“Hail the conquering hero.” She laughed. “We’ll think of you every time he goes down for a nap.”
“I’d expect nothing less.” Christian’s eyes grew soft as they landed on Hallie. “You ready?”
One day at a time,she thought, engraving Cassie’s words on her heart.One smile, one hug, one conversation at a time.
“Yeah.” She hugged Cassie goodbye. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“I want lots of details,” Cassie whispered so only she could hear. “And remember, it’s okay to stay cautiously hopeful.”
After saying goodbye, Hallie and Christian let themselves out of the apartment. Alone in the hallway, he pulled her into his arms. His tall frame enveloped her, a relaxing sigh exiting his body. Pressing her cheek against his chest, she closed her eyes, as the steady beat of his heart quieted her lingering doubts.
Cautiously hopeful.If that meant more moments like this, she’d like to try.
“Thank you,” Christian murmured. The vibration of the words resonated straight to her soul.
Propping her chin against his chest, she looked up at him. “I take it your conversation went well?”
“We cleared the air, and he helped me figure some things out.” He studied her for a minute in silence. “Do you want to get some ice cream?”
“Ice cream?”
A faint blush crept up his neck, and he stuttered out a laugh. “It’s been a really long time since I’ve asked a woman on a date. I think I’m a little rusty.”
Hallie’s pulse raced. “You’re asking me on a date?”
The intensity of his stare cut straight through her, and he bobbed his head slowly. “Yeah.”
Warmth pooled inside her. He was trying. And the sincerity of this effort didn’t go unnoticed.
Finding his hand, she linked their fingers together. “Ice cream sounds great.”
The bell above the door to Scoops and Shakes jingled when Christian opened it, allowing Hallie to lead the way from the shop.
“I swear you let me win,” she said, stirring the strawberry cheesecake ice cream in her cup as they walked in the direction of Village Green Park.
Attempting to keep his expression innocent, he dug out a spoonful of double chocolate brownie. “I did not. I’m just really bad at foosball.”
He totally let her win. And he didn’t feel bad about it one bit.
On the way back to Buena Hills, they’d driven past the arcade on the outskirts of town. Instead of heading straight toward Scoops and Shakes, he’d challenged her to a friendly game of foosball, so they’d joined the weekend throngs of tweens inside the joint.
Christian hadn’t been to the place since he was the age of most of the kids buzzing around the coin operated machines. Yet he didn’t think he’d ever had as much fun. Talking with Brad had forced him to finally accept his feelings for Hallie, and he silently vowed to give the idea of dating again a fair shot.
Only for her. For them. And maybe for the girls too.
Once he’d made a conscious effort to let down his walls, even flirting with her had been surprisingly easy. And exhilarating.
But along with it came a sense of urgency to figure out where to go from here. He just needed the right moment to start the conversation.
“I don’t believe you for a second.” She shot him a laughing smile, discernible by the iron lanterns they passed. “I’m the world’s worst foosball player and you made me look like Lionel Messi.”
He quirked an eyebrow, his spoon hovering above his cup. “Look at you, coming in hot with the soccer references.”
Her muffled laugh came around a spoonful of her ice cream. “When you grow up in a family full of sports obsessed men, even the most clueless person tends to pick up a few big names.”
“Fair enough.”
They fell into companionable silence as they continued their walk down Main Street, looking in shop windows, most of them closed for the night.
