“This is all Sammy’s fault,” she shrieked. “Ihateher!”
Isla darted around her father and ran toward the stairs, stomping all the way to the second floor. She slammed her bedroom door behind her.
Christian remained frozen in the crouched position. Hallie shared another glance with Sherry before joining him in the entryway. As he stood, she wrapped her arms around his waist. His body sagged around her through his exhale, opening a flood of realizations for her.
How lonely he must be raising these kids by himself. Not having someone to help navigate the challenges of parenting young children had to place even more burdens on his shoulders. The need to fix this latest crisis came over her, and she found his hand, linking their fingers together.
“Do you want me to call Tyler?” she asked. “Or my roommates? They know how to throw a good party. It wouldn’t be the same, but it would be something.”
Christian smiled sadly at her before raising their clasped hands to his lips. “If I thought that would help, then yes. But I really don’t think it will. This is bigger than her birthday party.”
“How do you know?”
“By what she said.” He sighed. “I should go talk to her. Could you…?” He glanced over her head, and Hallie noticed for the first time that Sherry and Penelope had slipped from the living room.
Hallie turned back to him. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll handle the cleanup. Your daughter needs you.”
“Thank you.” He gave her hand another squeeze and slipped past her, disappearing up the stairs.
Christian descended the stairs a few hours later, the living room cast in shadows from the hallway light. Evidence of Isla’s botched party had mostly been cleared away, save for a few spider-bedazzled streamers hanging from the ceiling. In the darkness, he could just make out Hallie’s silhouette hunched over on the couch. She’d stayed?
Of course she did. She was no doubt the person who’d put the room back to normal.
He headed over to her. “The girls are asleep. Did my mom and Dani leave?”
Hallie nodded but didn’t turn around. “They left about ten minutes ago,” she said, her voice soft. She swiped at her eyes as he came around the couch.
“You’ve been crying?” he asked, taking in the tear tracks on her cheeks in the dim light, “What’s wrong?”
“Why didn’t anyone come?” Another tear fell from her lashes.
Of course she’d be upset over someone else’s party. Hallie had shown her heart of gold time and time again. Was it any wonder why he couldn’t help loving her?
Leaning back against the couch, he pulled her against his chest. She snuggled into him, wrapping her arms around his middle.
“Unfortunately, I’m not shocked,” he admitted. “I had serious doubts about saying yes to a party in the first place. This is why.”
Hallie propped her chin against his chest. “What do you mean?”
“She’s been having problems with a girl at school. Before she fell asleep, I finally got her to admit that Sammy convinced the other girls that Isla’s party idea was stupid, and they shouldn’t come. Frankly, I think it’s because her mom refuses to let Sammy have any part inHalloween. Apparently, it’s too devilish.” He rolled his eyes. “When they were little, those girls were inseparable friends. Now Carrie won’t let her daughter anywhere near mine.”
“Carrie?” Hallie sat up. “The woman from that monstrosity two doors down?”
Christian didn’t bother holding in his snort. The house was pretty massive. “You know her?”
She shrugged. “I met her a couple times. She had some interesting opinions about you.”
Had Carrie Pritchard attempted to reel Hallie into the neighborhood gossip? Awesome. “Like what?”
“Things that were completely untrue.” Hallie proceeded to explain everything she’d heard from his gossip-mongering neighbor, from his rumored hookups with past nannies to Isla’spsychological problems,and his tendency to enable them.
Christian groaned. “I won’t skirt around the fact that Isla’s anxiety makes her misunderstood. She’s terrified of people leaving her. Can you blame her, though, after what her mom did? Tell me how a child, already struggling to trust the people around her, deserves to be ostracized by every other kid in her class?”
Hallie pursed her lips, her brows furrowing in a deep V. Her worried expression upended the hairs on the back of his neck.
“What is it?” he asked.
She shook her head. “It just hurts my heart. People can be so cruel.”
