Page 91 of Protecting Hailey

“It wasn’t a statement,” I muttered. It was a personal question that I answered as vaguely as possible because I didn’t want to tell him to mind his own business.

“Mr. Machado, when was the last time you visited Puerto Rico?” Jager asked, changing the subject. I glanced down at a movement below and spotted Christian gripping his thigh under the table.

“Not since I was a soldier.”

Remembering Christian mentioning something about our fathers on tour together, I pounced on the common ground. “I understand you and my father spent some time in the army together. Do you miss it?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Miss it?”

I nodded. I knew that Christian missed his friends, and he was only away from them for three months.

“No. I don’t miss not knowing where the next bullet will come from or where the next bomb will go off.”

A hot flush crept up my face, and I sputtered. “That’s not what I meant.”

Oh no.

“Do you usually have a hard time expressing yourself, Hailey? Or is it just with me? Maybe Christian is misunderstanding your words as well.”

“I assure you, that’s not the case,” Christian said through clenched teeth. Then he threw his napkin on the table and stood up. “We’re out of here.”

“Christian, wait!” Will called out. But Christian held his hand palm up in front of me. I’d just put my hand in his when his father piped up. “My apologies. I spoke out of turn. I’m not usually this rude. Please, sit down, and let's have our dinner.”

Christian didn’t move. I sat perfectly still with my hand in his. Looking around the table, the other men watched in worry as Christian made up his mind. I squeezed his hand and gently tugged him to sit down. His father had apologized, and I didn’t want this to ruin our weekend. We could get through one dinner with him.

He turned to look at me, and I smiled and nodded once. He watched me, looking, I imagined, for any sign that I was being insincere with my desire to stay. But I wasn’t. I wanted to get to know these men in Christian's life better. Then, I’d decide if I wanted to spend more time with them or not.

Christian sat down just as the server returned. Standing with her hands clasped behind her back, she asked, “Have you decided?”

Everyone looked at me, perhaps because they were familiar with the menu. But I knew what I was having. “Yes, I’m ready.”

“Great,” said Jake, clapping his hands once. “Let’s order.”

Christian smiled when I ordered the Mofongo and told the server he’d have the same.

“So, Hailey.” Jake leaned back in his chair. “Christian tells me you’re working on a new album. How’s it going?”

“Really great,” I said, beaming at him. “My producer, Tessa, is a genius and she takes my lyrics and simple melodies and turns them into magic.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. I see how hard you work writing and composing,” said Christian. Then he turned to Jake. “She’s always humming something new, and when she sings it in the studio, all of us in there can’t help but be transformed by her voice.”

A smile played on Jake’s lips, but he covered it with his hand. “Is that so?”

Christian took a sip of the wine the server had just put in front of him. “Absolutely. Tessa is brilliant, but Hailey is the spark that lights up the room.”

Christian’s father cleared his throat but said nothing. My heart swelled hearing Christian’s praise. I looked around at the faces around us and everyone was smiling except for his father.

I turned to Will. “So, tell me more about your bodyguard business.”

Will leaned back and crossed his arms. “Not much to tell. When we returned from overseas, we knew we still wanted to be in service somehow, but didn’t want to take orders from anyone else. A friend of mine asked me if I would be willing to act as a bodyguard for a diplomat coming into town for the day. He was impressed with my skills and wanted to hire me for more jobs. When the jobs kept coming in, I knew I had to get my brothers involved. They aren’t as good as me, of course, but they do okay.” He chuckled and Jake punched him on the shoulder. “Don’t be upset by the truth,” Will teased.

“The truth, my ass. Don’t make me tell them about Germany.”

Will groaned. “You will never let me live that down. I didn’t know German beers were so damn strong.”

The men all laughed, except for Will, who rolled his eyes.

“Why New York?” I asked. “Why did you all settle there?”

---