She was different with my boys. More at ease. Relief swept through me. Hallie seemed to be in her element with them. As if she’d truly come alive for the first time since our interview. And Charlie and Drew seemed to revel in her attention.
I pushed off the wall, rounding the corner. “Is Chef Charlie making us dinner?”
He grinned, that gap between his teeth on full display. “Hallie’s helping me. This is gonna be the best sauce ever.”
Drew glanced at Hallie. “Will you be cooking for us?”
A faint pink hue deepened on her cheeks. “Yes, to the best of my ability.”
Drew stretched his arms across the kitchen island in a dramatic plea. “Please, tell me you know how to make more than pasta, steak, and chili.”
I crossed to my middle son, ruffling his hair. “Trolling your father?”
He knocked my hand away. “Not the hair, bruh!”
Hallie laughed softly. “I promise to avoid those three things.”
Drew lifted his hands skyward. “There is a God in heaven.”
I just shook my head. “Sorry you got thrown right to the wolves.”
“I don’t mind. And this pasta sauce smells amazing.”
A bizarre sense of pride filled me.
Drew grinned at Hallie. “This is his best meal. He wanted to impress you for your first night here. When you’ve had it every week for years, it’s a little less exciting.”
I barked out a laugh. “Geez, Drew, tell me how you really feel.”
Hallie shrugged. “I don’t know. Mac and cheese is my all-time favorite meal, and I could probably eat that every other day for the rest of my life.”
Charlie bounced excitedly on the stool. “Mac and cheese is my favorite, too! Can we have that tomorrow?”
Hallie glanced at me in question.
I held up both hands in surrender. “If you want to make it, we’ll eat it.”
She seemed to let out a breath at that as if she’d expected me to disapprove.
“Dinner won’t be ready for another couple of hours. Do you need to go get settled?” I asked.
Hallie shook her head, those blond locks sweeping around her face. “I don’t have that much, and I’m happy to help here. Unless you’d rather I get out of your hair.”
“No,” I hurried to say. “You’re welcome to stay. I just didn’t want to hijack your settling-in time.”
“She’s staying,” Charlie said definitively.
Drew snorted at that. “You have to askherthat, little man. Babes don’t like when you’re controlling.”
Hallie’s lips twitched. “Very true.”
Charlie tipped his head back. “Will youpleasestay?”
She smiled down at him, the expression wide and uninhibited. The action lit up her entire face. “I’d love to stay.”
I didn’t blame my son for demanding she stick around. Her presence seemed to bring a new warmth to the house, shifting the energy somehow. It just would’ve been a hell of a lot easier if she wasn’t so damn gorgeous while she did it.
8
