He felt like the captain of the ship cake from Hallie’s portfolio. And he was barreling straight into dangerous waters.
“He bought three full-sized cakes.” Hallie couldn’t keep the bewilderment from her voice while recapping Christian’s visit to her booth to Kendall and Beej at the conclusion of the Autumn Festival Sunday night. “Three!”
Kendall turned from her closet, shoving a hanger into the sleeve of a sweater. “He must really love cake.”
“I doubt it, unless he hides his cake belly well,” Hallie said from the bed. “He doesn’t exactly have a dad bod underneath his clothes.” Warmth raced across her face. She’d never actually seen the state of his stomach, but her imagination was forming a very nice image of chiseled abs to compliment his tall, trim figure.
Do not entertain that picture. She resisted the urge to feel her cheeks, hoping the direction her mind had taken didn’t show on her face.
“Hello … isn’t it obvious?” Beej looked at them both like they were clueless teens in need of direction only she could provide.
Kendall flipped a pair of dress pants over the bottom of a hanger and hung it in the closet. “Isn’t what obvious?”
Beej forced out a groan. “Do you know nothing about basic human attraction?”
“Is everything always about dating for you?” Kendall shot back with the same inflection.
Pushing her friend’s wadded up pjs to the corner of the bed, Beej pulled her legs into a crisscross position. Kendall wasn’t a complete slob—she contributed a lot to the cleanliness of their shared living spaces. But her bedroom was an experiment in controlled chaos. She had her various piles on her desk, her bed, and shoved in her closet, though she always knew exactly where everything was. Her organizationalstyle clashed with Hallie’s need to have a place for all her belongings though they’d lived together long enough that their differences didn’t matter. At least as long as the piles stayed out of the rest of the house.
“I’ve dated a lot,as you know.” Beej added a sarcastic spin to the last few words, an acknowledgement of the way the family lovingly teased her about her dating habits. “But I’ve picked up a thing or two about how guys act. He’s interested.”
“No, he’s not.” Hallie looked at her cousin like she’d sprouted two heads. “He hardly talks to me when we’re together. He’s not exactly screaming his undying devotion to me.”
Her doubts failed to dampen her cousin’s enthusiasm. “He’s probably nervous. With two kids, I’d imagine his dating opportunities aren’t exactly plentiful. Maybe he was showing his interest in the only way he knew how.”
“By spending close to five hundred dollars on baked goods?”
Not likely. Christian seemed like a rational guy. Even if there was any interest on his part, she couldn’t imagine him spending that kind of money.
And yet, he did, proving Hallie knew absolutely nothing about him.
“It’s possible.” Beej’s upper body shimmied in her spot on the purple bedspread. The idea of someone—anyone—making a love connection always made her giddy. “I’d jump on that.”
Hallie hoped her cousin didn’t mean anything beyond taking advantage of the chance to date him, but with Beej, she couldn’t be completely sure. “I can’tjump on that.Even if Christian did like me, nothing can ever come from it. He has kids.”
Besides, Tyler had already warned her not to get too close to his best friend. He’d been on the verge of bringing it up again yesterday. He didn’t actually say anything, but Hallie could feel the worry radiating off him once Christian and the girls left the booth.
“So what if he has kids.” Beej tossed one of Kendall’s pillows in Hallie’s direction. You’ve said you wanted to be a mom eventually.”
Hallie threw up her hands. “Not right now. It would be irresponsibleto start something with him when I know I’m not ready for that kind of commitment.”
“Why do you insist on doing the practical thing all the time?” Beej asked, in close to the same exasperated tone Hallie had used. “If you ask me, you have a golden opportunity here. We know he’s good with kids. That’ll serve you later when you’re ready to—” She cupped a hand around her mouth, lowering her voice to a stage whisper “—take things to the next level.”
“Why are you whispering?” Kendall asked, sticking her empty laundry basket in the closet before sliding the door closed.
“I don’t want to jinx it.”
Hallie huffed out a sigh. “You’re not jinxing anything because there won’t be a next level.”
Her cousin might be okay with raising someone else’s kids. Even though she already had a fulfilling career as a pediatric nurse, her biggest aspiration in life was to find her soul mate and birth a gaggle of chubby cheeked kids. Hallie wanted that too … eventually. But taking on the responsibility of children had never been part of her perfect dating scenario.
Not that she had a perfect dating scenario, but if she did, kids wouldn’t be in it.
Besides, what happened to the girls’ actual mother? Was Christian widowed? Divorced? Did he share custody with an ex? The possibility of having to coparent with another woman gave Hallie serious red flags about the matter.
Which was a good thing, really. She had all she could manage getting her business off the ground. Dating in general would be too difficult, especially once she got her real bakery. She wouldn’t have time for kids if she spent her whole life at work.
Then why did the memory of him playing with Penelope or the gentle way he talked to Isla stir up warm fuzzies inside her?
