My Beloved: A Thin Love Novella(13)
“Boy, you and that mouth.” He sighed when Ransom shook his head, looking irritated. “You were an accessory to my neglect.” Kona waved his hand, let a long breath move from him, feeling the spark of a tension headache throbbing at the back of his head.
“Tell me about it. I was gonna talk to her about inviting…”
“No. Not yet,” Kona interrupted, whipping his wide eyes to Ransom. “Do it tomorrow, before the ceremony, but not until I talk to her tonight.” Ransom frowned, finally nodding when Kona stared at him.
His son moved his gaze across the marble floor, watching Keira as she leaned against the bar, barely looking at Leann as she spoke. “Go talk to her,” Ransom said as he waved to his cousin Lakei who had called to him, spinning a football between his hands. “She wants you to grovel.” The boy stood up, stretched, smirking at Kona when he wouldn’t stop watching Keira with her head next to Mark’s, their conversation looking serious. “Dad, you know Mark is gay, right?” Kona nodded, unamused, pulled another swig from his beer. “You know he and his partner Johnny have been together for almost twenty years?” Another nod and Ransom stood in front of him, blocking his view of Keira, suddenly serious. “Mark’s a good man, Dad. He’s been there for us…”
“I know he has,” Kona snapped, making Ransom’s eyebrow curve up as though the boy was surprised by his father’s attitude. He stood, took Ransom’s shoulder, and softened his voice. “It’s stupid for me to act like a jealous * about Mark Burke. I appreciate what he’s done for you both, I do. But it still stings a little, yeah? He was there and I wasn’t.”
“Dad, you didn’t know about us.”
“Yeah, I didn’t know about you. But I loved your mother, even then. That should have been enough. I should have gone after her. I should have tried harder.”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing now? Despite the craziness today, you’re still trying.” Ransom shrugged, patted Kona’s arm when the man fell silent. “Keep trying, Dad. Mom respects persistence.” Ransom nodded again to Lakei when he called him out to the beach for a pick-up game. Before he left, Ransom pulled on Kona’s shoulder, pushing him toward the end of the bar where Keira sat with Mark. “Go be all annoying and persistent, but you know, none of that parental affection. I wanna keep my dinner down.”
But Nya kept Kona away from Keira for the remainder of the dinner. The room was filled with their family, so many people enjoying a good time that Kona hadn’t noticed initially how the wedding planner kept asking him questions—the last minute details, his preferences in music, where exactly he wanted the flowers placed down the aisle. Every query that wasn’t interrupted by some distant cousin wanting a picture or some family acquaintance telling Kona about a great investment opportunity, kept him away from Keira and it grated on his damn nerves.
He also thought Nya was being a little obvious, trying to keep his attention. Kona wasn’t stupid. He’d been around enough groupies over the years that he could spot them a hundred feet away. He didn’t think Nya was a groupie, she’d been nothing but professional, if not a little excited all week, but as he made his way back from the bathroom toward the bar she stopped him in the hallway, supposedly wondering about where to park the Mustang Kona had rented to drive him and Keira to the private beach in Oahu for their honeymoon, and her intentions became very clear.
Nya smiled suggestively at him, licking her bottom lip as she moved her eyes down his body. The vibe was there, pulsing like a swollen finger, immediately telling Kona the girl’s professional demeanor was all an act.
“Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Hale?” Nya made a point of brushing away invisible lint from his shoulder. When she left her hand on his chest, Kona moved his gaze to her fingers, then narrowed his eyes at her slowly.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Her smile was almost sneering and Kona’s body tensed, his fists curling when the girl kept her hand on his chest and took a step forward. “Like you don’t know.”
He didn’t have time for the bullshit.
He was marrying Keira the next afternoon. They had planned not to see each other that night, to keep the anticipation of the wedding night greater. Tomorrow would be a cluster of activity and stress and Kona needed to talk to her before they both got caught up in the wedding chaos. He needed to apologize for not coming getting back to her soon that today. He also had to speak to her about Ransom’s surprise guest, but Nya stayed where she stood, keeping him away from Keira, her eyes intense as she stared up at Kona.
“That haloe can’t give you what you need, Kona.”
Grunting, he pulled her wrist from his chest and dropped her hand from him like it was infected. “That haloe is my breath. My life. She has been since I was a kid. She always will be.” Kona felt his stomach drop, like the heavy weight of his heart had moved down and sat like a rock in his gut when he looked over Nya’s head and saw Keira watching them, the muscles in her face tight and her nostrils widening as she exhaled.
“Kona…” Nya said as he darted after a fleeing Keira. She caught his elbow when they reached the bar and he stopped, distracted as he lost Keira in the crowd.
A quick jerk of his arm and Kona turned on the girl, repressing the need to scream at her. “Get your f*cking hands off me.” His voice was low, but still carried and the girl stepped back from his massive, imposing frame, her gaze veering around the room when it grew quiet and still.