“I’m not a stalker, I promise,” she said, the smile evident in her tone. “You just didn’t give me very much information to go on that night. Can you blame a girl for being curious? Please don’t be creeped out.”
Sliding his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her to his side. “I’m not creeped out. In fact, I’m flattered. I’ll just have to save the dancing for after the kids are in bed.” He winked, reveling at her answering grin.
“I can’t wait.” She stood, pulling him up with her.
The hug that followed was filled with more contentment than he’d felt in a long time. She kissed his cheek before stepping back.
“I should go.” She watched him fondly as she placed a hand on the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow when I drop off your cakes.”
He nodded. “Sounds good.”
“And thanks for the ice cream.” A spark of mischief entered her eyes. “Even though I know you let me win.”
His mouth quirked upward. “You’ll never prove that.”
“I’ll get you to crack.” By the flirty way she wiggled her brows, he couldn’t wait to see her try. “Goodnight, Christian.”
Stepping to her again, he bent to steal one last kiss on her lips. A goodnight kiss was customary for a dating couple, after all.
Dating.The idea sent goosebumps skittering across his skin.
They were dating.
“Tomorrow then,” he murmured, retreating backward toward the steps without breaking her gaze.
Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.
Isla was in rare form the next afternoon when Hallie dropped off the cakes.
“Are you staying for my party?” she asked as soon as she’d thrown open the door.
Hallie hadn’t planned to stay. After waking hours before the sun the last two days to work on Christian’s cake order, she’d been looking forward to a night of relaxation and an early bedtime. Especially since she’d stayed up way too late giving Beej a full recap of her date with Christian—not by choice—including follow-up questions.
Needless to say, a nap looked a lot more tempting right now than attending a birthday party with a bunch of six-year-olds. Celebrating Isla’s birthday with just the family was one thing; managing other little kids seemed more overwhelming than Hallie could manage.
But one look at Isla’s hopeful face pushed all that to the side. “I can if you want me to.”
“Yay!” Isla hopped a few times before tugging Hallie’s elbow into the house.
Hallie shifted the bakery boxes to the side to see as she followed Isla through the living room, already decorated for a Halloween birthday party.
Streamers draped from the ceiling with alternating black spiders and orange balloons hanging from the ribbons. Web-like garlands wrapped around the banister leading upstairs. Isla became distracted by the snacks set on top of the ghost-covered tablecloth lining the coffee table, so Hallie entered the kitchen alone.
Her attention immediately focused out the back window. An array of festive games set up in booths gave the impression of acarnival taking up the entire yard. Christian stood on the patio, front and center of it all, attempting to attach one side of a balloon arch to the deck.
Butterflies flitted about in Hallie’s stomach, the events of last night again playing through her mind. Those stolen moments with Christian had been nothing short of heavenly. And the way he’d handled the conversation surrounding their doubts eased some of the guilt she’d carried about unintentionally pursuing something with him.
Of course, things were far from settled. She wasn’t naïve to think the pieces would magically fall into place all because they’d talked about their feelings. Love was more complicated than that. And she didn’t live in a fairytale. They still had so much to figure out, but after last night, she wanted to try.
Hallie pulled her thoughts away from their date and recognized the young woman occupying the other side of the arch, her honey-colored hair pulled back into a single braid. The same woman she’d seen at the library all those weeks ago—Penelope and Isla’s aunt. Standing a few steps from them both, Christian’s mom surveyed the assembly.
Setting the cake boxes on the stove next to an assortment of party supplies spilling out of a plastic bag, Hallie headed outside. Penelope’s squeal announced her arrival. The child hopped off her patio chair and ran toward her.
Crouching, Hallie caught her, giving her a tight squeeze. “Hey, sweetie. I heard you had a special girls’ night last night. Was it fun?”
Penelope bobbed her head. “I sleep at Granny’s. We had apple cider.”
“Yum.” Hallie scrunched her nose as she touched their foreheads together. “Grandmas are the best, aren’t they?”
