Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Lucien
“Talia. We’re so glad you’re here.”
Audra says her sister’s name with a note of pity, and I slide an arm around Talia’s waist and pull her against me, saving her from Audra’s hug.
“You must be Audra. I’m Lucien Beaumont, nice to meet you.”
Audra’s expression brightens as she shakes my hand. “I had no idea Talia was seeing someone! And a hockey player!” She shoots Coach Turner a mock look of surprise. “I can’t believe you’re okay with this, Dad.”
“Beaumont’s a great guy,” Coach says.
Audra met us as soon as we arrived at the front entrance to the resort everyone is staying at for the wedding. We’re on the Big Island, where Audra and Kyle’s beach ceremony is planned for the day after tomorrow.
A bellhop arrives to take our bags and we follow Audra into the resort’s lobby.
She’s a little taller and not as pretty as Talia. Talia has sexy curves and expressive eyes, but her sister is forgettable.
A concierge greets us and offers to handle our check-in. Coach Turner and I both reach for our wallets, and he shoots me a glare.
“I’m paying for both rooms,” he says.
“I appreciate that, Coach, but I’ve got ours.”
He hates that I’m sharing a room with Talia. I don’t need to hear him say it to know it.
“Fine,” he says smoothly, passing the concierge his card.
“So, Talia,” Audra says. “I have an extra bridesmaid dress in case you change your mind. It might need to be altered, because I didn’t realize your body had changed so much, but I’ll find someone to do it if you want. I’d love to have you in the bridal party.”
What a bitch. I fight my urge to tell Audra to fuck off, but Talia can stand up for herself.
“That’s okay,” Talia says lightly.
“My other daughter has arrived!”
A tall, thin woman with a light-blond bob and a deep tan is approaching us, her arms wide open. Coach Turner sighs heavily.
“Hi, Mom,” Talia says with absolutely zero enthusiasm.
They hug, her mom stepping back after doing a once-over of her daughter, then smiling tightly and saying, “Let’s do some shopping while you’re here. I’ll get you some clothes cut for your figure.”
“Her clothes are just fine,” Coach Turner says.
“Mom, this is Lucien Beaumont,” Talia says.
I take her hand and extend my other one to her mother. Her expression softens and she leans in for a half hug.
“Lucien. I’m so glad Talia is seeing someone. I’m Renee Carlisle.”
“Well, we’re going to get settled in our rooms,” Coach Turner says.
Audra takes a step closer to Talia. “Can we talk alone?”
“Oh, I need to take a shower and change. The schedule says we have a thing in like an hour and a half.”
“It won’t take long.”
I lie without even thinking about it. “My neck is stiff from the flight. Talia has magic hands; she’s going to work on it for me.”
“Right,” Talia agrees. “We’ll see you for the dinner thing.”
“It’s a sunset cruise.” Audra’s tone is corrective, like she’s offended that Talia didn’t call it the right thing.
I put a hand on Talia’s lower back as we walk away.
“I hate this already,” she says softly. “Why did I come?”
“I promise you’ll have fun.” I press the up button on the elevator. “Just trust me.”
The Hawaiian sunset paints the sky in dramatic streaks of pink and orange, but I’m too distracted by Talia to enjoy it.
Her red dress accentuates her curves and shows off her spectacular legs.
She’s got heels and a little black sweater on, her gaze finding mine as she talks to one of the bridesmaids.
“You mind, Coach?” I gesture at the seat next to him, part of a built-in bench with a padded seat cover.
“Go ahead.”
He’s holding a glass of whiskey, and I can tell from his closed-off expression that he’s not enjoying the sunset cruise.
“Not a fan of food on toothpicks?” I ask.
“I’m not a fan of Kyle Macintire. But you know that already.”
He’s in a bad position. Talia’s told me her dad has been supportive of her since the breakup, and he asked her if she was okay with him going to the wedding.
“We have that in common, Coach.”
He gives me a wry smile. “On this trip, call me Noel.”
I don’t think I could get his first name out of my mouth unless someone had a gun to my head. He’s my coach, and he always will be. Even if I play for a different team or retire, I’ll always call him Coach to his face, and either Coach or Turner when I’m talking to someone else about him.
“Did you bring any work with you?” I ask.
“Always.”
The large sailboat we’re on is crowded with not just the huge bridal party, but lots of other family members and guests that Audra and Kyle invited. Kyle’s mom cried when she saw Talia, embracing her warmly and telling her how much she missed her.
“So you two are a thing now?” Coach asks me, his tone bristly.
I shrug a shoulder. “We would be if she wanted to be.”
He pinches his brows together. “Then what’s with telling everyone you are? And all the touching?”
He can be the nicest guy in the world, or the grouchiest bastard. I know he just wants to protect his daughter, though. I tip my beer bottle to my mouth, speaking in a low tone right before I take a drink, so my mouth is covered.
“Because she feels more confident with people thinking she’s moved on.”
His scowl falls away. “But she hasn’t?”
“You’d have to ask her. I think she has, but being here is still tough for her.”
He exhales heavily. “Thanks for being here for her. I thought it would be enough if I was here, but ... thanks.”
“I want to be here. Talia’s awesome.”
Kyle’s been avoiding me. He only greeted Talia when she was pulled aside to meet someone. I catch sight of him holding on to the side of the sailboat, puking his guts out.
“Looks like Kyle is sick. Shame.”
Coach scoffs. “Hope he chokes on it.”
“You doing the paddleboarding group thing tomorrow?”
He groans. “I don’t know.”
“I guess there’s a volcano hike, too. In the afternoon.”
Coach shakes his head, draining the last of the whiskey from his glass. “Beaumont, I’d rather walk into a live volcano than spend time with my ex-wife.”
“Hang out with me and Talia, then.”
He clears his throat. “I’ll be frank. Watching you hit on my daughter is also not fun.”
I smile, but stop myself from laughing. “That’s fair. Just wanted you to know you’ve got people here.”
“Thanks. I agreed to do this and the ceremony. That’s it.”
Coach has been in a darker mood since his recent divorce. Which I get, because her cheating and leaving him for their contractor was an ugly, public thing. His ex, Angie, accused him of being emotionally unavailable and married to his work.
Talia comes over to us, saving me from trying to make more small talk with Turner. She’s radiant, her natural waves pinned up with a few pieces loose around her face.
“Lucien, this is my cousin Kimmie. Kimmie, Lucien Beaumont.”
Kimmie looks around thirty. She’s got wild dark curls and her eyes remind me of Talia’s.
“Lucien, I’m so happy to meet you.” She leans in to hug me.
“Great to meet you, too, Kimmie.”
She beams at Talia. “Girl, you totally traded up. He is delicious.”
Coach mutters something under his breath. I stand up so I’m beside Talia. She takes my hand.
“He’s pretty great,” she agrees.
There’s a commotion on the other end of the boat, and we all turn to look.
“No, sir,” one of the boat’s crew members says to Kyle.
Kyle shakes his head, looking disgusted. Audra is trying to lead him somewhere, and he’s not happy about it.
Kimmie turns to us and says, “They’re telling him not to vomit over the side of the boat. He got some on the boat and the captain is not happy.”
When Kyle glances at our group, his gaze stops on me. He squints and I can read his lips as he says, “What the hell is he doing here?”
He looks pissed. I knew he would be. I keep my expression neutral. Talia gently squeezes my hand.
“Here we go,” she says softly as Kyle shakes off Audra’s arm and stomps over to us.
Coach Turner gets up and stands on my other side, leaning over to speak in my ear.
“If he starts something, you finish it.”
“I will.”
Kyle stumbles and comes to a stop, swallowing. I hope he’s swallowing his own puke. After a couple seconds, he resumes his trek over to us.
“What the hell is he doing here?” He fires the question at Talia.
“He’s my date. Didn’t Audra tell you?”
Kyle looks over his shoulder at Audra, whose expression is horrified.
“Kyle, what are you doing?” she whisper-hisses. “Everyone’s looking.”
“You did this on purpose,” he says to me, seething.
It’s Coach Turner who steps in.
“Kyle, Lucien is on my team. It’s how he and Talia met. If you have a problem with him being here, you can address it with me. Privately.”
“Yes.” Audra puts both hands on his shoulders, trying to move him away from us. “Privately.” She lets out a loud, fake laugh. “You hockey players. Always fighting!”
Kyle’s resisting Audra’s efforts to move him, looking between me and his future father-in-law. He wants to rush me so fucking badly. Other than games, we haven’t seen each other since right after he threw me and the rest of our team under the bus. Everything imploded after that. I got traded.
I let go of Talia’s hand and put my arm around her instead, stroking my thumb over her bare shoulder. Macintire’s expression darkens. Talia leans against me, and just when I think Macintire’s going to say fuck it and throw a punch, he does something else instead.
He bends down and pukes again, orange vomit landing on Audra’s strappy little shoes and perfectly manicured feet. There’s a collective gasp, someone pulling out a camera phone to take a photo.
“Sorry, babe,” Kyle says weakly. “I couldn’t help it.”
Audra is about to blow. Her face is red and she keeps opening her mouth and closing it again. She looks like a fish lying on a shoreline.
“Ma’am, let us help you with this,” one of the boat’s crew members says.
Someone brings a mop and a woman—I think it’s Audra’s maid of honor—shoots Talia a dirty look before leading Audra away by the arm.
Kyle gets to his feet and walks away, not looking back at us.
Talia’s eyes meet mine, a wicked gleam swirling in with the green and brown shades. “Okay. I should’ve believed you when you said we’d have a great time.”