Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
SKYLA
T he applause is deafening.
In the heart of my career, I never would have said that I danced for the applause, but standing here, holding Mik’s hand, trying to catch my breath as we smile at the audience, and then bow especially for the new king and queen, I can honestly say that I have missed the ovations since leaving my career.
We bow once more, and then the curtain falls, and Mik scoops me up in one of his amazing hugs, lifting my feet off the ground and burying his face in my neck.
I can feel the emotion rolling through him, just as it’s rolling through me.
This was it.
Our last performance together.
“I love you,” I tell him as he carries me off stage and into my dressing room, where he shuts the door.
He hasn’t let me go.
“I don’t want it to be over,” he admits, not pulling away.
“I know.” I rub my hands up and down his back. “But it’s not over, a stór . We aren’t over.”
“The magic is.” His voice is so rough, so full of tears, and it fills me with sadness. I hate disappointing him. “What will I do without you?”
“Well, you won’t be able to yell at me anymore.” I smile against his shoulder, and he slowly lowers me to my feet, but we don’t pull away from each other.
“He’s gone now. You don’t have to be afraid to be in the city. You could come back, malishka.”
I’m already shaking my head. “I have loved this time with you, and I’ll always cherish it. But, Mik, it’s just not who I am anymore. It’s not what I want.”
“You want to live on a farm, feed chickens, and have babies?”
Babies.
“I do.” I can’t help but laugh when he scowls. “I really do want that, and it’s okay that you don’t. You have years left in your career, and you need to take them. I’ll come to every new performance. Beckett and I will fly out for each opening night, and I’ll be in the front row. You and Benji will come to Montana for the holidays and vacation in the summer.”
“Benji does love it.” He tips his forehead to mine. “I know we’ve been through this, but I had to try since the bastard is gone, and you’re in such good shape. You’re so talented.”
“You always yell at me.”
“Of course, because you are lazy, and you keep dropping your left shoulder.”
I laugh as I cup his face. “Exactly. What do you want a lazybones like me around for, anyway?”
“Because you are my soulmate,” he says, serious now. “You and Benji, you are my heart.”
“I know.” I brush his hair off his forehead. “But we’re not saying goodbye. You will never be rid of me. I’ll call and harass you every day.”
He swallows hard and nods once. “Fine then. It is decided. I will retire and move to Montana.”
I laugh and jump into his arms again, hugging him close. “You’re so co-dependent, Mik. You’re not retiring yet. I forbid it.”
“You have no say. I will buy your house, and Benji and I will move there, but I will not have babies.”
“I don’t think that’s physically possible anyway. You can’t retire yet. You’re not ready. Besides, I won’t let you buy my house.”
Mik scowls. “Why not? If it goes up for sale, I will buy it. You cannot stop me.”
“I can, too. Because I’ll gift it to you.” I smile when his jaw drops. “I never did get you a wedding gift.”
“You got us an espresso machine.”
“That you regifted, so it doesn’t count. I don’t want your money, Mik. I don’t need it. But I do need you , so if you want the house, it’s yours.”
He sighs before stepping away from me. “I am proud of you, malishka.”
“I’m proud of both of us, a stór .”
There’s a light knock on the door, and Beckett pokes his head in. I feel the smile spread over my face as I rush over, and he crushes me against him.
“You were incredible,” he says against my lips.
“It felt incredible.”
Benji walks past me to greet Mik the same way, and I love how happy my dear friend is. And that he wants to move to Montana. How did I get this lucky?
“Do you want to stay for the rest of the show?” I ask him.
“It’s over. The last act just finished, and the auditorium is emptying. I wanted to give you and Mik a minute.”
I rub my nose against his, then turn to see Benji kissing Mik’s forehead as my best friend wipes away a tear.
He’s so emotional. It’s one of the things that I love the most about him.
“Let’s go back to the hotel,” Benji says. “Everyone can get comfortable. You were both amazing out there, and I’m so proud of you.”
“We didn’t do too bad.” I smile and link my fingers with Beck’s. “I’m going to change my shoes, then we can get out of here.”
* * *
It’s much later by the time Beckett and I are alone again. When we returned to the hotel, we changed clothes and met with everyone in my parents’ suite for food and champagne. We laughed and talked, and I was reminded once more just how much I enjoy having my family around me.
My whole family, whether they be a Gallagher or a Blackwell.
I love them all.
But now, Beckett and I are alone in our suite. We’ve had a shower, and he’s just finishing with removing my makeup.
I’m a spoiled woman.
And I love it.
“That feels so much better,” I murmur after he finishes rubbing the moisturizer into my skin. “I don’t think I’ll wear makeup for a while after this. I don’t like it.”
“You don’t need it.” He kisses my nose, then leans his hands on the counter on either side of my hips. His face is suddenly so serious, it makes me nervous. “We need to talk, Irish.”
“All right, then talking is what we’ll do. Let’s go sit in the living room.”
For a moment, I don’t think he’s going to move, but he kisses my forehead and steps back, giving me space to hop off the vanity. With my hand in his, we move into the living room, but he doesn’t pull me onto his lap.
And that makes my heart kick up a notch and not in a good way.
Beckett sits next to me and turns on the cushion with one knee bent to face me. I mirror the pose, resting my hands on his thighs, and it helps my anxiety a bit when he takes one of my hands in his.
“I’ve been thinking…” He frowns as he looks down at our hands. “Watching you tonight was fucking incredible. I knew you were talented and had a successful career before I met you, but I have to tell you that seeing you on that stage with Mik was—” He shakes his head and looks blankly across the room as if he’s searching for the right words.
I have to take a deep breath to calm myself down.
“It was spectacular,” he continues, smiling softly. “And I think that it occurred to me for the first time just how much you deserve to be on that stage with Mik all the time.”
“Whoa.” I hold up a hand, stopping him before I have a stroke. “Beckett, are you breaking up with me ?”
His eyes widen, and he immediately tugs me onto his lap, wraps his arms around me, and buries his face in my neck.
“Fuck no. Jesus, not in this or any other lifetime.”
A tear runs unchecked down my cheek. “You scared me.”
“No, baby.” He leans back and brushes the tear from my face. “I’m so sorry. I should have led with that.”
I sniff and brush another tear away. Now that the floodgates have opened, it’s hard to close them up again because the thought of him ending this is just … no .
“You’re mine. ” He cups my cheek, staring deeply into my eyes. “Do you understand me?”
I nod and bite my lip. “Okay. Now that that’s settled, what were you trying to say?”
“Fuck, hold on.” He hugs me again and drags his hand up and down my back. “I need a second because just hearing you say those words fucked me up.”
“I’m sorry, I?—”
“No. No apologies. That’s on me.” He kisses my cheek, then my lips. “I just think that you should dance, baby. Now that The Asshole is gone, and you don’t have to be afraid anymore, you should be free to dance. I’ll commute to New York for the next few years. And you’ll come to me when you’re between projects. Your chickens will miss you, but we’ll figure it out.”
I’m already shaking my head, but he keeps talking.
“I want you to have everything you want. I’m so proud of you, Irish. And I know Mik misses you. You’re too young to retire. We’ll work it out.”
“No.” I take his face in my hands, loving how his whiskers feel against my palms. “No, a ghrá . My life is in Montana at the Double B Ranch. I have chickens to take care of. They’re my responsibility. You said so yourself, and I can’t just abandon them.”
He starts to speak, but I press my hand over his lips, and he narrows his eyes at me.
“I love our home. Our mountains. We’re turning your cabins into a special retreat for sick kids.”
He kisses my fingers, then takes my hand away from his lips. “I can still do that, baby.”
“Not without me, Beckett Blackwell.” I frown at him, shaking my head. “I want to be a part of it. I love my studio and my students, and I want to add yoga classes, too. I love Bitterroot Valley. It’s my community. People smile at me and know me when I walk down the street. Jackie knows I want a huckleberry scone when I walk into The Sugar Studio. Millie knows my coffee order.”
“Millie knows everyone’s coffee order.”
I press my hand to his mouth again.
“I have my Spicy Girls Book Club, and Billie and Dani, along with Alex and the others.” I straddle him now and wrap my arms around his neck. “But most of all, I have you , and I don’t want to live away from you for even a day, Beckett. I’m finished with dancing professionally. Mik and I said goodbye to that tonight. Never to him or our friendship, but the dancing is done. My life is with you. My home is with you. Whether at the ranch, on a beach, or on the moon, as long as I’m with you, I’m home.”
“Fuck, I love you, Irish.”
Beckett moves quickly, laying me on my back on the sofa and kissing me. He licks my lips until I open to him, and then he sinks into me as if kissing me is as essential as breathing.
He tugs my robe open and kisses down my chest as he nudges his sweats down his hips. Then he’s inside me, buried so deeply that I don’t know where he ends, and I begin.
He’s still kissing me, cradling my face, and not moving.
“ A ghrá , I need you to move.”
“In a second.” His hand grazes down my side to my hip and then around to my arse, and he holds on tight. “You’re my home, too. Never forget that.”
His hips shift, and I moan as heat spreads through me. He squeezes the globe of my arse, pulling me closer to him, watching me so intently that I couldn’t look away if I tried.
Pushing one hand between us, I cover my clit with my fingertip, and my body immediately clutches around him, making us both groan.
“Christ, baby,” he whispers. “I need you to go over.”
Moving my fingers back and forth, I feel the sizzle course down my spine, and I know I’m so close.
“That’s it. God, you’re fucking incredible. Let go, baby. Let go for me.”
His words, his voice, his body.
The way he loves me so much that he’d sacrifice time with me so I can chase a dream so many miles away from him.
I’ve never been loved like this.
I didn’t know I could be.
I have no defenses against any of it, and I explode in pleasure, crying out his name as I fall over the edge. Beckett growls as his climax moves through him. He rocks into me and kisses my neck.
“Mine,” he says without lifting his lips from my skin. “You’re fucking mine .”
“Yours.” I don’t even mind that I can’t breathe when he collapses onto me. I’ll gladly take his weight.
But he finally leans up and brushes my hair off my face.
“I know you wanted to stay for a few more days,” he says.
“I want to go home,” I reply. “Take me home, Mr. Blackwell.”
* * *
We’ve been home for a week, and I’ve never been happier.
I had Connor draw up the paperwork to transfer the ownership of my old house to Mik and Benji, and it’s ready for their signatures. They tried to put up a fight, but I ignored them.
It’s my gift to give, and I want them to have it.
Riley barks, and I turn to see that his tail is wagging, but he’s watching something in the woods.
“If there’s a wee deer out there, you’ll be for leaving it alone, Riley.” I narrow my eyes at him, and he whines, but he doesn’t run off into the trees.
I go back to feeding my chickens.
I added ten more hens to my little flock, and so far, all of the ladies are getting along just fine, but I notice that Harriet, one of the older girls, seems to have a bit of a limp.
“What’s happening with your leg?” I’ll have to keep an eye on her, and if she doesn’t get better … well, I don’t want to think about that.
I understand it’s a farm, but I’ve grown to love these birds.
After they’re fed, I search for eggs, and then Riley and I go back inside.
Now that the chickens are tended to and I’ve had breakfast, it’s time for me to curl up with my book. I have book club tonight, and with only about eleven chapters left to go, I should be able to finish on time.
Riley curls up on his bed for a nap, and I’ve just sat in the corner of the sectional, where I prefer to curl up with my reading device when Beckett walks in from outside.
“Did you start without me?” he asks.
“I figured you’d be working today.” I grin when he joins me, presses me against his side, and takes the device out of my hands.
“We’re catching up for your book club,” he says, kissing my head. “And you’re not finishing this book without me.”
“Big Navessa Allen fan, are you?”
Beckett’s eyes skim the page, looking for where we left off. “This one is good. The guy is super fucked up, though.”
“I mean, his biological father is a serial killer. I’d suspect that would feck anyone up.”
“Fair point. However, this is about a stalker, and it doesn’t seem to bother you.” He raises an eyebrow.
“But he’s such a golden retriever stalker.” I laugh and snuggle against him. “I’m fine with it. Honest.”
“Okay, here we go.”
“Wait.” I press my hand to his chest and smile at him. “You’re really blowing off work so you can read with me all day?”
“I worked this morning.” He sounds only a little defensive. “My chores are done, and now I get to spend time with my girl. It’s one of the perks of being the boss.”
“Hmm.” I lean against him once more. “I do like that perk.”
“Good.” He kisses my head, breathes me in, then starts to read, his deep voice filling the air, telling me a story. I do love listening to his accent while snuggled up against his hard body, being here in our home together.
Riley’s snoring in the corner.
And now that The Arsehole is gone, and the investigation is over, I don’t have to be afraid anymore. I can live this beautiful life with the man who makes me feel whole, with no regrets or hesitation.
This life of mine is perfect.