Page 40 of Surrendering His Heart (Buena Hills #4)

“Wow, I never imagined Brad living in such a swanky place.” Christian eyed the lady palms lining the front circle drive of an upscale apartment complex in Downtown Los Angeles.

The buildings resembled an old Spanish mission with varying shades of brown brick and round windows on every floor.

Four levels of balconies completed the look.

Hallie tossed an amused side-eye in his direction. “What makes you think this is Brad’s apartment?”

“Let’s see. We stopped at a store to pick up the same ginger chews my ex used to eat to ease her pregnancy nausea.” He held up the items in question. “And Cassie just happens to be pregnant and nauseated. It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together.”

They stopped at the wide glass doors lined with black trim making up the entrance.

“Please don’t be mad,” she said hastily.

“You told me yesterday that you wished you could work things out with him. And I was planning on stopping by this weekend anyway. I thought talking would help you take some of the stress off your shoulders.”

He bumped her shoulder playfully. “I’m not mad.”

How could he be? One by one, she’d been filling his needs, even those he didn’t realize he carried.

She always seemed to know what to say to quiet the storm churning inside him.

She’d willingly stepped in to watch the girls, despite the extra hardship it caused her.

And now, she was providing a path to reconciliation with his former friend simply to unburden him.

Was it any wonder why he craved her presence even when she wasn’t around?

He resisted the overwhelming urge to wrap his arms around her. Their embrace in Hallie’s kitchen had been nice, but with everything so uncertain between them, he thought it best to keep the touching to a minimum.

“Hold this.” Hallie handed the Tupperware container to him so she could pull out what looked like a hotel key from her wallet-sized cross-body clutch. She swiped it across the reader behind a potted plant. The front door clicked.

“You have a key to their building?” Christian asked as they stepped inside the lobby.

She tucked the card back into the zippered front pocket of her bag. “Brad gave it to me a few weeks ago when I stayed with Cassie while he was out of town. He let me keep it, so she doesn’t have to come down to let me in every time I stop by. The buzzer in their apartment has been acting up.”

“Do you come often?”

“Every few weeks to help out.” She shrugged. “Cassie’s been so sick, they could use it.”

He shook his head, watching her with awe. “You’re amazing. Do you know that? Is there anyone you haven’t helped?”

A blush stole across her cheeks. “I don’t like seeing the people I care about struggle.”

That simple comment made Christian’s breath catch. Did that include him?

They crossed the spacious lobby with its plush chairs and chic black-and-white accents. A crystal chandelier hung above the furniture. They took one of the elevators behind the front desk to the fourth floor. Brad’s apartment was tucked in a quiet corner on the far side of the building.

“Hal!” A wide grin stretched across his square jaw when he opened the door. He gave his cousin a one-armed side hug. “Cassie said you might be coming.”

Hallie held out the Tupperware container. “I brought food. Lasagna from Sunday dinner.”

An appreciative growl sounded low in his throat. “You’re always welcome when you come with food.” His gaze flicked to Christian, a question entering his blue eyes. “It’s good to see you, man. Come in. ”

They stepped inside, and Christian’s eyes scanned the open living space of the tastefully decorated apartment.

A collage of wedding photos adorned the wall separating the living and dining areas from the kitchen.

Along the far wall, thick slatted blinds closed over what looked to be a picture window.

The simple, yet elegant accents around the room had Cassie’s decorative eye written all over it.

Except for the flatscreen television hanging on another wall, broadcasting the USC football game on mute. That was all Brad.

While Brad disappeared into the kitchen with the lasagna, Hallie headed straight to Cassie, who sat crossways on the long side of the gray sectional, her knees bent toward her chest. A powder blue fleece blanket covered her legs, and she wore an oversized USC sweatshirt, one she’d most likely stolen from her husband.

A tablet was propped against her thighs.

“We brought the ginger chews you asked me to pick up.” Hallie handed her the grocery sack before sitting on the small end of the sectional.

Cassie set down her stylus and peeked inside. “Thanks. My neighbor swears by them when she’s pregnant. My body has debunked every other tried-and-true method, so I’m willing to try anything at this point.”

Poor girl. As far as he knew, Sabrina’s morning sickness eventually wore off. She’d been lucky. But still so unhappy.

Hallie clapped her hands on both her thighs. “I’m here to help, so put me to work. No arguments.”

Brad reappeared from the kitchen. “If I’d known you were coming, I’d have saved you the dishes. I could’ve made some progress on that dumb crib.”

Cassie squinted at her husband. “Progress might be a bit of a stretch.” She spoke her next comment to Hallie and Christian. “There was a lot of swearing coming from the baby’s room.”

“Is it too much to ask for some words to go along with those vague pictures masquerading as instructions? Am I supposed to screw the leg into the base, or saw the thing in half? I don’t know.

” Brad crossed the room to drop a kiss on his wife’s forehead from behind.

Her tired countenance immediately brightened.

“Before long you’ll be building these things in your sleep,” Christian said.

“Let’s hope.”

“I’m serious. It only takes a few Christmas Eve all-nighters to turn dads into construction experts.”

Brad chuckled, lowering himself to perch on the arm of the couch behind Cassie. She leaned her head back against his thigh, and they shared a look that spoke of mutual adoration.

“Are you ready for dinner?” His fingers stroked her blonde curls.

Christian’s brows twitched upward. He’d never seen his buddy like this. The gentle motion, and his obvious fondness were in direct contradiction to the bro-dude persona he’d adopted during his college years.

Cassie scrunched her nose. “Ugh, no. But if you’re going to make me eat, I guess I’ll try some plain noodles.” She glanced at their guests. “My eating habits have become pickier than a toddler’s.”

Hallie popped up from the couch. “I’ll make it. Christian can help with the crib.”

He hadn’t realized this outing would require his building expertise, but she’d provided this opportunity to talk, so he’d talk. “Sure, I’d be happy to.”

Brad placed his hand on his wife’s shoulder. “You okay?”

She nodded. “I’ll holler if I need you.”

He placed another kiss on her forehead before standing. “Let’s do this.”

They walked down a hallway to the set of bedrooms at the end.

An explosion of white wooden planks, screws, and cardboard greeted them in the smaller room to the left.

A plush rocking chair already occupied one corner of the room.

Next to it, a round nightstand held a lamp with a mini football, basketball, and baseball stacked on top of each other forming the stem.

A dresser with changing pad on top stood underneath a circular mirror along the back wall.

Christian knelt amidst a box of screwdriver tips and various sizes of foam packaging. “How’re you holding up with all this?” he asked, meaning more than the task of putting together the nursery.

Brad lowered onto his haunches, picking the instruction manual up from the floor. He stared at it, his expression stony. “I’m worried.”

“About Cassie.”

A single nod confirmed the statement. “It’s not a good feeling watching your wife suffer and not knowing what to do about it.”

Wow. Marriage really had changed him. Back in college, he had about as much sensitivity as an amoeba.

“I can’t believe you’re going to be a dad soon.” Christian shook his head.

“Pretty wild, huh? I can’t grasp it myself most of the time.” Brad’s momentary grin fell flat. “I’d never say this to Cassie, but sometimes I wish we could go back to before she got pregnant. Does that make me a lousy husband?”

“No.” Christian bit back a humorless laugh. “A lousy husband would be at the bar every night with the boys, forgetting all about his sick wife. He wouldn’t be trying to make her as comfortable as possible. And let’s not forget about building a nursery for a baby who won’t be here until March.”

Brad’s stress was obvious in his rigid posture. “I have to do something. If I can’t make Cassie feel better, at least I can give this baby a room rivaling Caesar’s Palace. Which, based on what Cassie has planned, isn’t far from the truth.”

Christian buzzed his lips. “Rotten husband.”

A chuckle emerged from Brad’s chest as he snapped Christian in the face with the instructions.

Christian grinned, surprised at how natural it felt to talk about Brad’s current hardship. Just like old times. Almost. “I’m impressed you’re this far along with the nursery as it is. I didn’t finish Isla’s crib until Sabrina was in labor.”

Brad squinted his eyes at him. “I’m new to this whole dad thing, but shouldn’t the father be at the hospital for the birth?”

“She didn’t want me there,” Christian muttered to the screwdriver in his hand. He swallowed the bitterness rearing its ugly head .

“What?”

“She’d rather have her best friend there. I didn’t want to rock the boat.” Not even Mom or Dani knew that he’d missed both girls’ births in an effort to keep the peace.

“That’s messed up, man.”

Even more messed up was the relief Christian felt during those few days he had at home without her. Like he could finally breathe. Talk about a lousy husband. Not to mention a terrible father for not visiting his children in the hospital.

“You were right about her,” he choked out. “Everything you said. I should’ve listened to you.”

Brad ran a hand down the blond stubble lining his jaw. “I admit I could’ve been a little gentler in my approach.”

“A little?” Christian raised his brows.

“Okay, a lot,” Brad said hastily. “Cassie has helped me realize that I can be an idiot sometimes.”

“She’s good for you.” Christian nodded. “I could see that at Tyler’s wedding.”

Brad chuckled. “The funny thing is, we weren’t even dating back then. We faked it to get rid of her ex. You know, the drunk guy who crashed the rehearsal dinner?”

How could Christian forget helping to escort the man from the mansion? That whole night made his courthouse wedding seem like a fairytale event. “Well, you fooled me.”

“I didn’t realize it had gotten so bad between you two,” Brad said, continuing with their original topic. “I’m sorry for what I said, and for not making a bigger effort to reach out to you after everything went down.”

“I appreciate that.” A weight lifted from Christian’s shoulders. He’d have to find a way to thank Hallie for pushing him to unpack this particular guilt about his past. “If you ever need a breather from all this, give me a call. I’m sure Hallie would be happy to hang with Cassie for a while.”

Brad clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks, man.” He handed Christian the instructions. “Enough chit chat. Let’s tackle this beast. I want to finish it tonight.”

They worked for several minutes, Christian deciphering the instructions and handing wooden planks to his friend building the crib. Attaching the final leg to the base, Brad looked up from the screw he’d twisted into the wood.

“So, you and my cousin, huh?” he asked. “What’s going on there?”

“Don’t know.” Christian reached for the next plank to ignore the way his neck burned. “She’s been watching the girls, so we’ve spent some time together. That’s all.”

Brad set down the screwdriver, shooting Christian a disbelieving glare. “Come on man, you can do better than that. Are you interested?”

“I like being with her,” Christian admitted. “She has a way of making me feel like things aren’t as bad as I’ve made them seem. I’m not saying it’s her job to make me happy, but I am happier around her. She has this presence that’s pure … sunshine. It’s peaceful.”

Even this rambling didn’t feel like enough to adequately describe how she made him feel.

He stared at his outstretched palms. “Even holding her in my arms is enough to give me hope that I can figure out a path to my own happiness. You know?”

When he finally glanced at his buddy, Brad’s brows were raised high on his forehead. The knowing grin stretched on his face flipped the switch in Christian’s brain. “I love her.”

He possibly had all along, he was just so consumed with anger for Sabrina that he’d ignored the subtle stirrings transforming his heart. His muttered curse drew a barking laugh from Brad.

“How did that happen?” Christian asked more to himself than to his friend. “I didn’t think I believed in love anymore.”

His buddy shrugged. “I didn’t think I did either until Cassie came along. The right woman has the ability to change your perspective, I guess.”

“Tyler’s going to kill me.” Christian pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m glad we could have this talk now because you’re looking at a dead man walking.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Ty. He’s a puppy dog.”

“Are you saying this because you’re planning to get to me first?”

Brad chuckled. “Hallie is one of my favorite people in the world. She deserves to be happy. If that’s with you, I see no problem with it.”

That’s reassuring. At least Christian had a few more days above ground.

“But if you break her heart, I’ll break your nose.” One side of Brad’s mouth tipped up slightly, though a warning hung in his tone.

Christian didn’t intend to break her heart. He wanted it for himself. And that required a conversation that sent the nerves coursing through him just as much as the day he’d held his newborn daughter for the first time.

He’d managed to protect his kids all these years. But could he do the same for Hallie’s heart?