When he looked at her like that, it made her feel as if nothing else in the world existed. All her worries, the need for money, Carter’s health . . . It all slipped away and the only thing that mattered was sharing this moment with Hale.
Izzy clutched his arm as they strode toward town and reveled in the feeling of true happiness.
Chapter Seven
HALE SLIPPED INTO THEkitchen to find Tansy dishing up plates of food while Isabella put away various utensils and pots and pans.
“Hale.” His sister paused at his unexpected presence, the large spoonful of peas she was holding paused in midair. “Do you need something?”
“I thought I’d join the two of you for supper.” The words came out awkwardly.
Tansy raised her eyebrows while Isabella looked at him with a pleased smile.
“The confines of the office were wearing on me,” he said. It was a flimsy explanation. And while it was the truth, the reason he wanted out of the room was to see Isabella. The entire afternoon, he’d found himself craving time with her. He’d found excuse after excuse to wander toward the little desk near the front door where she waited to help guests.
Barely any of his work had gotten done.
“Of course,” Isabella said while his sister continued to watch him in amusement. Isabella retrieved a third set of silverware and placed them at an empty place on the table. “It’s much better to dine with family than to eat alone while you work.”
He gave her a grateful smile. “I need to make this more of a habit. Can I help with anything?”
“Heavens, no,” Tansy said as she placed a full plate in front of him. “I prefer the dishes unbroken and the pies unscorched.”
“It wasn’tthatbad,” Hale said, eyeing the roast chicken on his plate as his stomach growled.
“It was,” Tansy insisted. She set two more plates on the table as Isabella poured them each a glass of Tansy’s perfectly sour-sweet lemonade.
Hale shook his head, waiting impatiently for them each to sit so he could begin eating.
“This sounds like an entertaining story,” Isabella said as she took the seat to Hale’s right.
“Oh, it is.” Tansy sliced off a piece of chicken as Hale dug into his own plate. “Our mother ran the kitchen at our family’s boardinghouse in Philadelphia. She got it into her head that Hale needed to learn the basics of cooking. That lasted one afternoon.”
“Two,” Hale corrected her, his mouth half full of chicken.
“He burned the dessert, broke Mother’s favorite serving dish, turned the chicken into something that couldn’t be chewed, made the gravy into tasteless sludge that adhered itself to the pan, sliced his hand, and . . .” She frowned and tilted her head, as if she was certain he’d ruined something else. “Oh! And bruised all the apples when he overturned the basket Mother kept in the pantry. That was before he grabbed hold of a shelf and brought the entire thing down on his head.”
Isabella’s eyes were round as she looked at Hale. “Were you all right? How old were you?”
“I wasfine,” Hale said, directing the words at Tansy who shook her head ever so slightly. “I was twelve. I walked away with a scratch or two.”
“And a black eye. Don’t you remember—”
Hale cut Tansy off before she could embarrass him any further. “My talents lie in numbers and people, not in the kitchen.”
