Page 86 of Protecting Hailey

“I love the way you speak of these places. It makes me realize, despite being famous and meeting so many people, I haven’t expanded my world.” I turned toward him. “I want to share those experiences with you.”

“Let’s plan it. After your tour, we’ll visit the South Pacific.”

I nodded, but uncertainty ran through my body.

Would taking that sort of time off hurt my career?

I hated that I put my career on the same level as my personal life. In the past, maybe even higher. But I wanted this time to be different.

About half an hour later, the car pulled up to the hotel. A man wearing a white linen shirt and blue pants opened my door. “Welcome to the Flamingo Hotel.”

“Thank you,” I said, stepping out of the car. The marble steps led to a marble foyer. White leather couches were scattered throughout the space, surrounded by palm trees and a waterfall wall. The place was certainly swanky.

I looked around while Christian checked us in. My heart stopped when my gaze caught the view of the ocean. The blue water shimmered beneath the bright sunshine and the sand looked like white powder from this distance.

Catching my gaze, Christian asked, “Would you like to take a walk along the beach before we freshen up for dinner?”

“I’d love that.”

“Our butler can take our bags to our room. Let’s get out there and enjoy this beautiful weather. I don’t get any of these views in New York.”

As we stepped down the marble staircase to the lower level, I couldn’t help asking, “Are you going to miss it?”

He hesitated, and I closed my eyes, realizing my presumption that he would move to L.A. for me. “I’m sorry. We haven’t talked about this. That sort of just came out.”

He squeezed my hand. “It’s all right.”

“You know I can’t leave L.A. My family, my studio, my producer, everything is there.”

He nodded. “I know.”

I wished I hadn’t brought this up. Not now.

“Yes.”

“Pardon?” I turned around to face him.

We’d reached the bottom step, and he stared out over the ocean. “Yes. I’ll miss New York. But mostly, I’ll miss my brothers.”

My heart leaped out of my chest. He was willing to move to L.A. for me. And at the same time, it broke for him.

But those men weren’t his real brothers, right? He would make new friends in L.A. I’d make sure of it. I squeezed his hand. “I’ll be there.”

He smiled, but I wanted to change the subject. “So, have you been to many other countries outside of the South Pacific?”

He rubbed his lips. “Well, I’ve worked in England, France, Russia, China, Iraq, and Iran. Oh, and for a short time, I was stationed in Israel.”

My mouth fell open. “You were a soldier in all of those places? I didn’t think soldiers traveled so much.”

His mouth tightened and his gaze wandered toward the sun worshippers laying in their lounges along the shore.

“I wasn’t an average soldier, Hailey.”

“Obviously not,” I laughed. “Were you a troublemaker that had to be moved around a lot?”

“No.”

We approached a tree, and he led me towards it. He pulled two loungers underneath it and I laid down, putting my feet up and staring out at the water.

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