Page 59 of His Reward
“My and Boston’s personal life is none of your business,” I told my father. “My public life is none of your business either. Nor yours, Jennifer. If you say or print anything further about my life without my written permission, I’ll sue you for libel.”
“What? You can’t do that,” Jennifer protested. “I’m figure skating’s most beloved commentator.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Etienne said. “Not after what I’m hearing today.”
“Lucien, stop acting like a fool,” my father said, shifting into his scolding voice, the one that was designed to make everyone around him feel like naughty children. “This is ridiculous. If you want to skate again, fine. Come back to the rink on Monday. I’llsee if there’s anything that can be done to resurrect what you once had.”
“No, Father,” I said, a strange sense of calm coming over me. I was done with Pietro Monteverdi. I didn’t want him involved in my career and I didn’t want him to be a part of my life anymore. “I’m going no-contact with you. Please leave this event before I have to call someone to remove you. You, too, Jennifer. Neither of you were invited.”
“You can’t do this,” Father said.
“Do you need a little help here?” Benny Kincade said, stepping into the confrontation with his shoulders squared, looking every inch the powerful alpha. He then smiled at my father and Jennifer and said, “Hi, I’m Benny Kincade, the owner and manager of Kincade Slopes, and both of you are now officially banned from ever setting foot on my property again. Which, of course, means you’re trespassing on my property. Can I escort you to your cars or would you rather I call the police?”
I’d never been so grateful to an alpha I barely knew in my life. Jennifer was clearly intimidated by him. My father looked like he might argue with the man for a moment, but with a final, sour look at me, Boston, and Mom, he turned abruptly and stormed out, Jennifer following him.
Behind me, Oliver started applauding. Giovanni quickly joined in, more interested in Oliver than the fight. When I and a bunch of the others who were watching turned to the two of them with flat or incredulous stares, they stopped.
“What?” Oliver asked, still grinning, even though he’d lowered his hands. “That was awesome. We should definitely be applauding you.”
A beat of silence passed, then I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. The weight that had just lifted off my shoulders was so huge and it had been there for so long that seeing my fatherwalk out of my life made me dizzy with relief. “That was pretty awesome,” I said.
The tension in the air immediately vanished. The buzz of conversation around the ballroom resumed, and the party atmosphere returned. But best of all, I was filled with the confidence that everything would be alright now.
“So you’re thinking of making a return to skating?” Etienne asked just as I was about to turn to Boston to ask if we should take our seats for the dinner and auction part of the evening.
I blinked, filled with sudden expectation, and said, “Yes, that’s my intention. I’m still not fully recovered from my burns. They’ve limited my range of motion. And I haven’t been back on the ice at all in the last seven months. But yes, I want to reach for gold again.”
“Glad to hear it,” Etienne said. His smile quirked to one side, and he went on with, “Are you looking for a coach? Because I’m sure I can find space for you on my roster.”
“Really?” Oliver said, all bright smiles. “Lucien and I could train together?”
“You’d be okay with that?” I asked Oliver.
“Okay with it? Dude, it would be amazing,” Oliver said, then rushed in to give me a hug, even though I hadn’t committed to anything yet.
I tensed and gulped as my friend wrapped his body around my injured one. The only people I’d let touch me since the fire, other than doctors and therapists, were Boston and Mom. It was only a hug, but it felt like a huge thing to me. Better still, Oliver didn’t flinch or pull away from me in disgust as he felt the rough, uneven scars under my suit. He acted like he didn’t notice anything at all.
It was such a small thing, but it almost brought me to tears. “Yeah, I’d definitely be okay with it,” I said, hugging Oliver in return.
I was me again. I had my sex life back, I had my career back, and I had my friends back. More than that, as I stepped away from Oliver and back to Boston’s side, taking his hand, I saw that I’d never really lost any of it to begin with.
“Excellent,” Etienne said. “We’ll talk on Monday to make formal arrangements. I’ll have you competing on the world circuit again this fall, as long as you work hard.”
“Um,” I glanced up at Boston, and when I felt agreement from him, I turned back to Etienne and said, “I’m not going to be able to compete this coming season.”
Etienne nodded like he understood, then brushed a hand through the air like it wasn’t a problem. “Put your trust in me, Lucien,” he said. “I’ll work with whatever challenges you’re facing in your recovery to get you back in form as soon as possible.”
“It’s not that,” I said with a broad smile. I moved a hand to my belly and felt my face flush. “I’m going to be as big as a beach ball this fall.”
It took a second, but both Etienne and Oliver figured out what I meant and burst into smiles.
“A baby?” Oliver asked. “You’re going to have a baby?”
I looked up at Boston again, and when he smiled and nodded, I said, “Yep! I’m due right around Christmas.”
“That’s wonderful, Lucien,” Etienne said, stepping forward to shake my hand and Boston’s. “We’ll work around the pregnancy and the baby. We’ll bring you back to form slowly. Next season might be too soon, but the year after that we’ll show the world just how strong omegas are. And I guarantee you’ll be competitive in time for the next Winter Games.”
It was everything I wanted to hear and then some. Boston’s faith in me gave me the courage to take the first steps back onto the path I’d started down when I was a kid, but Etienne’sencouragement, and Oliver’s, too, would carry me that much farther, I knew.
