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."

Despite the sun's absence, it wasn't much cooler tonight. The warm breeze was a welcome relief as we walked towards the restaurant by the beach. Several couples and families stood in queues outside various restaurants, waiting for their tables. I wondered how long we would have to wait.

When we reached a white stucco building, Christian walked past the lineup and straight inside. I yanked on his white shirt sleeve. "We can't cut in front of all those people," I hissed. "I don't care how much you paid the guy ahead of time."

Christian grinned. "That's very considerate of you, baby. But I reserved a private room for all of us tonight. We aren't stealing a table from any of those people outside."

"Oh. In that case, thank god, because I'm starving."

Goosebumps rose on my skin as the colder air inside reached us. I didn't mind it as the hostess led us past the rows of tables toward a private enclave where four men sat staring at me. Yes, I welcomed the cool air under these heated conditions. I recognized Christian's friends, so I smiled at the older gentleman seated in the middle of them. "You're Christian's father, I presume?"

He glanced at his son before returning his gaze to me. "Yes," he smiled. "I'm Carl. Pleased to meet you."

I smiled back. He wasn't hard at all. Quite pleasant, actually.

Christian pulled out my chair, and I sat in front of Will and Jake with Christian to my left, Jager to my right and Carl at the far end. As far from Christian as possible. I wondered if Jager had done that on purpose.

A waitress walked in and handed us menus. "Our specials this evening are the pollo guisado, empanadillas, and the mofongo." I smiled at the last one, knowing I would be ordering that tonight.

"How was your flight?" Jake asked me.

I blushed remembering particular times my body shook that had nothing to do with turbulence. I cleared my throat and sipped my water. "It was great."

Jake's eyes grinned, and he covered a smile with his hand. I think Christian may have kicked him under the table, but I couldn't be sure.

"My wife's a big fan of your music, Hailey," continued Jake. "She had a sweatshirt with your album cover even before you became Christian's girlfriend. So, I guess I could say I knew you before he did."

Christian rolled his eyes. "This isn't a competition, Jake."

"Of course not. But for the record, I did know what she looked like first."

"Of course, I knew what she looked like."

I turned to Christian in surprise. "You did?"

He shrugged. "I bought your first album. I listen to your music. I told you that before."

"I thought you were just being nice."

"Christian is never ‘just being nice'. You don't have to worry on that front."

They all laughed, and Jager nudged him, grinning.

His father, however, wasn't smiling.

"So, she's officially your girlfriend, huh?"

The laughing stopped, and Jake looked away.

"Yes, she is," Christian replied.

"Don't you think you're moving a little fast?"

"Well, we've known each other for three months. We're not getting married or anything," I said with a tiny smile and looked at Christian, "but I'm excited to see where this is going."

"Oh, so there's no real commitment on your end, then?"

Shocked, I muttered, "I–I didn't say that."

"Dad," Christian warned, but his father put up his hands. "Sorry, my mistake. I must've misunderstood her statement."

"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?"

Will pursed his lips, thinking about the question, but it was Christian who answered. "The boys were all from the east coast, except for me. I wasn't from anywhere, really. So, I would have been fine to move wherever. But New York was central for everyone." He took another sip of his drink. "We had become as close as brothers. None of us wanted to separate. We thought for a little while at least, we'd get homes close to each other and eventually move away. But years later, here we are."

His father mumbled something under his breath, but I didn't hear it. However, Christian's back straightened.

I placed my hand on Christian's thigh and he put his hand over mine and squeezed. Looking into his eyes, he smiled and sucked on his bottom lip for only a second, but it made my stomach dip. There was a vulnerability in his eyes right now. A look I'd never seen. As though he were trying to communicate something. While he didn't say a word, I knew my simple gesture had put him at ease and he thanked me for it.

He'd saved my life and loved me so freely. I would do anything for this man.

"Be careful," the server said, placing my dish in front of me. "The plate is very hot."

She set a plate with a ball of mashed plantains and vegetables in the middle and a light red sauce all around it.

"Bon appétit," said Jager, and everyone dug into their food.

Picking up my fork, I inhaled deeply. The sauce smelled a bit spicy but when I took the first bite, it wasn't too spicy at all, just the perfect amount of flavor. "Mmm… This is really good."

Christian smiled. "You like it?"

I took another bite. Chewing slowly, I closed my eyes. Then I licked my lips. "I love it."

Christian kissed me quickly and chuckled. "I'm so glad you like it. It's one of my favorite dishes, too."

I caught Jake's face as Christian pulled away to eat his dinner. He didn't try to hide his smile this time, openly grinning at his friend.

We all ate and talked, the guys cut each other up a few times, and even Christian's dad made a few jokes. The evening had turned out a lot better than when it had started.

"Christian, let's head outside and have a cigar," his father said after the server took our dessert plates away. Christian shook his head, and I knew he was about to say no when I squeezed his thigh again. "I think that's a great idea. You should spend a little time with your dad before he leaves tomorrow."

Christian looked at me, and I nodded with a smile. "I'll be all right."

His father led the way out the front door and I watched Christian's back retreat away from me. Still staring at the front door long after they left, Jake interrupted my thoughts.

"He really is in love with you," he said.

I blinked, unsure if I'd heard him correctly. "Excuse me?"

Jake smiled. "Christian. He's madly in love with you."

I wasn't going to deny it. "I'm madly in love with him, too."

Jake nodded. "I know. I can tell. I'm happy for you both."

"Thank you."

I sipped my coffee as Christian's father's earlier comments replayed in my head. "Does his father not like me, you think? I don't mean for that to sound needy. I just don't want there to be any tension with his father over me."

"Don't take it personally. It's just that his father is used to getting his way, especially when it comes to his family."

I shook my head. "What do you mean by ‘his way'?"

Jager cleared his throat and kicked Jake under the table. Jake glared at him. "What? She has a right to know."

Jager shook his head, but Jake continued. "His father doesn't want Jake to move to L.A. He's expressed his displeasure quite clearly."

"Oh."

"Now, you've made her feel bad," Jager said. "Are you happy?"

Jake turned to me. "I didn't tell you this to make you feel bad. Christian's a grown man. He makes decisions based on his own wants and needs. You have nothing to worry about."

Jager groaned. "How are you married and know nothing about women? Telling a woman she has nothing to worry about will only make her worry more."

I looked at Jake and shrugged. "He has a point."

Jake shook his head. "I've never seen Christian as happy as he is now. He's completely in love with you."

"I know, but does that mean he's ready to leave everyone behind?" I asked.

"I know I would if I were in his place. I would do anything for Nikole," Jake said.

I sat at the table sipping my coffee as I thought about what I was asking Christian to do. He would be leaving his parents, his brothers, and his career behind. Yes, he would be traveling the world with me, but he'd already seen so much of it and he wouldn't be ‘immersing' himself in any place while I was touring. We would be in and out of a city in a day or two. Is this the sort of life Christian had envisioned for himself after his time in the military? Or had he hoped for a quieter life? One more structured and predictable. That sounded more like him.

Was he just settling for this life for me? And if he was, would he come to resent me for it? The thought drew a shadow over my joy. When Jager looked at me, making a funny face, trying to cheer me up, I knew my smile looked a little bit off.