Page 7 of Surrendering His Heart (Buena Hills #4)

What was I thinking, Dad? Christian’s one-sided conversation with his father had been spinning in circles since meeting with Hallie two days ago. It often did during moments of intensity and stress. I don’t have time to build an entire website for her right now. Or ever, really.

Blowing out a heavy breath, he pushed his foot on the brake, slowing to a stop at the light heading into Buena Hills’ downtown area. He drummed his fingertips against the steering wheel as he waited for the light to change.

His eyes strained against the rain pelting against the windshield of his Highlander, scanning the array of mom-and-pop restaurants and boutiques on the right side of the street.

The window display of the indie bookstore the girls loved to visit already showcased a selection of Halloween and fall recommendations, even though October hadn’t yet begun.

In fact, many of the shops in this part of town had begun to decorate their storefronts for the season.

Downtown Buena Hills was a favorite of locals and visitors alike for a reason, after all.

The town put a lot of effort into celebrating every holiday.

From cozy décor in the fall to the off-white icicle lights during December and the giant Christmas tree in the Village Green at the end of Main Street, Park Management always went all out.

Out of nowhere, a memory of strolling aimlessly along the sidewalk with Sabrina accosted his mind.

She used to love snuggling close to his side while peeking through store windows, searching for quirky finds.

She was a master at that. His personal favorite had been the dance-inspired ornament she’d given him for Christmas one year—a token of their time as partners on the ballroom team at USC.

That ornament was one of the first things to go after she’d left. So much of his prior identity had fled out the door with her.

He squeezed his eyes shut to block out the scene. It was moments like this one that reminded him why he avoided this part of town whenever possible. So much of their happier times occurred on this very street, and he never enjoyed the walk down memory lane.

Honks from multiple cars behind him startled his eyes open.

He stomped on the gas, peeling through the intersection while shaking the lingering remains of the memory from his mind.

Why couldn’t he move on from the past? He’d thought finalizing the divorce, which gave him full custody of the girls, would provide the closure he needed to move forward.

But he couldn’t keep the anger over Sabrina’s abandonment from remaining front and center in his life.

He clenched down on his jaw to keep the growl from escaping his throat. Not that it mattered—the girls weren’t in the car. But he really needed to calm himself down before he arrived for pick up.

Main Street ended at the Village Green. He flipped on his blinker, about to turn left toward Penelope’s all-day preschool when a figure emerged from the copse of trees at the edge of the park.

The woman walked quickly in the opposite direction from where he needed to go.

She reached the street, turning her head to check for cars before crossing.

Squinting against the rain, it only took a split second to recognize her. What is Hallie doing out in weather like this? What had started as a slight sprinkling had grown to a near downpour since he’d left his office, and she was several miles away from home.

He glanced at the clock on the dashboard.

His boss had held him up at work, so he’d left his downtown office later than usual.

But one look at Hallie tugged at his sympathies.

Her lightweight hoodie was already drenched, her blonde hair plastered to her body like wet crepe paper.

Christian couldn’t leave her to battle the elements any longer.

If he swung by Isla’s school first, which was closer to Hallie’s, he’d get there a few minutes just as Kid Care ended.

Then he’d pick up Penelope from the other side of town before heading back this way toward home .

Pulling up to the curb where Hallie was walking past an empty shop with a For Sale sign, he lowered the passenger side window. “Want a ride?”

She whirled in the direction of the car, placing a hand to her chest. “Oh, hi. I didn’t see you there. I guess I picked the wrong time for a walk.”

Something stirred inside his chest, sending warning flares zipping through his body. He’d felt a similar phenomenon at her house on Saturday when she’d talked about her struggling business. What was it about her that made him want to help her?

He didn’t know, and he couldn’t back out now. “Hop in. I’ll take you home.”

Hallie waved away his offer with both hands, though her whole body shook. “That’s okay. I don’t want to inconvenience you. It was nice seeing you though.” She started into a slow jog.

Part of him wanted to take her at her word. Whatever she was doing to his psyche created so much discomfort inside of him that he’d like to put as much distance between them as possible.

You can’t leave her like this. She looked cold. If either of his daughters were caught in a rainstorm, he’d hope someone would stop to help.

He took his foot off the break and the car rolled forward.

“It’s not an inconvenience. Get in.” Tugging his computer bag off the passenger seat, he moved it to the back, painfully aware of all the random toys and garbage littering the girls’ domain.

It was past time to clean out the car. Hopefully the storm’s veil of darkness would camouflage the clutter.

At first, Hallie looked about to resist again until thunder clapped loudly overhead. Eyes widening, she glanced at the tempestuous sky before hurrying to the car and yanking the door open.

“Thank you,” she said, sliding inside. She angled her body so close to the door, she practically hugged it. “I’ll just stay over here. I don’t want to get the seat all wet.”

Throwing the gearshift into drive, he checked his side mirror before pulling away from the curb.

“That’s the exact reason I picked leather interior when I bought this car.

” Not to mention, the material made it easier to clean sticky spills from the backseat.

“I’ll just towel it off when I get home.

” He glanced at her sidelong and winked.

Why did he wink? He wasn’t some suave ladies’ man, turning on the charm.

The smile she aimed at him pushed his confusion from his mind. She had a lovely smile. Easy. Natural. He’d noticed that on Saturday too. She exuded a peace and calm that somehow freed him from the bad mood he’d been in after thinking about Sabrina. And here she was again doing the same thing.

Don’t think about it, buddy. It means nothing.

They drove a few blocks in silence before Christian spoke again. “Do you make a habit of walking in the rain?”

She gave a shaky laugh. “Not usually. Walking helps me work through things that are bothering me. Unfortunately, my weather app let me down this time. It wasn’t predicting rain when I left the house.”

Christian grunted in commiseration. “Those apps are notorious for being wrong. You walked pretty far.”

She shrugged. “My mom used to say she could predict my stress level by how far I walked.”

He eyed her briefly before returning his focus to the road and making a turn. Was her business causing her more stress?

“Thanks again for the ride,” she said, shaking off the heaviness in her tone. “I can handle a little rain. But lightning … no. And thanks for taking over my website too. I’m sure you’re probably already swamped with your paying clients.”

“It’s no big deal.”

A slight exaggeration on his part. Hence his spinning thoughts and endless conversations with Dad ever since.

Sure, he’d thought about taking over Hallie’s website, but he hadn’t expected to speak the offer out loud.

And he’d spent the rest of the weekend wishing he could take it back.

His boss was already annoyed with him for leaving early every day for the last two weeks, even though Christian had assured him it would be temporary.

Plus, he stacked so much onto the daily task lists that Christian already had trouble getting it done while juggling his parental responsibilities.

As soon as the girls went down for the night, he often had several more hours of work before he could crash too.

When would he find even a few spare moments to build an entire website?

“I know you said you didn’t expect payment,” Hallie continued. “But I feel like I should give you something. What would you like? I make a mean chocolate cake. And I’m not trying to brag, but people rave about my cookies too.”

Christian fought against the smile threatening to take over his mouth. How was it that she had the ability to lighten his mood with the simplest comment? “That’s not necessary. Really, I’m happy to help.”

Are you happy? No, but she had nothing to do with that.

“I want to. You’re seriously coming through for me. Now that I don’t have to worry about my website, I can focus on getting ready for the Autumn Festival. It’s coming up fast.”

“You have a booth?”

Hallie nodded. “It’s my first year. I want it to be perfect. You ever been?”

“My family used to go every year, but I haven’t been back since my dad died.” Christian didn’t realize he’d squeezed the steering wheel until his knuckles had turned white. Thinking about Dad would do that.

She was quiet for a minute before responding. “I’m sorry to hear that. About your dad, not the festival.”

“I figured.” Christian chuckled, though he couldn’t keep the sadness out of it. Would talking about Dad ever not hurt? “It was a long time ago but thank you.”

“You grew up here then?”

“I’m a born and raised Buena Hillian. Not to be mistaken with a Buena hellion, although a few of my elementary school teachers would vouch for the accuracy of that description of me as a kid.”

Hallie laughed, and the happy sound lifted the melancholy stirring deep in his chest. “I can’t picture you as the wild one.”

His mouth ticked into a smile. “I’ve mellowed out a lot. ”

“Apparently.”

“You know that house across from the library? The Victorian one?”

“I love that house,” she said. “Every time I drive by, I wish I could go inside. It has to be just as gorgeous as the outside.”

Christian raised his brows but kept his eyes on the road. “Meh, it looks like a regular house. Sometimes a little messy, with a lot of windows to clean…”

She turned her full body toward him, her back pressed against the door. “That was your house?”

This time, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “My mom still lives there.”

“Wow. Do people ever sit outside and stare at it? Because I do. Especially during the Christmas season with all the lights. Too bad it doesn’t snow around here.

It would make the perfect Christmas card.

Does she hire someone for that? She couldn’t possibly do it herself.

Sorry, I don’t usually ramble this much. ”

Christian glanced at her in time to catch her cheeks pink, which only contributed to her natural beauty. Nope, not going there. “If by hire you mean volun telling me to do it for free, you’ve got it right.”

Hallie laughed again, and Christian’s heart stuttered. “Wow! I’m learning so much about you. I didn’t realize you had a talent in Christmas light design.”

Christian snorted. “More like she stands in the yard and tells me exactly where to string them, and I do all the manual labor.”

“Ah, so you’ve got brains and brawn?”

Did he detect a little flirtation in her voice? Impossible. She didn’t seem like the flirty type. And Christian couldn’t encourage it anyway. He didn’t understand how she’d broken through his walls again. That barrier was iron-clad.

“I don’t think anyone would ever describe me as brawny. But thank you for stoking my ego. I’m just trying to live up to my dad.”

“What do you mean?”

He took a minute to answer, sadness returning to his tone when he did.

“He loved Christmas. The lights were his favorite part. Every year he did something different. He’d start designing in October and putting them up the day after Thanksgiving.

And he’d never let my mom see the finished product until December first.”

“That’s really fun.”

Christian swallowed hard. “A lot of our traditions stopped when he died. Not intentionally, but my mom worked multiple jobs to support me and my sister, so there wasn’t time for them anymore.”

“How old were you when he died?”

“Twelve.” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “Christmas lights were the one tradition my mom stuck to every year. She always wants them exactly the same as the last time my dad put them up.”

“Your parents must have adored each other.”

“They did.”

A lot of good that did anyone. Dad was dead. Sabrina left. Love only brought pain. And Christian was tired of hurting.

He sucked in a breath as he pulled up in front of Hallie’s house. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get all sentimental on you.” He glanced over at her as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

Oh, no. He made her cry? Why did knowing that make his gut twist?

She shook her head. “Don’t be sorry. Thank you for sharing that. And thanks for the ride.”

“You’re welcome,” he said softly, forcing himself not to look over at her as she let herself out of the car.

But he did turn to watch her hurry across the grass and take the porch steps two at a time. Only after she’d slipped inside the house without looking back did he pull away from the curb.

What had compelled him to open up just now? He hadn’t allowed himself to let down his guard since Sabrina left. Especially to a woman.

A beautiful woman at that.

He couldn’t let it happen again.