Hallie was simply doing her part by giving these orphaned garments a loving home.
Which was also how Hallie found herself with multiple expensive rackets from the big brands, a fancy tennis bag where she stored the aforementioned rackets, and a handful of hats that she rarely had the need to wear. The best part was that she and Sydney wore the same shoe size, which meant that she was tightening the laces on a pair of the newest-edition tennis shoes from Sydney’s old sponsor.
The tennis world still missed Sydney King, and the companies were letting her best friend know it.
With a sigh, she refocused her energy, trying to consider the positives. This would be good for her. A little physical activity. She and Sydney separated by a net and an entire tennis court.
Plus, getting her ass handed to her by a former professional tennis player who now coached young up-and-comers would hopefully keep Hallie busy enough that she wouldn’t have the time or energy to think about Brynn.
Which started feeling wholly unrealistic when she walked out of her bedroom at the same time that Brynn walked out of her room, wearing nothing but a towel.
Hallie was clearly not getting out of the apartment without a few more hits from the emotional battering ram that was Brynn Fitzpatrick.
Brynn’s blonde hair—darker right now—was still wet. She’d combed through it, and it was slicked back, dotting drops of water along her clavicle where the ends brushed with her walk.
“Oh!” Brynn exclaimed, clearly surprised but also immediately smiling at the sight of Hallie. She pointed toward the kitchen. “I was just going to grab a cup of coffee.”
It was so unfair, the way Brynn suddenly looked like her day had gotten so much better just because she’d laid eyes on Hallie. Especially as she watched Brynn cross the living room in her small towel.
Hallie logged a very important reminder in her brain to look into oversized ones for hotel guests moving forward.
Still, instead of doing the smart thing, which would be to pick up her tennis bag and march herself out of their shared living space as quickly as possible, Hallie moved closer to the source of her confusing frustration. She walked over to the counter, a few feet away from where Brynn stood in front of the single-serving coffee maker.
Brynn grabbed a pod from the clear container that kept various flavors from the normal to the decadent and placedit into the machine, along with water so that it could brew. For the first cup, she’d selected peppermint, Hallie’s favorite indulgence.
At least, it used to be. Now, her favorite indulgence was Brynn, and she tried not to stare.
Which wasn’t made easier by Brynn shooting her another soft smile, her straight, white teeth exposed. “Thanks for last night, by the way. It really meant a lot for you to be there for me.”
Hallie nodded dumbly before croaking out, “What are friends for?” She needed to get better at reminding herself of that. Starting now.
The reality was, less than four months ago, Brynn had been planning a life and a future and a marriage with someone else. She didn’t need the stress of a new friend with confusing ulterior motives. Or whatever it was that Hallie could offer her.
Which, realistically, wasn’t that much.
A complicated friendship? The loss of the stability they’d both come to rely on?
At such a vulnerable time in Brynn’s life, it was bound to do more harm than good.
The weight of what she was thinking about—and who she was thinking about it with—almost knocked her back, and she pushed her hand forcefully against the kitchen counter to find her balance.
Attraction was fine. Desire could be managed. But… longing? Attachment? The overwhelming need to devote herself to seeing that smile on Brynn’s face every second of the day (and being the one to cause it) made her heart start beating both too quickly and too slowly at the same time.
Hallie rolled her shoulders, resisting the urge to do one of two things. The first thought that flitted through her mind was to close the gap between them and wrap Brynn up in her arms, justto recapture the closeness that had existed between them last night. The second was to run screaming from the room.
Right now, she wasn’t sure which one was going to win out.
The scent of peppermint floated to Hallie’s nostrils, and she took a deep inhale. At the same time, Brynn was pulling the full cup from its resting spot; she extended it toward Hallie in offering. “I made you a cup first. It looks like you’ve got a big day ahead of you.”
She didn’t miss the way Brynn’s eyes unabashedly inspected her tennis outfit, which was much tighter than what she normally wore around the inn. Even on her date last night, she’d opted for a chunky sweater that helped to stave off the New England cold.
But now, Brynn’s big eyes were trained on Hallie, scanning her from the top of her head to the tips of her pristine, white sneakers.
All Hallie could do was let it happen as Brynn’s stare landed on different parts of her body, lighting up her insides as they went.
Brynn finally tore her eyes away, and knowing that it was hard for her to manage that sent all kinds of sparks through Hallie. Then, Brynn picked up another coffee pod. This time, she struggled to settle it into the chamber on the coffee maker.
Finally, Brynn’s fingers fidgeted the pod at the right angle, and Hallie heard—and felt—Brynn’s relieved exhale. Brynn’s cheeks were flushed by the time that the pod dropped into place, and then she let out another exultant breath that made her chest rise and fall.
