A Cosmic Kind of Love(46)

“Yes.”

“They’re here too.”

We turned down the hedged lane toward Aunt Richelle’s, which was somewhere in the middle between the modest homes and those bigger houses Hallie had been expecting.

“This is idyllic,” Hallie opined quietly.

“I’m glad the weather’s good so you can see it like this.”

“I bet it’s melting hot in the height of summer.”

“It is. But Aunt Richelle has a pool.”

Her lips made a little oh. I had to drag my eyes off them and back on the road. I swung the car left into Aunt Richelle’s driveway and drew to a halt.

Hallie stared at the house. “This is beautiful.”

Grinning, I got out of the car, rounding the hood to her side, just as the front door opened.

Bandit bounded past Aunt Richelle just as I helped Hallie out of the car. His enormous paws landed on my back, the full weight of him shoving me, stumbling into Hallie, who fell against the car, crushed by us both.

“Bandit!” I heard my aunt shout, and the dog’s weight fell away.

“Shit, are you okay?” I asked Hallie.

She gaped up at me, her cheeks a little flushed, her face too close to mine. “I’m fine,” she whispered.

Feeling nothing but her soft body against mine, heat licked down my spine. I quickly stepped back, releasing her.

“Sorry, so sorry.” Aunt Richelle was suddenly there, her fingers wrapped around Bandit’s collar. “He gets a little overzealous.”

“Oh my God, he’s beautiful.” Hallie seemed over her shock as she grinned at my aunt’s dog, who desperately pulled to get to me.

“You can let him go,” I said.

“What about your guest?”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Hallie assured her.

Aunt Richelle studied her as she released Bandit. He attacked me with love, and I hugged and petted him, trying to introduce my aunt to Hallie at the same time.

“It’s so nice to meet you.” Hallie held out her hand. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“Oh, we don’t do handshakes in this house. I’m a hugger. Is that okay?” Aunt Richelle smiled.

Hallie laughed, her whole body seeming to relax. “Yeah, of course.”

I watched them hug and felt more than a little off-balance by how much I liked having Hallie here.

Once Bandit was done with me, he wanted to meet my guest, and I wasn’t even aware of the massive grin on my face as I listened to Hallie’s laughter. Bandit smothered her in love.

I caught my aunt’s eye.

She studied me knowingly. And I got the impression she liked what she saw.

Aunt Richelle led us into the house, and Hallie’s expression changed. She appeared pensive as she took everything in, and I could see the gears turning in her mind.

She was in event-planning mode already.

Chuckling, I pressed a hand to her back to guide her toward the kitchen where my aunt led. No doubt she had breakfast ready for us. Sure enough, the dining table was covered in a small buffet of pastries, waffles, and pancakes.

“You can think about the party later. Let’s just have breakfast first,” I said to Hallie. I kissed my aunt on the cheek. “You didn’t need to do all this.”

“I wanted to. It’s nice to have company. Coffee?”

“Please.” Hallie nodded, eyeing the food. “This is so nice of you, thank you. It was too early to eat when we left the city, but now I’m starving.”

We settled at the table.

“You have a beautiful home,” Hallie commented as Aunt Richelle joined us.

“Thank you. I never thought I’d stay in a place like this, but the first time I saw it, I just couldn’t resist living by the beach. I love it here.”

“I can see why.” Hallie stared out of the window toward the beach. “It’s in a beautiful spot. Chris tells me you’re an artist, a painter. This must be such a magical place to paint.”

“It is.” Aunt Richelle smiled at her. “Every day the weather changes the landscape.”

“I bet. I’d love to see your work sometime.”

“Really? I’d be happy to show you my studio later.”

I raised an eyebrow. Not everyone got that offer from my aunt. I wondered if she felt the same thing I did around Hallie: the instinctive gut feeling that she could be trusted. I didn’t understand it, but I wouldn’t second-guess it either.

“So do you think this place could be party central?” Aunt Richelle asked.

Hallie swallowed a bite of waffle and looked around the room. “I’ll have to check out the rest of the house, but it’s a wonderful space. Perfect for a cookout. We could open the doors so the party flows from yard to house. Maybe even put up a tent out there for shade and to keep refreshments cool. The smell and sound of the ocean add great atmosphere, and we should definitely cash in on the uniqueness of the location.”

“That makes sense to me,” my aunt murmured.

I nodded. I didn’t care about the party, but I liked the way Hallie’s face lit up as she talked about her work and her ideas.



* * *





    “Hey.” I approached Hallie, who stood in the backyard, scribbling on her tablet. We’d been at the house for a few hours. After breakfast, Aunt Richelle took Hallie into her studio, and they were in there longer than I’d expected them to be. When they returned, I took Hallie on a tour of the house and then left her to it because I could tell how distracted she’d grown as ideas started percolating in her head.