

Penelope scrunched her nose. “What’s salmon-lella?”

Hallie brushed the flour from her hands into the sink. “It’s a bacteria caused by food. But I’ve been eating dough off the beaters my whole life, and I’ve never gotten sick from it. Here.” She handed each girl a beater.

While they happily licked the metal tools, Hallie covered the bowl with the plastic wrap she found in a bottom cupboard. As she slid it into the fridge, her phone buzzed in her back pocket. An unfamiliar number scrolled across the screen. She swiped to answer it. “Hello?”

“May I speak with Hallie Abernathy please?” the woman asked.

“I’m Hallie.” She used the professional tone she always adopted when clients called. “What can I do for you?”

“This is Melanie from Crème de la Crème Bakery.”

Hallie’s breath caught. Before getting trapped down the rabbit hole of Christian’s ballroom videos several hours ago, she’d called the bakery to check on the status of her job application. No one had answered, so she’d left a message. “Thank you for getting back to me.”

“No problem at all,” Melanie said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t available to take your call earlier. I’ve reviewed your application, and while your portfolio is impressive, we’re looking for someone with more experience in the field.”

Hallie’s heart sank. “Oh. Of course. I understand.”

“However, one of our servers will be leaving for a summer internship out of state. If you’re still looking then, we’d love to have you apply for that position.”

Hallie’s experience in Mom’s café made her fully qualified for the job, though serving only customers didn’t thrill her. She already felt like she was giving up her dream by applying to work for someone else. Would she really have to sink even further from her goal?

“Thank you. I’ll consider it.”

She hung up and set her phone on the table, slumping into one of the kitchen chairs.

Why couldn’t she go back to four years ago when she first started Hallie’s Cakes?

Back when she had nothing but optimism and excitement in this new entrepreneurial endeavor.

Owning a home bakery was a fun side project as she made her way through school.

But turning it into a sustainable career was starting to feel downright impossible.

“What’s wrong?” Isla’s blonde eyebrows turned down toward her nose.

The last thing Hallie wanted was to alarm the girls. Not when they’d started to feel comfortable with her in charge. “Nothing. I just received some disappointing news.”

“Don’t be sad.” Penelope climbed onto Hallie’s lap, wrapping her small arms around her neck. “I make you feel better now.”

Oh, this sweet child. She was quickly claiming a place in Hallie’s heart. Even Isla had come a little closer as though her nearness was meant as a comfort.

For a moment, they all sat in silence while Hallie worked through her disappointment. Then she steeled her composure and forced herself to smile. “Who wants pizza for dinner?”

Both girls cheered.

Hallie slid Penelope off her lap and picked up her phone again. “That settles it. I’ll order it now.” Normally, she would’ve made it herself but if they waited for the dough to rise, they wouldn’t be eating dinner until tomorrow. And eventually, the girls did need to go to bed.

Focusing on dinner, she made a conscious effort to let her disappointment go for now. Her dilemma would still be here when she chose to address it. But tonight, she knew exactly where she needed to be.