Finally, Hallie looked over to her, a blush on her cheeks. “All good things I hope,” she said when Brynn’s mom finally saw fit to let her go. Probably because her dad was on his way over now, too.
She didn’t miss the look on her mom’s face, knowing that whatever was coming was going to be loving teasing at her own expense. “I don’t think I’ve heard her gush about anything so much except for when she discovered existentialism as a ten-year-old.”
And god, did Brynn’s whole body go melty when Hallie laughed and said, “I may have gotten that TedTalk from her a couple of times already. So have no fear, it’s still one of her favorites.”
How was this her life? It was unfathomable that the people she cared about most in the world were so casually talking about all the things that had made the younger version of her embarrassed and ashamed, given the delight she took in things most kids hadn’t cared about, much less heard of, in the slightest.
A smile was still plastered on her face when her dad pulled Hallie into an embrace, too. There was no world in which Stan Fitzpatrick was going to miss the chance for a hug. His version of them could, at times, be crushing, but she watched as he wrapped Hallie softly in his giant frame.
“So nice to meet you, Hallie. You must be a very special woman to have captured our daughter’s attention so fully,” he said, stepping back to give Hallie a little breathing room. She was honestly shocked at the level of restraint—for them—that her parents were displaying.
“She captured mine first, so I’m just lucky that the feeling was mutual.”
Brynn knew that Hallie was good with people. She’d seen it play out day after day at the inn, but given her nervousness leading up to this brunch, Brynn hadn’t expected for her to be so… smooth.
Brynn hadn’t been nervous leading up to brunch. She already had relationships with everyone at the table, which always helped make her feel at ease. And she loved to do anything, as long as it was with Hallie. But when they all finally settled in their seats, after her parents and Sydney and Reese had said their hellos, she felt the strangest sensation wash over her.
It wasn’t that she needed today to go well. Even if it didn’t, she was sure about Hallie. More sure than she’d been about anything in her life until now. But still, there was a feeling itching at her that she couldn’t shake as the waiter took their drink orders.
She looked over to meet Hallie’s stare, their hands finding their way to one another under the table. The realization hit her as the warmth from Hallie’s palm spread through her own. It was Hallie who she hoped liked her parents instead of the other way around. They could be overbearing and intense and involved, but she loved them deeply. She hoped Hallie did, too.
The overwhelming need to check in on her girlfriend took root in Brynn’s stomach, but before she had the chance to whisper to her, her dad spoke. “Hallie, how are you liking The Stone’s Throw under Reese’s ownership?”
“What happened to no business talk at social gatherings?” Brynn cut in, looking at her dad. It was a long-standing rule that their family had, and it had been invoked a great deal when she’d been with Grant.
Which, Brynn realized in this moment, probably had far more to do with Grant, specifically, than with her dad preferring not to discuss work at the table.
But Hallie squeezed Brynn’s hand and smiled. “I love it. Honestly, Reese is my favorite owner I’ve worked with at the inn.” Brynn noticed that she didn’t clarify it was her parents who’d previously owned The Stone’s Throw; everyone at the table already knew.
Reese was clearly delighted by the praise, which she leveled right back in Hallie’s direction. “Hallie makes it easy. I would have never survived taking over the inn if I didn’t have her support. It’s not an understatement to say that she runs the place.”
“With an iron fist,” Sydney cut in, bringing her own fist down gently on the table.
Everyone laughed before Reese added, “Spoken like a true lifelong best friend, babe. But really, we’d all be lost without her. I’m going to do everything that I can to keep her at The Stone’s Throw for as long as she wants to be there.”
“The free housing goes a long way,” Hallie teased, which made everyone laugh again.
God, would there ever be a time when she wasn’t completely charmed by everything about Hallie? Brynn hoped not.
The waiter returned with their drinks, and they all placed their orders. Because they had known that being late was apossibility after their late morning activities, Hallie had read the menu out loud to Brynn on the drive to the restaurant. Which was another thing that Brynn loved—knowing what she was getting into in social situations. Hallie was the same, so she’d already had the menu pulled up before Brynn had even asked.
As the meal wore on, she could feel Hallie’s hand soften in her own. The conversation shifted from The Stone’s Throw to the business that Reese and Brynn’s dad did together, to what Sydney had going on in her daily life. Brynn even chimed in with a few stories about the inn, especially when it had to do with Hallie being an absolute boss at her job. Not that Hallie needed a hype woman. Brynn just genuinely loved having the chance to talk about her whenever the opportunity presented itself.
She wasn’t sure that there’d ever been a time when she felt more comfortable in a social situation. After they’d eaten, Brynn felt like she finally had a chance to look at Hallie properly while everyone else was absorbed in a conversation about Reese and Sydney’s wedding planning.
Their eyes met, and Hallie mouthed, “I love you,” before her lips bloomed into a wild smile that lit up Brynn’s entire body. It only reinforced Brynn’s opinion that Hallie feeling any type of dismay about today had been totally unwarranted. Hallie was the most likeable person on the planet.
It was clear from her parents’ subtle, smiling looks at one another that they felt the same way. Now that Brynn had her own person, she understood those looks a lot better. She understood everything a whole lot better now that she’d met Hallie.
Brynn could say, without reservation, that she wanted to spend the rest of her life learning every single thing about Hallie Thatcher.
When they got back from brunch, Hallie returned to working at the front desk, which meant that Brynn had a few hours to finish the project she’d been working on for the last few days.
She was putting the finishing touches on it when Hallie walked through the door in her work uniform, her ponytail shifted to the side in the way that Brynn loved so much. “I really thought that Greg and Candace were going to be going strong after his near-death experience,” she said in exasperation.
Brynn quickly closed her laptop. “What happened?”
She could tell that Hallie was gearing up to launch into the saga, but then she threw her body down on the sofa and snuggled into Brynn’s side. “You know what? It’s not important. Those two will figure it out or they won’t. I have a gorgeous woman here whom I haven’t seen in hours,” she said, leveling a look in Brynn’s direction.
