Always With You (The Connor Family 6)

Reid

Hailey had painted a vivid picture of the family, but experiencing it myself was a perk. She seemed a little pale when she returned.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded but didn’t meet my eyes. Fuck, she was definitely not okay, but before I could insist, she turned her attention to Brooke, asking about the seating arrangements at the wedding.

Landon proceeded to ask me how I’m planning to finance the new hotel, and before long, we were discussing the pros and cons of bank financing.

I kept glancing at Hailey, waiting to see her relax, but her shoulders remained stiff and her smile seemed almost forced. I had to force myself to remain in my seat and carry out the conversation.

While we cleaned the table, I got my chance to pull her to one side.

“Hailey, what’s wrong? You’ve been... on edge since you returned from the kitchen.”

“Nothing.” Her snappy tone could only mean one thing: whatever was wrong had to do with me.

“Did I do something to upset you? Let’s talk about it.”

“Not with my family around, okay? They’ll catch on and worry. Later.”

My insides tightened. What the hell was going on? I didn’t want to wait until later. Even so, I couldn’t help but admire her strength. Despite clearly being rattled, she had a smile for everyone and even played a game of Monopoly with Milo and April.

I was torn between simply dragging her into an empty room or throwing her over my shoulder and taking off with her. I wanted to know what had put her in that state. And I wanted to know right now.

As the evening wound down and everyone was heading out, Jace leaned on the sofa, groaning.

“How am I supposed to go home now?”

“You can always spend the night. There are enough rooms,” Val offered.

“You know what? I’m going to take you up on it,” Hailey said.

What?

I stared at her, about to lose it in front of her entire family. First she said we’d talk later, and now she wanted to spend the night here?

Val looked between us, grinning. “Or not. I see someone has plans for you, Hailey.”

I draped an arm around her waist.

“Apparently so,” she replied.

“I do.”

She tensed under my fingers, cocking her head in my direction. I didn’t miss the challenge in her eyes, but I didn’t back down.

Val smiled at us both. “Well, off you go then, lovebirds. Just don’t get up to shenanigans on the porch. There are kids around.”

Hailey was mad. I could tell that by her stiff posture and the speed with which she stepped away from me the second we descended the stone steps in the garden.

“Hailey, we need to talk.”

“We could have just talked later.”

“Really? Because it looked to me as if you were just planning to give me the slip.”

“Not everything is about you. Maybe I just wanted to have a sleepover at my sister’s.”