Page 42 of Protecting Hailey

I shook my head. “Only that we were interrupted.”

She smiled and kissed me again. “Thank you. I needed that.”

Did she think that was a ‘pity’ kiss? That I’d only done it to make her feel better? Or was that her way of saying the kiss was just OK? Fuck that. That kiss was better than OK. But clearly, Hailey was putting space between us, and I needed to back off.

I cleared my throat. “Don’t mention it.”

12

Hailey

My head pounded the next morning. I’d hardly slept last night as I tossed and turned while thoughts raced through my head. On the one hand, there was Trey, and my mind grappled to understand the scheming behind our relationship. On the other hand, there was Christian, and I couldn’t decide if his kiss was only meant to make me feel better or if there was something more between us. My body wanted more, but was it only reacting to his concern for me after having been so publicly rejected? I wasn’t sure.

I reluctantly climbed out of bed and splashed cold water on my face. Staring back at me in the mirror were tired, red eyes and a sad mouth. My family would be here in a few hours. I needed to get my shit together before then.

I pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and went in search of Christian. I would look for some sign that there was more to his kiss than just reassurance.

Puttering down the hallway in my bare feet, I turned the corner and found him sitting at the kitchen table. He sat with his head in his hands. His face snapped up when I cleared my throat.

“Good morning,” I smiled.

His hair was a mess at the top. Strands jutted out in all directions. I’d never seen it out of place. It was always perfectly combed by the time I came down for breakfast. But I liked this look on him. It was less bodyguard and more boyfriend material.

“Morning,” he muttered and stood up. “I haven’t started on breakfast yet. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

That made me smile again. If he didn’t sleep well last night, that was a good sign, no? He was wrestling with something, too. “Really?” I asked casually. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I do.”

Great. I loved that we were on the same page and we needed to talk about this.

Ding, Dong!

I raised my index finger. “Hold that thought while I answer the door.”

“Hailey, wait!” he called. “It’s Sunday morning. Who can be at the door? Let me get it.”

“All right.”

Christian strode past me wearing jeans and a black T-shirt. He checked the cameras on his phone. “It’s Sam,” he said right before he opened the door.

“Sam? Hey, what are you doing here on a Sunday?”

“Hailey, we have a PR disaster, girl.” She walked into my house and grabbed me by the arms. She wore a black and white suit and her hair and makeup were flawlessly done.

“I thought we handled the lip-sync scandal. Is this about Kendra again?”

Sam shook her head. “No, no. This isn’t about her. This is about you and Trey. It’s all over the net, and people are pissed.”

I waved off her concern. “Oh, I’ll be fine. People don’t have to be upset on my behalf. I’m slowly coming to terms with it.”

Sam narrowed her eyes. “Hailey, what are you talking about? People are pissed at you!”

“For what?”

“For cheating on Trey,” she pointed at Christian, “with your bodyguard.”

“What?!”

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