Page 104 of Protecting Hailey

A black car with tinted windows waited on the tarmac.

One of the crew members opened the aircraft door and I stepped out wearing my blue jeans and a white sweater.

As I looked down, I saw Christian standing at the bottom of the stairs, climbing up towards me. He was also dressed casually in jeans, only he wore a black cashmere sweater. It clung to his chest and arms and I bit my bottom lip.

“I missed you,” he said and kissed me at the top of the stairs. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of his lips against mine and the taste of peppermint.

“I missed you, too,” I uttered between breaths as Christian hadn’t stopped kissing me. “I—”

I gave up trying to talk and wrapped my arms around his neck. We stood on those stairs until someone cleared their throats below.

I chuckled at their less-than-subtle interruption. “I think they want us to get down from here.”

“I don’t care. I haven’t kissed you in three days and I need to make up for lost time.” He pressed his lips against mine and resumed his kiss at a leisurely pace.

When he finally pulled away, my lips felt warm and tingly. As well as other parts of my body. “Let’s go home,” I said, and he smiled.

“I love the sound of those words.”

After settling into the backseat of the black car, Christian held my hand, and we set off to his place. Well, I guess it was now my place, too. I wondered how long it would take until it felt like home. A month? Two months? I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t in any rush. We had all the time in the world.

The car drove into the city and we approached Park Avenue. I’d been to New York several times throughout my career. I think I even took a carriage ride in Central Park once, but I don’t think I ever spent more than three days here.

The car stopped in front of the doors of a building next to Central Park.

“We’re here,” said Christian, and I craned my neck to look up.

“Wow, that’s pretty tall.”

“I live on the top floor.”

“Of course you do.”

“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

My stomach tightened as we entered the foyer. The marble floors reflected the bright spotlights above and a crystal chandelier hung in the center of the room. It was elegant and beautiful, but it felt like a hotel more than a home. I was surprised by my reaction.

I followed Christian down a narrow hallway.

“There’s a separate elevator from the garage downstairs. That’s usually where I enter from, but I thought I’d take you inside from the front of the building for the first time.”

I nodded and absorbed all the details around me. From the brass doors to the crystal knobs, no expense was spared for this building. I spent time in some fine hotels, but this was quite impressive.

When the elevator doors opened, I was pleased to see the aesthetic on this floor was a little different. The hallway carpet was lighter and so were the doors. Fresh white paint lined the walls, along with white and gold sconces.

“This is me,” Christian said when we reached the last door. He pressed his thumb to the monitor next to the doorframe and a red light scanned his retina.

“Wow, that’s quite the security feature,” I said.

He shrugged. “It was Jager’s idea.”

Upon opening the door, I inhaled sharply as I took in the large space. Custom cabinets lined the front entrance and Christian opened one to hang my jacket. As expected, it was neatly organized by season and color.

Next, we walked through a foyer with a round marble table in the middle topped with a beautiful arrangement of white orchids.

Turning into the family room, I blinked at the light streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows. There was a large blue velvet couch in front of the windows and several armchairs, too. The white rug underneath was shaggy and luxurious.

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