Page 36 of Surrendering His Heart (Buena Hills #4)

A week into their arrangement, Hallie stood in Christian’s empty kitchen while the girls were at school, piping purple macaron batter into circles on a baking sheet.

She’d texted him a few hours ago for permission to use his oven to test a new recipe she’d created.

Her food handler’s permit only allowed her to sell products baked in her own kitchen, but it didn’t prevent her from experimenting elsewhere.

And as her own countertops were currently occupied with supplies for his cake order and the Hawthornes’ Halloween party, Beej, Kendall, and McKenzie were already threatening to force her out of the house if she tried to cram one more thing into the kitchen.

They wouldn’t really, but Hallie sympathized with how annoying her business could be for her roommates.

Taylor Swift’s musical genius accompanied her while she worked, and she stopped piping batter long enough to turn up the volume on her phone. Mumbling along to the lyrics, she bopped her head to the beat as she returned to her task.

There was something freeing about being here alone. She thrived on rational, logical conclusions to all of life’s problems. It had served her well.

Yet lately, that personality trait had fled to who knew where, leaving chaos and confusion in its wake.

Her feelings for Christian were anything but rational, and the speed at which she’d become attached to his girls after insisting she couldn’t relate to them didn’t make any sense at all.

Even her struggling business and lack of job prospects were giving her more unresolved questions and not enough answers.

But none of that mattered in this empty kitchen. The girls still had a few hours left of school, and Christian wouldn’t be home from work until at least five. For the moment, Hallie could do what she loved with no complications.

With the baking sheet full, she set the piping bag down on the granite countertop.

She added a little shoulder shimmy to her head bop as she slid the macarons inside the oven.

After setting the timer on the stove, she moonwalked over to the table to pick up the bowl of French buttercream she’d whipped up earlier.

Her movement brought her attention to the rest of the room, and her heart skidded to a stop at the figure leaning against the entryway between the kitchen and living room.

“Christian!” She pressed a hand to her chest to suppress the sudden panic surging through it. The bowl clattered back onto the table. “You’re not supposed to be here. I mean, you’re allowed to be here, of course. It’s your house. You just … surprised me.”

He splayed his hands out in apology, though his mouth stretched into the widest grin she’d ever seen on his face. “Sorry to startle you. But I have to admit, that reaction was probably my favorite ever.”

She tossed a side eye in his direction, which lost its edge as he sauntered into the kitchen, his steps transforming effortlessly into a flirty cha cha, complete with flowing arm movements.

Hallie’s eyes slid to the rhythmic sway of his hips before she caught herself and snapped her focus back to the charm decorating his handsome face.

The dancing world was robbed of a lot of talent .

She could watch him all day, as evidenced by the rabbit hole she’d fallen down last week while obsessively stalking every YouTube video she could find of him.

But seeing him dance in person was so much better.

It was like a private show meant only for her. One she didn’t intend to share.

Boundaries, Hal. Yes, she needed to remember them.

Now that Christian was paying her to watch his kids, she had more reason to keep her feelings in check.

If the rest of her red flags didn’t do the trick, the ethical ramifications of getting involved with a man who was technically her boss absolutely had to.

He added a casual spin to end his performance, complete with popping the collar of his pressed white dress shirt. “Oh, yeah, I’ve still got it,” he said with a cheeky smirk .

He certainly did. A little too much.

And not only with his dancing skills. She shouldn’t enjoy seeing him like this.

He almost seemed like a different person since she’d started watching the girls.

Like he didn’t constantly have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

She wasn’t na?ve to think that his troubles were over simply because she’d eased this one burden, but she had to admit, it was nice seeing him lower his guard a little.

And she couldn’t stress enough how much she loved his smile. He could woo any woman he wanted with the level of charm he displayed now. If only she could be that lucky lady.

She was playing with fire by even entertaining the idea.

Space. She needed space.

Stepping around him, she made a beeline for her phone to pause the music. “With moves like that, I find it hard to believe you weren’t the one that hung the disco ball in my bedroom.”

“I already told you. Brad did that.”

“Uh huh.” She willed her face to cool down. “What’s the real story?”

He chuckled, the lighthearted response disarming her further. “He put it up the day after watching one of my performances on campus. We did this disco number to Bruno Mars complete with a white, sequined bodysuit. I didn’t live that down for weeks.”

“Oooh, I saw that one.” Hallie almost slapped her hand to her mouth.

Christian arched an eyebrow. “Uh … what?”

She wasn’t about to admit that she’d watched that video three times because of the amount of screen time he’d received. That information was classified.

“So Brad loved it so much he honored you with a disco ball?”

Each second he studied her turned up Hallie’s internal thermostat. She avoided eye contact, afraid that if she looked at him, he’d be able to tell how hard she was working to keep her feelings from showing.

Finally, he conceded. “Okay, I’ll honor your tragically obvious redirection tactic. For now. ”

Hallie laughed in spite of her embarrassment.

“But quoting my jerk of a boss, we will circle back to this conversation.”

Not if she had anything to do with it. The only person who knew about her temporary lapse of reason was McKenzie, and Hallie had no doubt she’d keep the secret.

“Anyway, yes. Brad hung it up while I was in class a few days later.”

Her mouth twitched. “Weirdo.”

“We were always messing with each other. I got him back the next day by inverting his computer screen. It took him hours to figure out how to put it back.” His face scrunched as he let out an uncharacteristic giggle.

The high-pitched sound was so at odds with his deep voice that Hallie’s heart stuttered at this brief moment of unguarded pleasure. “Ah man, I miss those days.”

Hallie retrieved the bowl of buttercream and carried it to the counter. “What happened to you guys? I remember you saying you don’t talk much anymore.”

“More like not at all.” He sat down at the kitchen table.

Hallie paused in her task of spooning buttercream into an empty piping bag. “You seemed to get along at Tyler’s wedding.”

“Oh, we’re on speaking terms.” He clasped his hands together, tapping his knuckles with his interconnected fingers. “We just … don’t anymore.”

“Why not?”

Christian puffed out his cheeks, held them, then exhaled a big breath. “Sabrina.”

“Your ex.”

He confirmed her statement with a single nod. “She hated Brad. And he wasn’t a fan of her either. When I told the guys about getting married, he didn’t hold back. Some of the things he said were pretty harsh. Of course, I took her side, and our friendship kind of … blew up after that.”

Christian pursed his lips around his teeth as though holding something back. Hallie stood frozen in her spot, torn between maintaining her boundaries and giving him the physical comfort she yearned to provide.

“It wasn’t until my marriage ended that I realized he was spot on in his judgment.” He shook his head. “He’d only been trying to protect me.”

Abandoning the buttercream, she sat down in the chair next to his. “Brad has never been known for his tactful approaches.”

That pulled a dry chuckle from him. “Tell me about it. I’ve sometimes wondered why I never reached out to him like I did Tyler.

We were all practically brothers. Maybe I was too embarrassed.

Or ashamed it didn’t work out with her. I don’t know.

My emotions were so raw back then. I guess I didn’t want him to say ‘I told you so.’”

Hallie dropped her hand on top of his where they rested in his lap. “My cousin can be really pig headed sometimes, but he rarely holds grudges, especially with people he cares about.”

“I’ve wanted to talk to him about it for a while. It just seems silly to bring it up after all this time.” He turned his palm up, weaving his fingers through hers.

A spark zipped up her arm, reminding her of the boundaries she’d just obliterated by taking his hand. “No, it’s not. You should talk to him. I’m sure you’ll feel better once you do.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

“Of course I am.”

He snorted. “Are you always this rational?”

Not lately, especially when it came to him. “There’s a solution to every problem if you look at it logically.”

“I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s a nice thought.”

Hallie placed her other hand on his thigh, leaning forward to look into his face. “I’m not saying the solution always comes easily.”

His gaze didn’t hold the same sadness she’d seen the night he’d told her about his divorce. Instead, he seemed thoughtful, as though pondering something he hadn’t thought of before.

He brought his other hand down to hers. Then, to Hallie’s surprise, lifted it to his lips, kissing the backs of her fingers.

Her pulse performed a jig against her neck. He couldn’t expect her to interpret a gesture like this as anything but romantic, right? If he felt comfortable kissing her hand, he couldn’t be as callous to love as he claimed.

Or maybe he didn’t see it as romantic. Then what could it mean?