Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
BECKETT
“A gain!”
I hate it when Mik yells at my girl like that. They’re rehearsing, again , and I’m standing off to the side, watching.
I haven’t made it a habit of hovering during the past few days of rehearsals here in London. In fact, I’ve spent most of my time with my family, doing the tourist thing, while Skyla and Mik work their asses off for tomorrow night’s performance. Earlier in the day, they’ll meet Their Majesties in a private reception.
Skyla’s still trying to get me to join them, and although the thought of meeting royalty gives me hives, I’d do pretty much anything she asked of me.
“Again, malishka!”
“For feck’s sake, Mik, stop tossing me around like that. It’s not me who’s messing this up.”
Good girl. Stand up for yourself, Irish.
I turn when I feel a hand on my shoulder and look into the same green eyes as Skyla’s.
“Mr. Gallagher,” I say with a nod.
“That’s Patrick to you,” he reminds me. “They’re going to be at this for a long while. Let’s go to the pub and have a drink.”
I look back at my girl and see her arguing with Mik, then I nod at Patrick. “I could use one.”
He grins, and we walk side by side out of the large ballroom that Mik and Skyla have taken over at the London Gallagher Hotel for their rehearsal space and down the long hallway to the hotel bar.
This property is opulent. There’s no other way to describe it. I know that Gallagher Resorts and Hotels has a reputation for being fancy. Luxurious.
And this one is no different.
Our suite is bigger than an average house, and it’s not even the biggest on the property. I’m pretty sure that Patrick and Maeve are in that one.
As they should be.
The dark pub has a long, polished bar and gold-and-navy wallpaper. The pillows and cushions are also in golds and blues, and look comfortable.
“Two glasses of the Macallan,” Patrick says to the bartender as we pass by and take a table in the back corner.
This man should intimidate the fuck out of me. He’s powerful, wealthy, and he’s the father of the woman I love more than anything.
But he doesn’t scare me.
I’ve already faced my biggest fear and made it out to the other side.
My girl, at gunpoint, with a fucking monster holding on to her.
It’ll be in my nightmares for the rest of my life.
Patrick and I take our seats, and seconds later, the bartender delivers our drinks, and we take a sip.
“Do you think they’re ready for tomorrow, then?” he asks.
“Yes. I think they’re over-rehearsing at this point, but what do I know? They’ll be amazing.”
He nods, eyeing me.
“I’m not a man who beats around the bush, Beckett.”
“Neither am I, sir.”
He nods, then sips again. “I got the full report on what happened last week, but I want to hear from you how she’s doing since you seem to be closest to her. She puts on a brave face for us. Always has. She doesn’t like to be a burden even though we’re her family.”
“She’s handling it far better than she did LA,” I reply with a sigh. “I think it’s because it’s over. He’s gone. She doesn’t have to look over her shoulder or worry that he could pop up somewhere. Yeah, it was scary as hell, and it’s a moment that I never want to relive. But I’m glad it happened, and he’s done. Otherwise, I would have taken him out myself.”
His eyes narrow on me as he examines me, and then he blows out a breath and leans back in his chair.
“I’ve had plenty of frustrating moments in my life. In business, of course. In my marriage. With my babies.” He clears his throat. I expected Patrick Gallagher to be ruthless and cold, so I wasn’t expecting this family man. Right now, he’s a father concerned about his daughter.
And I don’t think I’ve ever respected him more.
“But,” he continues, “I don’t think I’ve ever been more fecking frustrated than I was in LA.”
I nod as I turn my glass in a circle. “I can only imagine. I didn’t realize before that night that Skyla hadn’t told you about him.”
“Did you know?” he asks.
With my gaze on his, I say, “Yes, sir.”
“Stubborn kids,” he mutters, shaking his head.
“Had I realized that you didn’t know, I would have encouraged her to tell you,” I continue. “Because you shouldn’t have been in the dark on that.”
He sips his drink. “Are you thinking about marriage, then? With my Skyla Maeve?”
My stomach clenches at the idea of her wearing my ring.
“Eventually, absolutely.” I smile at the other man. “You raised a brilliant, kind, loving woman, Patrick. She’s everything I never knew I needed in my life. That I didn’t know I was waiting for. Yes, someday soon, I’d love to marry her and start a family with her. For now, for right this moment, I can’t wait to get her home and start growing old with her.”
He doesn’t smile back. If anything, the few lines on his face seem to deepen as he watches me over the rim of his glass.
“A father’s greatest hope is that his children find where they belong. Whether that’s a place or a person. I figured that New York City and ballet were that for my girl, but I can see that I was wrong. She loves being in Montana, and I know she loves you.”
My brows pull together. “How do you know?”
“Aside from the forty times she said it today alone,” he says with a chuckle, “it’s in the way she looks at you and you her. I have that with her mother. Money can’t buy it. It’s a connection, a feeling that sets up root in your soul and doesn’t let go. You know you’d do anything for them, no matter what.”
I take a deep breath. “You’re right. I’d do anything for her. Even meet fucking royalty.”
Patrick laughs at that and shrugs. “You’ll survive it, son. It’s the price you pay for being with someone extraordinary.”
“She’s everything.” My voice is soft. “As far as I’m concerned, she hung the moon.”
“Good. When the time comes, there will be an ironclad prenup. It’s nothing personal.”
“I don’t want anything from you, Patrick. I do fine on my own.”
“I know.” He grins. “I checked you and your business out.”
“Of course, you did.”
He shrugs. “I’m her father, and I have unlimited resources. It’s par for the course.”
“And if I hadn’t passed the test?”
“You wouldn’t be here. But I do like you, and your family, and it’s pleased I am that you’ve all welcomed my girl into your fold as if she’s one of your own.”
“She is one of us.”
“And now, you’re one of us,” he replies, clinking his glass to mine.
* * *
“I’ll stretch with you,” Birdie says. It’s just past noon the next day, the day of the event, and everyone is in our suite. The energy is electric. Taylor Swift is shaking it off through the speakers, and Birdie mimicks Skyla’s stretch moves.
“You’re a wonderful partner,” Skyla assures my niece, earning a wide grin from the little girl.
Skyla sits up, and her eyes scan the room, looking for me. They warm when they find me, and she blows me a kiss.
I cross the room and take her hand, pulling her to her feet, then plant my lips on hers.
“Yuck,” Birdie mutters, making me smile.
“Not yuck,” Skyla whispers. “I’m so nervous.”
“You’re beautiful,” I reply and push my fingers in her loose hair, loving the way the smooth strands feel against my skin. “And talented and amazing. You have no reason to be nervous, Irish. You’re ready for this. You’re going to smash it.”
“Gosh, that’s romantic,” Dani says with a happy sigh, and I smile but don’t look away from my girl.
“What do you need, baby?”
“I know what she needs,” Billie says, patting me on the shoulder. “Let her go, lover boy.”
“No.”
“Jesus, Beck, stop being so needy and let the poor girl go.”
With a laugh, Skyla steps away from me and turns to Billie. “And what do I need, then?”
“You need to dance it out.” Bee nods, and the music changes to a P!nk song that Skyla’s played in the house before. Suddenly, my sister, Dani, Birdie, and Skyla start to dance.
I step back, giving them more room, and feel Connor walk up beside me. Mik and Benji join the girls, jumping, shaking their heads and arms, moving their shoulders with the beat of the song.
God, she fits. My girl fits into my family like a missing puzzle piece. As if she was supposed to be here all along.
Billie sticks her butt out and gives it a shake, swinging her dark hair around in a circle, and Connor growls next to me.
“Hurt her, and I’ll end you,” I say quietly.
He doesn’t reply.
But he also doesn’t leave.
When that song ends, another begins, and the dance party continues. Blake even moves into the mix. He takes Dani’s hand, and they start to do the jitterbug.
I had no idea he knew how to do that, but he’s surprisingly good at it.
“Me too!” Birdie exclaims, and Blake twirls her around, making her giggle.
After the second song, everyone’s out of breath and laughing. The tension in the room has dissipated.
“Okay,” Skyla says, accepting a glass of water from Benji, “that was fun. I think any time I’m nervous, I’ll simply dance it out.”
“Spontaneous dance parties are the way to go,” Billie agrees. “Sometimes, it’s more fun than”—she gives Birdie the side-eye and then whispers—“ sex. ”
“Then you’re doing it wrong,” Dani says with a laugh, and now Connor does leave.
Interesting.
“How do you feel now?” I ask Skyla.
“Better. But I have to get dressed soon. We have the royal reception in two hours.”
“You get to meet the king and queen of the freaking commonwealth,” Bridger says, shaking his head. “That’s wild to me.”
“I think it’s wild to everyone,” Benji says with a shrug. “It’s new for me, and I’ve been a dance husband for a decade.”
“You’ve met celebrities before,” Mik reminds him.
“Not royalty. This is new. Even I’m nervous.”
“And Benji never gets nervous,” Skyla informs us all. “Okay. I really have to start my hair and makeup. After the reception, we have to come back here so I can do it all over again. Stage makeup is different.”
“We’re here to help,” Billie reminds her.
“And I love you for it,” Skyla says, bringing both Dani and my sister in for a group hug. “But now it’s time I have a private freak-out.”
“That’s our clue to clear out,” Brooks announces, gesturing for everyone to leave. Mik and Benji head for their suite so they can also get ready.
And when we’re alone, I take Skyla’s face in my hands.
“Stop being nervous, Irish.”
“I will. Later tonight when it’s all over. Now leave me alone so I can get pretty.”
“You’re already pretty.”
“ Beckett. ”
I laugh and back away. “Okay, okay. I’ll go check in with Brad.”
* * *
“Your Majesty.” I tip my head down in the bow I was taught before we walked in here. I’m the last of the four of us to meet the royal couple, and I’m nervous as fuck.
But King Frederick smiles and shakes my hand.
“Mr. Blackwell, it’s a pleasure,” he says. “I hear you’re from Montana.”
With a surprise, I nod. “I am, yes, sir.”
“My brother, Sebastian, and his wife have a home there in Cunningham Falls.”
“That’s a beautiful area,” I reply. “It’s about four hours from Bitterroot Valley by car. Have you been?”
“Oh yes, many times to visit. Thank you for coming all this way. Skyla is exceptionally talented.”
I smile and look her way. She’s chatting with King Frederick’s wife, Queen Catherine.
“She’s been looking forward to performing for you,” I reply. “And it’s an honor to be here, Your Majesty.”
We chat for just a few more moments, and then we’re led out to the waiting cars to take us back to the hotel.
“All of that nervousness for less than thirty minutes,” I say, pressing my hand to Skyla’s thigh as we ride through London.
“Honestly, the hardest part is over. I can block out who’s in the audience and just dance.”
“Our Skyla has always been good at that,” Mik agrees with a nod. He looks handsome in his tuxedo. “No matter who was in the audience, malishka can focus on the performance and block everything else out. Not everyone can do that. She has nerves of steel.”
“Or a bad memory.” Skyla laughs.
I lean over and kiss the top of her head. “You’re halfway there, baby.”
* * *
Our family has excellent seats in the auditorium where tonight’s celebration is taking place. King Frederick wanted a show, featuring not just Skyla and Mik with their ballet piece but other artists as well. Music, drama, comedy. It’s been a fun evening of live theater so far, and my girl is up next.
The lights dim after the applause dies from the last act, and as the live orchestra begins to play, Mik and Skyla walk out on stage, hand in hand, their posture regal.
This is the first time that I’ve really seen her dance, and my heart begins to race.
The emotion of the piece isn’t conveyed only in the dance or the body language. It’s also in their facial expressions and the chemistry between them. To say that it’s a moving experience is doing it a disservice.
It’s nothing but pure love on that stage—between the characters they’re portraying and the two dancers. I can see the emotion in their eyes as the music swells, and she wraps her arms around his neck in a tender embrace. They’re pure magic as they seem to float over the stage. How do they make it look so effortless? I know for a fact that it’s anything, but with all the hard work they’ve put in leading up to this.
The way he holds her, carries her, and cups her face makes my chest hurt. Not in jealousy, but because I know, I can see , how much they love this.
Skyla fits with my family like a puzzle piece, but she fits here, too.
She should be on a stage with Mik.
She was made for this, for dancing with her best friend and making an audience believe every step, every smile, every move is just for them.
Skyla takes my breath away.
When the performance is over, Mik and Skyla take their bows to a standing ovation. I see people wiping tears from their eyes, and when I look up at the royal box, I see that the whole royal family is standing and smiling as well.
Yeah, she belongs on a stage as much as she belongs in Montana, and now I have to figure out a way for her to have both. Because I won’t give her up. But I can’t ask her to walk away from this either.