The Bodyguard

chapter 9

I stood frozen in the yard. People were talking around me, trying to figure out what had happened. I couldn't hear most of them. My attention was fixed on the house. Alexander had disappeared inside. I wanted to follow him. But he'd told me to stay. So I stayed.

"Everyone, stay calm!" A few seconds later, his mother rushed out the back door. That did absolutely nothing to calm anyone.

"What happened?" Michael asked.

"One of the serving trays fell." She waved her hands

A serving tray? I blinked.

That was it? I looked toward the house. Then back at her. She was smiling, but something about her expression felt forced. I knew that look. I'd seen it on people who were trying to hide something. Alexander came back outside. His eyes immediately found me. He walked straight toward me.

"You're okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine." I nodded.

"What happened?" He looked toward his mother.

"Nothing serious." She responded.

He stared at her for a moment. Then he looked back at me.

"See? Nothing to worry about." He said.

I nodded slowly. But I wasn't convinced. Neither was he.

"Everything okay?" Before I could ask anything, Michael walked back over.

"Yeah." Alexander nodded. Michael looked between us.

"Good. Because Dad is about to start his annual speech about family traditions." He smiled.

"Please tell me you're joking." Alexander groaned.

"I'm not." He responds.

"What kind of speech?" I laughed.

"The kind that lasts forty-five minutes." Michael grinned.

"Run." Alexander looked at me.

"I think I'll stay." I laughed.

"Your funeral." He says.

We followed everyone toward the back porch. John stood near the grill with a drink in his hand. He cleared his throat. Everyone slowly gathered around. I stood beside Alexander. His hand brushed mine. Neither of us moved away. John started talking about family, tradition, and how important it was to spend time together. I listened quietly. There was something strange about it. I'd never really had this.

A loud house.nPeople laughing. Children running around.nPeople who actually wanted to be together. I glanced at Alexander. He was listening to his father. For once, he didn't look like a bodyguard. He looked like a son. A normal man surrounded by people who loved him. For some reason, that made my chest ache. I looked away.

"You okay?" He worries.

"Yeah." I looked at Alexander.

"You're staring." He lowered his voice.

"I'm not." I argue.

"You were." He replies back.

"I was thinking." I say say softly.

"About?" He questions.

"Your family." I smiled.

"What about them?" His expression softened.

"They're nice." I say softly.

"They like you." He states.

"I've known them for a few hours." I chuckle.

"My mother decided she liked you as soon as you stepped out of my car." He says.

"That's true." I laughed

He smiled. Then his fingers slipped between mine.nI looked down.

"Alexander." I say.

"What?" He asks.

"Everyone can see." I state.

"Let them." He replies.

"You really like making this difficult." I shook my head.

"Maybe." He leaned closer.

"Why?" I looked at him.

"Because sometimes I forget it's fake." His eyes stayed on mine.

My breath caught. Before I could respond, Camille walked onto the porch.nShe stopped when she saw us holding hands.nHer smile disappeared for just a second. Then it returned. I stayed near the porch, trying to ignore the fact that Camille had been watching me for the last several minutes.

She hadn't said anything else.nBut she didn't have to. I could feel her eyes following me. I decided to focus on anything else. The barbecue had officially turned into a full family event. There were tables covered with food, music playing from a speaker near the barn, and enough desserts to feed an entire neighborhood.

"Your family really knows how to eat." I grabbed a plate and looked at Alexander.

"I warned you." He laughed.

"You said there would be family." I say.

"I didn't realize my mother was planning to feed half the county." He smiled.

I filled my plate and followed him toward one of the tables. His mother suddenly appeared beside us.

"Hannah, sweetheart, sit over here." She says.

I looked at the table she was pointing toward. There were already several people sitting there. Including an elderly woman with silver hair pulled into a neat bun.

"And who is this?" She looked at me and smiled.

"This is Hannah." Alexander's mother practically beamed.

"Ah." The woman's eyes immediately moved to Alexander.

"What?" I frowned.

"So you're the girl." She smiled.

"What girl?" I glanced at Alexander.

"Grandma." His face turned slightly red.

"Don't mind me." His grandmother laughed.

I sat beside Alexander. His mother sat across from us. His grandmother studied me for a few seconds.

"You're beautiful." She smiled.

"Thank you." I say. Not used to the genuine compliments.

"And how long have you two been together?" She asks. I nearly choked on my food. Alexander quickly reached for his drink.

"Eight months," he answered.

"Eight months." She looked at his mother. "That's plenty of time." She continues.

"I think so too." His mother smiled.

"Plenty of time for what?" I slowly lowered my fork.

"Marriage, of course." His grandmother looked genuinely surprised. I nearly dropped my fork.

"Grandma." Alexander coughed into his drink.

"What?" She questions.

"We're not talking about marriage." He says.

"Why not?" She asks.

"Because we've been together eight months." He states.

"Your grandfather proposed after three." His grandmother waved her hand.

"Three months?" I stared at her.

"Two and a half, actually." She says. I couldn't help laughing.

"He knew what he wanted." She smiled proudly.

"That explains a lot." Alexander shook his head.

"Ignore them." His mother leaned toward me.

"Don't ignore us. We're right." His grandmother immediately corrected her. I laughed again. Then she looked directly at me. "So, Hannah..." I knew that tone.

"What?" I ask with caution.

"Do you want children?" She finishes. My eyes widened.

"Grandma!" Alexander nearly dropped his fork.

"What? I'm getting to know her." She says

His mother started laughing. I covered my mouth, trying not to laugh too.

"I... honestly haven't thought that far ahead." I say.

"Good answer." His grandmother nodded thoughtfully

"How is that a good answer?" Alexander stared at her.

"Because she didn't say no." She retorts. His mother burst into laughter. I could feel my face getting hotter.

Then I noticed Camille. She was standing a few feet away with a drink in her hand. She had clearly heard everything. She smiled politely. But her eyes were fixed on Alexander.

"Camille, dear. Come sit with us." His grandmother noticed her.

"Of course." Camille walked over.

She sat beside Alexander's mother.

"I was just asking Hannah about marriage." His grandmother smiled at her.

"Marriage?" Camille's eyes flicked toward me.

"I think Alexander is finally old enough to settle down." His mother nodded enthusiastically.

"Mom." Alexander groaned.

"He isn't getting any younger." His grandmother laughed.

"I'm sitting right here." He says with a sigh. Everyone laughed. Except Camille.

"Alexander has never been very interested in marriage." She smiled.

"He's interested now." His mother raised an eyebrow.

I looked at Alexander. He looked back at me. For a second, neither of us said anything.

"Look at the way he looks at her." Then his grandmother smiled. My heart skipped.

"Grandma." Alexander cleared his throat.

"What?" She asks.

"You're embarrassing us." He replies.

"I'm old. I don't care." She shrugged.

Everyone laughed again. I tried to laugh with them, but my attention stayed on Alexander. His grandmother wasn't the only one watching us. Camille was too. And this time, I caught her staring. She quickly looked away. A few minutes later, Alexander leaned closer to me.

"You okay?" He asks.

"Your family is terrifying." I nodded

"You'll get used to them." He smiled.

"That's assuming I'm going to be around long enough." I looked at him.

"You will." His smile faded slightly.

"You sound very sure." The way he said it made me pause.

"I am." He says.

"Alexander..." I looked down at my plate.

"I know." He lowered his voice. "This is supposed to be temporary."

"Right." I nodded.

But neither of us sounded convinced anymore. Across the table, Camille watched us quietly. She didn't know the truth. Not yet.

But she was starting to notice things. The way Alexander touched Hannah. The way Hannah looked at him. The way they seemed to forget everyone else was around. Camille tightened her fingers around her glass. Something wasn't right. She just didn't know what it was. Yet.

Later that afternoon, the family gathered near the fire pit while the sun began to set. I sat beside Alexander on the wooden bench. Our shoulders touched. I looked across the property. The fields were glowing orange beneath the setting sun.

For the first time in a long time, I felt safe. Almost normal. Then Alexander quietly took my hand. I looked at him. He smiled. This time, I didn't remind myself that it was fake. I simply held his hand back.

Neither of us noticed Camille watching from across the yard. She narrowed her eyes. She didn't know what Alexander was hiding. But she was determined to find out.