Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Talia
It would be bad enough if I had only humiliated myself by yelling a drunken toast into an invisible microphone last night. If my attempt at taking the high road had crashed and burned spectacularly in front of three hundred twenty-five guests at my sister and Kyle’s wedding.
Today, though, it’s worse. Someone took a video of it and posted it on social media, and now hundreds of thousands of people have witnessed me belting out things I never, ever would have said without doing all those shots.
Lucien is beside me in the backseat of the SUV taking us to the airport. The itinerary in the app listed a brunch this morning at ten a.m. for close friends and family, but I wouldn’t have shown up there for anything.
Dad’s flight left around that time, and we were supposed to be on the same flight.
Lucien booked us an extra day at the resort and moved our flight to evening instead of morning so I could sleep.
And so we could sneak out of the resort while Audra, Kyle, their wedding party and families were at the farewell luau several miles away.
I still feel like I’ve been run over by a fleet of trucks. I can’t get rid of my crushing headache, and I haven’t been able to eat. I’m not complaining, though, because I was so stupid for drinking so much. I deserve to have the mother of all hangovers.
I’m horrified as I watch myself walk toward the dance floor on my phone for at least the tenth time in the past hour, AirPods tucked into my ears.
This time, I scroll the comments.
Absolute fucking legend!
Will someone come help get my jaw off the floor???
This is just mean. Her sister shouldn’t have stolen her man, I’m not saying that’s right. But this isn’t right, either.
That mf groom just pissed his pants fr...
OOF. They done FAFO!
Get to work, Internet. Who is this? And more importantly, who’s Lucien???
I turn my phone over in my lap, unable to even look at Lucien.
After everything he’s done for me, now he’s going to get dragged into this sideshow.
We should have been having more incredible sex last night, but instead, he had to talk me into sitting in the bathtub for a cold shower while I was crying hysterically about my family never speaking to me again.
It was a hellish night. He was worried at one point that I might have alcohol poisoning, but I was sobered up enough by then to assure him I didn’t have any of the symptoms.
I’ve never puked so much or felt so miserable. Leaving the resort felt like a walk of shame.
“What row are we in for the flight home?” I ask him.
I’m wondering if we were able to keep our first-class seats with the flight change, but I feel like an asshole asking.
“I don’t remember.” He takes my hand, kissing the back of it. “You hanging in there?”
I nod and smile weakly.
I said I love him. All the truths I’m afraid to say out loud came gushing out of me last night, like a fire hose with no one holding on to it.
Even though I’ve moved on, I do resent my sister saying she knew Kyle was the one as soon as she saw him. And him? He’s not even sorry. Audra has told me many times that she’s sorry for what she did. Kyle has never once said anything indicating he thinks I deserved better.
Lucien shows up for me. I didn’t realize what that was like until I experienced it. He cares if I’m comfortable and happy. He cares if people treat me badly, and he calls them out on it. Kyle’s swollen lip and black eye are proof of that.
“How are you feeling?” I ask him.
“Not as bad as this morning. I’m not used to doing that many shots anymore.”
The skin around his eye is a darker shade of purple today. He’s wearing a Crush baseball hat, a plain gray T-shirt and black sweats, and he looks good.
“My IG inbox is getting flooded,” he says.
I cover my eyes with my hand. “I’m sorry. That’s my fault.”
“Nah. I’ll warn you, though, the guys are going crazy over your speech. They’re pretty stoked.”
I scoff and smile. “Suki and Mara are all over me to talk about it. I told them I’m not there yet. Maybe when my head doesn’t feel like a grenade just exploded inside of it.”
“Isaac’s picking us up in Cleveland.”
“My dad can pick us up.”
He shakes his head slightly. “Isaac’s doing it.”
I furrow my brow. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“It’s nothing major.”
“Lucien. What is it?”
“There are photographers at your dad’s place, and at mine. Isaac’s borrowing a van with tinted windows to get us to his house.”
I bury my face in my hands. “This just goes from bad to worse to so much fucking worse.”
He pats my knee. “It won’t last, Tal. When they don’t get what they want, they’ll move on.”
“Does Isaac live at a fraternity house?”
He grins. “It has a frat house vibe for sure. There’s never TP in the bathroom and his living room has a bunch of pinball machines in it.”
“Awesome.”
“It’ll all die down soon.”
“I’m sorry about all this.”
His expression turns serious. “Stop saying that. This will blow over.”
“I ruined their reception. Even after everything they’ve done, I didn’t want to ruin anything.”
“You didn’t ruin it. I’m sure it kept rolling after we left.”
A sick sensation rolls through my stomach. “And now I’ve screwed myself. I’m internet famous for getting drunk and ranting about spanking my ex. Right when I need to start applying for jobs. People will see me and be like, Oh, it’s that crazy woman from the wedding.”
The SUV stops at the airport entrance, and the driver comes around to open my door. Lucien passes him a tip and gets our bags.
“Our airline is this way,” I say, pointing. “Or did we have to switch airlines?”
“Yeah, we switched airlines. Just follow me.”
“Are you serious?”
Thirty minutes later, I gape at Lucien as he leads me toward a small, private luxury airplane.
“It was just the right timing. You know Hunter Beck?”
“I know of him, but I’ve never met him. He’s the billionaire who plays for Pittsburgh, right?”
“Yep. He’s a friend, and he’s spending the break at his place in Kauai. His plane can get us home and get back here in time for his flight back.”
My shoulders sink with relief. “That’s really nice of him. I was thinking we might be in coach and not even sitting next to each other, with the last-minute flight change.”
He grins. “Hunter’s your friend now, too. He also hates Macintire, and he said to tell you, ‘great fucking speech.’”
I smile weakly. “I’m probably uninvited from every family function for the rest of my life, so I’m not looking for compliments on it.”
“Your dad’s got your back, and he’s your family. And I’m not trying to be mean, but I don’t think you’re missing much with your mom and sister.”
I sigh heavily. “Yeah. I kind of want to start my job search in other countries, so I can get a fresh start somewhere new.”
He pinches his brows together, concerned. “Other countries?”
I cringe, realizing my mistake. “I didn’t mean ... we need to talk about it. I don’t know that there will be a job opening for me in the Cleveland area.”
“That doesn’t mean you need to move to another fucking country.”
We’re waiting on the tarmac, and a woman walks down the plane’s stairs. Lucien walks toward her and I follow, regretting the way I told him I might need to move away.
“Mr. Beaumont?”
The flight attendant looks like a model, her body tight and toned and her smile flawless.
“Lucien.” He shakes her hand.
“And you must be Miss Turner.” She extends her hand to me and I shake it.
“Talia,” I say.
“I’m Kate, and I’ll be taking care of you on today’s flight. Are you ready to board?”
“Yeah, we’re all set,” Lucien says.
We follow her up the plane’s stairs, and then we set foot into a more luxurious plane interior than I’ve ever imagined.
There are big leather seats, a few with views of TV screens, and a separate bedroom with a queen-size bed layered with a crisp white comforter, soft blankets and velvet pillows in a deep navy blue.
Our conversation is forgotten as we settle in, Kate bringing us water and snacks. I turn the power off on my phone and tuck it into my bag, promising I’ll spend less time on it for the next few weeks.
I’m embarrassed by my behavior yesterday, but I’m not going to keep watching the video and reading the comments. I need to move on. Put it behind me. Focus on the rest of my life.
Which I hope includes Lucien. I have to find a job, and I don’t know how I can work in my field and also see him regularly, considering his travel schedule.
There are so many unanswered questions. It’s overwhelming to think about them while my head is throbbing and I feel like walking death.
For now, I just want to get back to Cleveland. Our trip here was a lot more eventful than I expected.