Page 89 of Protecting Hailey

“In this hotel,” Jake piped in. “He called me this morning, asking if he could hitch a ride with us. I tried to call you, but you were already in the air. Anyway, I told him he could come with us. I didn’t think you’d mind, but Jager didn’t agree.”

Jager’s eyes searched Christian’s.

“It’s fine,” said Christian. “Why would I have a problem with it? I’m glad he’s here.” Christian shifted behind me and suddenly I felt some tension from him. He didn’t say anything else, but there was an awkward silence until Will spoke up. “Hailey, I’m sorry to hear about your social media manager, but I’m glad you’re all right.”

“Thank you. I was shocked to find out it was her. I didn’t realize she was holding a grudge for so long. But it feels good to not have to worry about that anymore.”

“I’m sure.”

Christian pulled me up from the lounger. “If you’ll excuse us, gentleman. I promised Hailey some time to freshen up before dinner. I made reservations at the steakhouse at the hotel. See you guys there in a little while.”

I smiled at the trio and waved. “I’ll see you all later.”

Christian held my hand as we made our way through the sand and onto the pathway back to the hotel. I waited for Christian to say something, but he didn’t. There was still an awkward silence between us.

I stopped walking and pulled on his arm so he would face me. “What’s going on? And don’t say ‘nothing’, because I can feel some sort of tension inside of you.”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “It’s nothing.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he continued. “My dad is a hard man. He isn’t exactly the life of the party. I don’t want him to say anything that will make you uncomfortable.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because he’s stubborn and thinks he’s right all the time. That doesn’t always translate well with new people.”

I stepped closer and caressed Christian’s cheek. “I’m sure your father and I will get along. Who wouldn’t be in a great mood in such a beautiful place as this?”

He groaned. “You’d be surprised.”

I chuckled. “I’ll be fine, Christian. You don’t have to worry.”

I massaged the wrinkle between his brows with both my thumbs. He grabbed them and kissed them.

“You’re right. I’m overreacting. Let’s go get ready.”

He kissed me gently and some of the tension drained from his body. I smiled, glad that we’d talked it through. Everything would be just fine.

24

Hailey

I chose a short red summer dress for dinner. It flared out at the waist and had cute puffed-out sleeves. I twirled in the mirror once I put my nude heels on.

“Wow, you look stunning,” Christian said, coming up behind me. He kissed my neck, and I hung on tightly as his kisses still made me weak in the knees.

“You smell nice,” I whispered, inhaling his woodsy scent. “Is that a new cologne?”

He smiled. “It is. That is so sexy that you noticed.”

“I notice everything about you.”

He turned me to face him and he grinned wider. “Do you notice how my heart races every time you enter a room? Or how my fingers twitch when you walk by, needing to grasp you at any opportunity.” His fingers circled my waist and squeezed.

My eyes danced at this confession. “I didn’t know that. But I can relate. I feel the exact same way.”

I wanted to finish what we started in the shower, but I didn’t want to be late meeting his father for the first time. “We should go.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

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